I have always been a fan of dewy foundations so I have always steered clear of the longer lasting matte formulas on the market. Until now! I went to the National Wedding Show in London Olympia with my fiancé a few months ago to get some wedding inspiration, and there was a bottle of this best selling Lancôme foundation in the goody bags. I admit I left it sitting in the bag untouched for a few weeks without much thought until I was having a bit of a nightmare skin day. I was getting ready for a date night and wanted a bit more coverage than usual so thought I would give it a go.
I pumped out three pumps of formula onto the back of my hand and used my trusty stippling brush from the PS Pro range to apply it to my skin. I think I was a little heavy handed with the amount of product I applied because I am used to working with more sheer products but I was immediately impressed by its coverage. My breakouts looked so much better without the help of any concealer which really wowed me. It is definitely a higher coverage than I was used to but with the help of my beauty blender I was able to thin it out a bit on my cheeks and forehead to give it a more natural finish. I didn’t set my makeup with any powder and was really pleased to find it hadn’t budged when I went to remove it that night.
The second time I tried it out I was a lot lighter in my application and I think that is the key to getting a natural but flawless finish. It is an easy to work with, buildable foundation so I started first with the areas I wanted a little more coverage in, which for me is my chin and jawline, and I buffed it outward so I was only working a small amount of product over my skin that was clear. I often get hormonal breakouts during my period and annoyingly even after the blemishes clear up dark marks remain. This foundation did a great job of evening out the skin tone. Having been very wary of matte formulas in the past I was surprised by how comfortable this foundation felt on the skin. It definitely sets to a soft matte finish but there was no tight or overly dry sensation and the skin still looked fresh and polished rather than cakey.
I wanted to really put it to the test before shouting praises from the roof tops, so I used it before a night on the town with my best friend. She immediately commented on my makeup when I arrived and said my skin looked amazing so I took that as a good sign! She had asked me to do her makeup too so I also used it on her to see if it worked on other skin types. I have combination skin while she has dry skin and the foundation sat well on both of us. Often long lasting foundations can be too drying if you don’t have an oily complexion, but we were both happy out and no dry patches in sight even after a night of dancing. I can see why this is marketed as a bridal foundation option because it gives a fresh faced look, which can be built up to cover any uneven or blemished areas and it definitely has staying power. I used mostly creme and liquid product with it to still achieve a slightly dewy finish, but powder bronzer and blush also sits beautifully and gives an airbrushed finish to the skin.
I am 100% a convert as I love not having to worry about touch ups, and I was surprised that I didn’t mind the matte finish as I was able to add highlights to the high points of my face where I wanted a subtle sheen, using other products. Although I would categorise this a a high coverage foundation, you can achieve a natural look with this too and build it to full glam if you wanted for an event or special occasion. With 40 shades to choose from in warm and cool tones I would highly recommend getting colour matched in your nearest Lancôme counter. At £31.50 this is in the higher end of the price range so you want to make sure it is a perfect match for your complexion. I am wearing shade 025 Beige Lin in all photos. This is a strong contender in the running for my wedding foundation!
Have you tried this yet? Let me know your holy grail foundations in the comments!
Until next time…
