Guerlain Terracotta Joli Teint Foundation ($53.00 for 1.0 fl. oz.) is described as lightweight, imparting a “radiant glow,” and is supposed to “work as a base prior to [applying] Terracotta Bronzing Powder.” The whole idea is that it’s supposed to help the skin look warmer, radiant, and smoother. It’s available in five shades, and the one I tried was Natural, which appears to be the second in the range.
The coverage is light to light-medium, which seems to be in line with Guerlain’s description of “appearing make-up-free.” The consistency is somewhere between a thicker liquid and a thinner cream, so it is able to spread and blend out on the skin without feeling heavy, but it isn’t quite as spreadable as their other liquid foundations (in glass bottles). I feel like I end up using more product with this formula to get an even layer all over the skin. Applied, it gives my normal-to-dry skin a more even, smoother-looking appearance while also darkening and warming up my natural complexion. The finish was very natural-looking; not totally matte but not really luminous or dewy. You’ll want to ensure you blend down your neck, as this is adding warmth and slightly darkening the skin tone, so making sure everything is seamless is key. It has a very lightweight, wearable feel on the skin, and it lasts about eight hours on me before starting to visibly break down.
It is very, very heavily scented with Guerlain’s “Tiare Flower” fragrance, which is just so over-the-top that it’s something I can smell all day long, even eight hours later, and feels really heavy, like a cloud of florals all around me. You have to really love scented base products, and you have to really love the scent of the foundation in general to love this formula. I liked it, but I prefer Lingerie de Peau or Parure Lumiere infinitely more for its more spreadable consistency and coverage.
Guerlain Tenue de Perfection Foundation ($59.00 for 1.0 fl. oz.) is the latest foundation from Guerlain, which debuted earlier this fall. It has a limited shade range–a mere six to choose from–which is typical for Guerlain, but it can’t go without noting, as a greater and more expansive shade range would go a long way. I have Beige Clair (02), which is about half a shade too light; I’m normally between 02 and 03 in Guerlain’s foundations and typically mix to get the right shade for my skin tone.
It’s supposed to wear for a heart-stopping 16 hours with “ultimate coverage and comfort.” Some of the longest-wearing foundations I’ve tried have heavier, clingier formulas that tend to be unflattering on drier skin types (but good fits for oilier skin types). The texture of this was surprisingly lightweight, and the dry down was semi-matte to just shy of a truly natural finish. It was buildable to medium coverage; one pump yielded light-medium coverage, a pump and a half more like medium coverage. Two pumps was getting closer to full coverage, but it didn’t feel heavy worn that way. The formula evened out my skin tone and left my skin looking semi-matte.
I have normal-to-dry skin, closer to normal at this time, and my t-zone can get shiny towards the end of the day. After 16 hours of wear, it was surprising to find it still looked decent; I wouldn’t say it lasts 16 hours immaculately, but it seemed to fade evenly, so it didn’t look patchy or completely gone in places. It was as if my medium-coverage application went to light-medium coverage along my t-zone. I would say that on my skin type, it wore beautifully for 10 hours (without setting powder!), which was still impressive, though certainly not the full 16 as promised. When I set lightly with powder, it wore nearly perfectly for 12-13 hours, and it looked somewhat better after 16 hours than it did without any powder.
There are some brands and formulas that just seem to work well for me, and Guerlain’s foundations are definitely some of my favorites–I haven’t met one I didn’t like, and quite frankly, readers never ask me more frequently what foundation I’m wearing than when I’m wearing Guerlain. Again, I wish they had more shades, because it’s a very limited selection–very, very fair complexions will probably find the lightest (12) a bit too dark, and if you’re much past medium, there’s probably no shade match.
Guerlain Parure de Lumiere Foundation ($59.00 for 1.0 fl. oz.) is supposed to be moisturizing, light-diffusing, and have medium coverage with a “sheer satin” finish. It’s available in a mere eight shades (which continues to be Guerlain’s biggest weakness with their foundations–a lack of shade range). It is recommended for normal, dry, and combination skin types (note, oily was not listed).
I’m usually between 02 Beige Clair and 03 Beige Naturel in Guerlain’s foundations, and it was no different with Parure de Lumiere. I used one pump of each shade for light-medium coverage all-over on my normal-to-dry skin. To get more medium coverage, I used one and a half pumps of each shade. 02 Beige Clair is mostly neutral with beige undertones, whereas 03 Beige Naturel has moderately strong yellow undertones. When 02 Beige Clair is blended out on my skin, it actually looks almost pink-toned. I really wish the shade range was larger, but I don’t expect so (their newest foundation just popped up on Nordstrom with only six shades!).
