As you may already know, I have VERY dry skin and I LOVE foundations, sometimes these two can be a deadly combination.
When I finally found the right skincare, I went crazy about foundations, today I wish I could test them all!
I heard many raves about this “revolutionary” Armani Fusion and I jumped, I jumped so fast that I bought the wrong one. Shame on me for not being able to be reasonable and wait for the testers!
I am not going to bring you an in depth review today, I will just briefly share my experience and also the advice I have been given at the Armani counter.
This foundation comes in a glass bottle :
It’s very liquid, very, you have to shake the bottle before use (but unlike me, make sure the bottle is closed before you do it…) :
I need approx 4 little drops for my entire face, here is the 5 compared to the 5.5 :
I thought I was shade 5 since I am shade 5 in the Luminous Silk foundation, but I am much closer to 5.5 than 5. It does adapt nicely on my skin but the 5 is definitely too light for me :
How to apply the foundation
- Shake the bottle
- Do not use brushes ! Use only your fingertips (Armani recommendation).
- Do not leave the product on the back of your hand for a long time, apply it immediately ! (Armani recommendation).
I tried to take pictures but I am sorry, I was sick and I did not had the usual camera with me. So double the fail 😛
My thoughts
The coverage is very sheer on my skin, I prefer a slightly heavier coverage.
Once applied, when you touch your skin, the skin feels velvety, I like that. Unfortunately, my skin doesn’t like it.
Dry patches around the nose start to appear usually after 3 hours, it’s like it dries my skin completely, my skin is not comfortable and I always feel the urge to remove the foundation before the end of the day. Maybe in the summer it will work, right now in colder weather this foundation is not appropriate for me.
I made sure my skin was properly exfoliated and hydrated, I have been using it for 4 days in a row, then only from time to time. The dry patches always appear, sometimes even before I arrive at the office…
On the first picture I am wearing only moisturizer, on the second, the foundation without blush, on the third I am wearing the foundation and some cream blush on top.
The blush used is the Tom Ford Lip and Cheek stain, also wearing it on the lips on the second and third picture.
Bottom Line
Deadly combination for me. Will need to check it out in summer when I need less coverage and less hydration. For now, this goes at the bottom of my drawer 🙁
Please check out CafeMakeup review, and she added links and comments for the other bloggers, she did an amazing post !
27 comments
Oh dear, such a shame it doesn’t work on your dry skin, as it looks beautiful on you. Thanks for this – I was going to buy some, but I will leave it until after the winter, as my skin is also super-dry at the moment.
Thank you Dena 🙂
I will upload better pictures when I get the camera back !
I will bring you some samples so that you can try it 😉
Thanks, you’re such a sweetheart. I will bring my Graftobian too – I have a palette, so I can give you a few samples 😉
I agree, it does look good, …YOU look good, ….but it has to feel good too.
Try the La Prairie. Try the La Prairie, Try the La Prairie:))
DEFINITELY get samples though. My tip is that you try Sand Beige first.
but I am sooo sick in these pictures 😛
I will definitely change them in the following days, maybe then you will be able to see some patches. It looks quite nice right after application (and for the following hour) but then when I look at the mirror I don’t have the radiance that the Ellis Faas provides and it really makes a difference.
I am on to La Prairie, I don’t know if that’s a command or just a subliminal message you are transmitting but I WILL NOT leave London without a sample !!!
I’m a mommy. This is definitely an order!
They actually say that you can wear this without your daily moisturizer underneath because it’s moisturizing in itself.
I have still ordered the CdP because I want to be sure that THIS ( La Prairie ) is the best for me, but I believe it is.
😀 😀
I can’t wait to try it !
I had to mix 5.5 and 6.5 but the coverage was too sheer for me too. I am staying with my Sisley Phyto, it’s the best foundation ever. As per Dena’s recommendation I went to see make up artist, Margot Holder in London and we agreed on a combi of Sand++ and Apricot++ with my tan skin so you would probably need Sand++ It’s goes on very sheer but gives great coverage and I can’t say enough about how moisturising it is.
Thanks ! I will check this one too 😀
Do you have dry skin too ?
Oh wow, I’m so pleased you found the recommendation useful, I really am. Did you do one of Margo’s courses? She does love that foundation for very dry skin. I have seen her use it on someone who has extremely dry skin, and it was beautiful.
I have a sample of this, I should try it these days but I have oily but dehydrated skin and armani foundations (lasting silk) gives me dry patches around my mouth and chin so I think this one will do too. Ingrediants list is quite bad : plenty of silicones and alcohol.
I tested la Prairie and it is really good, very luminous, blendable but more appropriate for normal to dry skin, so you could like it.
Another point for La Prairie 😉
Oh, I’ve been meaning to try this but now that I hear it sticks to dry patches…probably no. Not that I need a new foundation anyway haha. Although my new lemming is the Tom Ford foundation…. later.
