Review: Flow Fushi Area Foundy

This is a blogpost about a girl that tried to like a beauty product so much that she bought it in two shades hoping some miracle will befall her. No such miracle happened unfortunately. I think I wanted to like Japanese brand Flow Fushi’s Area Foundy so much simply because their campaigns were so beautiful and the packaging and concept seemed so appealing. I mean the brush on one end is made by some master Japanese brush maker!

Why did I want to love it so much? (a.k.a., the claims)

• the packaging is luxurious and beautiful
• they also make a liquid eyeliner called the Moteliner which I enjoy, so I thought this would be great
• concealer and highlighter with anti-aging properties
• SPF 27 PA++ and protects agains environmental pollution
• 1 shade with two different types of coverage (natural and cover)
• translucent beige that fits every skin colour
• covers blue and brown pigmentation
• lightweight and illuminating
• the brush allows you touch-up makeup without having to get your hands dirty

Packaging

This comes in a beautiful pearl and gold packaging with two ends. One end holds the product and a doe-foot applicator. The other end holds a slanted brush that can be used by pulling down the protective shield around it. You can remove the brush by twisting it off to clean or even put on a refill which they also sell.

Refill with which you can twist the brush on from the original product

Application

According to their website, you are supposed to apply the product in a V-shape under your eyes. They have very specific diagrams of how you should do this depending on your face shape. You can also use it to highlight in a T-shape on your forehead and in a C-shape around the outside of your eyes. The formula is really fluid, almost like a liquid foundation. After dabbing it on your face, you are then supposed it blend it out with the brush provided.

 

Review

So I guess you must be wondering why I ended up buying two of these. I bought the Natural one first, but found the cover too light for me, so I ended up buying the Cover one hoping it would have better coverage. These are not cheap at 2500 Yen each (I got mine for about $30 CAD)! I guess I just really wanted to make it work.

So was there a difference between the Natural and Cover version? Yes, there definitely is. I would say that the Cover version is about 50% more pigmented than the Natural version. However, this is not a full coverage concealer. It does not have the coverage of lets say a Nars Radiant Concealer, which is my favourite lately, or the It Cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye. I mean, from another perspective, I understand that the brand is selling this as more of an illuminating product so I guess full coverage shouldn’t be expected.

This product is very natural-looking. It is super lightweight and absorbs easily into the skin. The luminously it gives is like a natural glossy sheen. There isn’t any sort of metallic or micro-glitter here. It just makes your skin look healthy and a bit dewy.

In conclusion, if you looking for a low to medium concealer that can also be used to highlight, you might enjoy this product. For me, I didn’t find the coverage or luminosity enough for me. However, the really deal-breaker was that it creased under by eyes within a couple hours no matter how I applied it (I used a Beauty Blender, brushes, and my fingers). I tried powdering it as well and it still creased and even looked a bit cakey after a few hours. The brush is good for tapping and blending in the product, but I found my fingers faster.

VERDICT:  A beautiful concept that just didn’t meet exceptions in reality. I think I will continue to use it as highlighter when I want to have a natural makeup day.