Parure de Lumiere is a lightweight, long-wearing, skin-smoothing foundation that makes skin appear natural, radiant, and luminous without looking oily or greasy. The coverage is buildable from sheer to medium, though it lends itself naturally to a light-medium to medium application. For sheer coverage, I spritz my brush with a little water, and then I work the foundation across the skin; this enables me to get the sheerest coverage all-over and then build up coverage in the areas I need it most. I’ve been using this foundation on and off since November 2012, so I’ve had ample opportunity to use it under various skin conditions, seasons (though “seasons” in California are obviously less meaningful), and with many tools. I like applying it with fingertips quite a bit, and sponges work well, too. I really liked using Tom Ford Cream Foundation Brush with this, as well as Hourglass #2 Foundation Brush. There hasn’t been a brush I’ve used with this that hasn’t done an admirable job of applying it, really; it’s not a tricky product to apply at all.
The consistency isn’t too thick or too thin, and it spreads well across the skin and looks very natural when it dries down. It’s not so dewy that it looks oily or wet, but it is definitely a more luminous finish, which is why I can see it not being recommended for oilier skin types. It is also somewhat hydrating, but it certainly wouldn’t replace your full-time moisturizer; it is one of the more forgiving foundations on dry patches and flakiness–especially after a half hour or so, as it absorbs into the skin. It lasts eight and a half hours well on my skin, but if I set with powder, I get closer to ten hours of wear. Â The only downside (which isn’t that bad) is that it takes a little longer to dry down on its own if you don’t apply powder.
Ingredients
Active Ingredient: Titanium Dioxide 2.37%, Octinoxate (Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate) 5.49%
Giorgio Armani Maestro Foundation ($62.00 for 1.0 fl. oz.) is supposed to be a lightweight foundation with buildable coverage and a natural finish. Giorgio Armani Beauty really pushes that it is about getting the least amount of product with the most amount of bang; it’s supposed to “[look] invisible and [make] skin appear luminous.” It’s available in twelve shades. The brand says #2, 3, and 4 are best for fair skin tones; #4.5, 5, 5.5, 6.5, 7, and 8 for medium complexions; and #10, 11.5, and 12 for darker skin tones.
I’ve used up an entire bottle of #5.5, having first used it around late November/early December, and recently finished it about a week ago. It usually takes me quite awhile to really determine if I love or just like a foundation. #5.5 is slightly light on me (but forgiving enough to be worn), while #7 is definitely too dark. Â There are some I fall in love with right away; others I never want to wear again, but usually I fall in the middle and waffle. Maestro had a unique texture (to me), because it almost felt like a silicone primer and foundation in one; it has that velvety-smooth, mostly matte finish and feel once applied to the skin. The actual texture is thin and very liquid, so it is easy to apply a very sheer layer of coverage or build up without getting too much coverage (if undesired). It feels a bit like a dry oil, so synthetic brushes, sponges, and fingertips tended to be best for application in my experience. It is lightly scented with something, but I couldn’t put my finger on it; I did not notice the scent when applied or as I wore it, but it’s not scent-free in the bottle.
The brand recommends applying three drops in the palm of your hand, though I’m not certain what constitutes a drop, because you can fill the entire stem with product and really get all of it out, or you can do small squeezes and get small drops out. Three drops arhalf of what I need, and a whole stem-full is more than enough–so don’t be afraid if you’re bewildered and find yourself needing more than three drops! I’m not keen on the droplet applicator. I’d rather a pump or an open bottle, as the cap with the stem attached to it wobbles around if you just want to get some directly out of the bottle, so you can get bits of foundation on the surface it’s lying on. Dropping it directly on the face was also a 50/50 proposition where it would dribble down my face and land on my shirt. So, most of the time, I filled the stem and then squeezed it on the back of my hand. I would have much preferred a pump, though. I haven’t traveled with mine at all, but I have heard some people have had issues with the packaging surviving travel.
The coverage is light to light-medium, with almost medium coverage possible with layering, but overall, light to light-medium coverage, and it had a semi-matte finish. It wasn’t a totally flat, dull matte finish, but it was still quite matte. Between the finish and texture, I felt this was most appropriate for normal to oily skin. On drier skin, especially if you have any visible signs dryness, it can accentuate dry patches or flakiness. I only experienced this when my normal-to-dry skin was at its driest and did not find it a problem for most of the time I wore it. The other thing to note is that when I did have some visible dry patches, while initially accentuated, after twenty to thirty minutes, they were less noticeable than they were initially, so there appeared to be some hydration coming from the formula itself. It has alcohol denat. as the fourth ingredient, which is drying in high concentrations (it is often used as an antiseptic and a solvent), but in my experience, appeared to be offset by the other ingredients as my skin did not get drier, so your mileage may vary and consider your skin and what it is/isn’t affected by (note: I am not a chemist, esthetician, or scientist!).
