How Michelle Phan Created Em Cosmetics’s New Daydream Cushion Foundation

Cushion has been around in Korea [for a while]. When Amorepacific launched it with Iope, I was one of the first to use it, too because I just love everything Iope creates. I instantly fell in love with the format. And I’m a huge fan of refreshing my SPF every four hours. It’s something that I feel a lot of people don’t even know that they should be doing if they’re out in the sun. 

Cushion is something you can carry with you. It’s your touch-up and it’s compact, it’s portable and the sponge, is antimicrobial. 

People are taking care of their skin more, and so cushion is an incredible compromise because it has a lot of skin-care benefits. Ours, in particular, has niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, vitamins, and of course, sunscreen. I’m hoping now maybe the timing is better to launch a cushion.

ALLURE: It’s interesting that you mentioned COVID because I was thinking a lot about how in the States, our makeup culture is very full beat, full coverage. COVID has made it so that we don’t really have many places to go with so much makeup on, and when you add the mask factor — it can get messy. I really feel like we’re moving to more natural-looking skin.

MP: That’s true. And we have filters now that can give you a full face of foundation if you want. That being said, I don’t think [a heavy beat is] going to go away. I still sometimes will indulge — you can’t do a full glam eye without a beat face. It just doesn’t look right. But, I think for day-to-day, and that’s something that Em Cosmetics we focus mostly on is, we’re creating products that are essentials that you reach for daily, that you can wear comfortably.

I think maybe with COVID, there is this reset button with a lot of people with their routines. It doesn’t have to be in regards to makeup — it’s life in general. They’re taking a step back, like Marie Kondo, getting rid of a lot of things they don’t need and keeping the things that bring them joy. 

ALLURE: All of these products have a sunscreen component. I know sometimes when you’re infusing sunscreen into a complexion product, it can get a little tricky for darker shades to get the tone right without making the product look ashy. How did you guys approach that, so that the darker shades wouldn’t leave a gray cast?

MP: We did a combination of both physical and chemical [sunscreens]. I actually like them both. I know some people, especially those with sensitive skin, can’t use chemical, which is unfortunate. It’s actually the physical sunscreen that [tends to] give that purple, white, ashy after-effect on deeper complexions. We were pretty adamant about creating a sunscreen that looked invisible. We did extensive testing on multiple shades and undertones. We just had to make sure that even though it’s sheer and buildable, each shade can stretch.