Tom Ford foundation was a revelation for my skin, it was the very first time my skin felt so comfortable with foundation on…
Is it the stick or the bottle that you have? I’m curious about the stick just because I’ve never used stick before but it’s also full coverage which I don’t need. And probably whichever does not adhere to dry patches would be the best…
Sonia, I agree completely that this foundation will be a possibility in the warmer more humid months… For me, I loved it at first! The finish was beautiful and I felt I could build up enough coverage. When the humidity started going down and the heaters started coming on, I had to put it away. Still love the Cdp (it does have a more matte than radiant finish), loving the Dior Nude liquid and loving the TF liquid with the stick as a concealor. I am looking forward to my Ellis Faas arriving and giving that a fair test. And of course I might just need to try the La Prairie again because I remember loving it years back 🙂 That should be more than enough for one face and 365 days in a year but what about the new RMK and how about Sisley…..
;p
Yes, what about the others ??? 😀
we have to try as many as we can and share our experiences ! I am of course talking about foundations…
Foundations? Oh yes of course 😉
It’s our duty!!! The next one might just be perfect….
😀 😀 😀 and rolling…
Hello Sonia! I’m going through a trial now with a sample of 4.5. I’m really disappointed so far and I think it’s because I had such high expectations for this foundation. As you mentioned, the coverage is so light and for me the finish was so flat and sucked the life out of my skin. I have combination to oily skin most of the year and it still emphasized the dry patches for me. 🙁 wah!!!
Same for me, I also had high expectations, since I knew the coverage was sheer I thought it would still be allright on dry skin but you have described it so well: it can suck the life out of it. I will review it again in summer though just to check if there is a higher tolerance but since the finish is not that great I don’t really look forward to it 😛
Oooh, I’m so glad I’m not the only one who didn’t like this foundation! All the reviews have been so positive, that I thought I must be the odd ball out!
I have combo skin (normal/oily in summer, and dry/normal in winter), and the Maestro just didn’t work out for me, even though I’m pretty partial to sheer/light foundations, so coverage wasn’t the issue. On me, it first started out looking super cakey (never a good look, lol) and drying. After a couple of hours, something weird happened, as if my skin was trying to over compensate for having the life sucked out of it, and I suddenly found myself transformed into an oil ball! At that point, I decided that as I already loved my foundation (CdP) which my skin also likes and actually looks good on me, I really didn’t need to lose any more time to find ways and try to make this one work! And that was that 😀
Now I’m kind of curious about the La Prairie though – BAD BAD BAD!!!!!!
Hi Neo,
Thank you for your input on this foundation, good to know that we are not alone 🙂
I got the TF enchanted by the way, I love all the shades, I have used it in Barcelona with very simple looks but I need to add some matte in there, but other than that, it’s really gorgeous ! the darkest shade is my favorite and I think the quality of this one compared to the older ones is much better.
Yep, bad, we need to try La Prairie !
Hi Sonia! So glad you like the TF Enchanted 🙂 (I always feel responsible when I recommend something, but the person then doesn’t like it)! I’ll be curious to know what matte shadow you end up pairing it with, if you don’t mind sharing ;). The darkest shade is also my favorite, although I have to say that I find myself using the lightest top left a lot- it’s the perfect inner corner of the eye highlighter for me!
Thanks to your reviews, I just picked up Silvered Topaz last week… I kind of had my eye on it since the first time I saw it, when I got Enchanted, but your post on your TF quads is what pushed me over – and I’m so glad it did! A lovely neutral, with just enough darkness for it not to be just blah, I love it 🙂
In Barcelona I was pairing it with the Armani Boudoir palette that I got over there. I will prepare a review of these two palettes together because they are a bit similar, Boudoir has two mattes. Thanks again for pointing that TF quad to me !
I am thinking of pairing it with some of my fav Mac shadows : Hoax and Handwritten for example but I still need to verify that they are good together ! But I think I will also pair it with a very black black.
So happy that you like Silvered Topaz 🙂
Hi Sonia,
When you say that “I made sure my skin was properly exfoliated and hydrated”, what do you mean by exfoliated? Exfoliated with AHA/BHA products or scrubs? Do you apply these products on evening, right?
As concerns this foundation, I would like to say that the amount of alcohol in the formula is potentially irritating to skin and can cause dryness and other problems (beautypedia review).
Thanks.
By the way, you’re are just amazing… with all these brushes and great make-up products.
Hi Elena,
thank you for your sweet comment! By exfoliated I mean with a gentle cleanser as far as I am concerned, since I have dry and sensitive skin I cannot use scrubs.
I use very gentle cleansing masks in place.
I apply them just one a week or every two weeks, I have been informed that my skin did not need more than that so I just rely on professionals advice.
Indeed I heard of many irritation reactions caused by this foundation, since the condition of my skin is so delicate it was really optimistic thinking that it would work… 🙂