It’s a comfortable, long-wearing foundation, too, and you don’t always get supreme comfort with a longer-wearing product (which are often tight-feeling). With Maestro, it typically lasts me between eight and ten hours, without a primer or setting powder. With setting or finishing powder, the wear is usually more consistent and closer to ten hours with no patchiness or visible fading. Maestro photographs very well for me, and it performed well at evening out the complexion, hiding mild to moderate post-acne marks or scars, and refraining from settling into fine lines. Â I would not recommend using this as your sole source of SPF; you’re not going to get the protection needed based on amount applied.
Marc Jacobs Genius Gel Super-Charged Foundation ($48.00 for 1.0 fl. oz.) is supposed to be a gel-based formula that is “anti-aging, long-wearing” and “awakens your skin to its ideal radiance and clarity.” The coverage is supposed to be buildable from natural to full coverage, and it is supposed to have “supreme hydration.”
I tried Ivory Medium (14), which is most certainly not my shade (it appears to be the second lightest shade in the spectrum). I’ve included a photo below, but it’s a very sheer application so that most my natural skin tone can come through more and ended up having to apply loose powder (in a shade just darker than my natural skin tone) to make it presentable. Ivory Medium has a soft yellow undertone and a natural satin finish. It’s a little lighter than my forearm, which is light-medium. The very first thing you absolutely need to know is that this foundation is heavily fragranced–one of the most perfumed formulas I have tried. I don’t even remember Chanel being this scented. It smelled like stale flowers to me, but I’m not keen on floral scents (there just seemed to be something off about the scent, though), and I loathed wearing this foundation for every second because of the lingering, all-day scent.
From afar, the foundation looks fine, photographs nicely without any flashback. It has a lightly thickened liquid consistency that spreads evenly across the skin and has a wet, cool feel. It’s completely unforgiving to dry patches, though, and I thought maybe it would be more forgiving after a few hours (because this is touted as hydrating), but it just got worse. I have normal-to-dry skin, but this accentuated any dryness to the point where anyone talking to me would notice the foundation clinging to each piece of imperfect skin. Part of this seemed to be ensuring not to apply more than a light layer of product, and the best way to apply this was with a sponge (like a Beautyblender) over a brush, as most brushes seemed to give it a rather streaky finish. I was able to build to about medium coverage, but it starts to look thick and slightly caked on the skin.
It wears eight hours well, and then it starts looking faded/patchy in places (beyond just the drier areas) after ten hours of wear, so the wear-time was good. I wouldn’t say much longer than average, and I live in a dry climate (California), so I can’t say I’ve tested this under extreme conditions.
Marc Jacobs Bright Idea Remedy Concealer Pen ($39.00 for 0.08 oz.) is described as “an all-in-one eraser, brightener, and corrector.” It’s available in nine shades, and the one I tried was Bright Idea, which is a universal shade. It’s a pale pink with warm, pink undertones. It worked well to camouflage dark under eye circles and smudges (I’m wearing it on my left eye, which is on your right). The consistency is thin, not as thin as water but still quite liquid. It offers light-medium to medium coverage, and it takes a few minutes to really set in place. I would recommend applying, and then checking as you continue to do your makeup or get ready to blend the product again, because it will settle into creases as it sets. Once I’ve let it set and blended away any initial creasing, it doesn’t settle into my fine lines for the rest of the seven hours it wears well. After seven hours, the darkness seems to come back slowly but surely over the next few hours. It comes in a click-type pen, and the applicator is made out of palladium, so it is cool to the touch.
Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup ($39.00 for 1.0 oz.) is supposed to be a “weightless” and “invisible” foundation with a “luminous, demi-matte finish” and “buildable coverage.” There are eighteen shades to choose from with shades ending in zero indicating a warm-toned shade, and shades ending with a five are for cooler complexions.
I used 4.0, which was somewhat too yellow on me (compared to my natural skin tone)–I’m actually curious whether 3.5 or 4.5 would be a better match for me. I ended up blending all the way down my neck to help it match my skin better. It is also more forgiving, because it is a lighter coverage formula, so it does sheer out. The consistency is thin, liquidy, but it doesn’t feel watery or runny. It’s easy to apply, spread, and blend out without using more than you need. While it is naturally a sheerer foundation, it does build to light-medium coverage and covers my natural redness, a few acne/post-acne marks, and evens out my skin tone overall. You can definitely see the impact foundation has in the before and after photos!
The foundation dries down (without using powder) within ten minutes or so, and what you see in photographs is a semi-matte finish where there is enough luminosity in the finish that it doesn’t look flat. It’s not sticky, and it’s comfortable to wear because it doesn’t feel heavy or mask-like. It’s supposed to have “light-diffusing spheres for a soft-focus finish,” and what it actually translates to is smoother-looking skin, even if you don’t really have it. On my normal-to-dry skin, it wears well for seven and a half hours, then it starts to fade around my t-zone, but it looked rather nice even nine hours later–it didn’t turn patchy or fade too noticeably.
