The day before Paris Fashion Week began, two foundations arrived on my beauty desk—quelle joie (what joy)! Just in time to be packed in my beauty trunk…and what better testing ground than running from show to show? I spent the week in Paris, chopping and changing between the two. Interviews with the beauty scene’s finest and dinners with my peers meant that there was no time for imperfections to surface.Here’s what I noted…
The Product: Lancôme Teint Miracle Bare Skin Foundation Natural Light Creator SPF15
The Durability Test: I buffed the golden liquid onto my prepped skin and found that the finish was very natural. Although the coverage was medium, it didn’t just sit on top of my skin; rather, it blended seamlessly and produced no foundation shadows along the jaw line (which are my beauty pet peeve). After running down Rue Faubourg Saint Honoré to Place Vendôme to catch my first backstage interview, I arrived a little flushed, but I checked my face next to the model beauty station (something you should never do if you want to stay sane) and even under the bright makeup lights everything looked corrected and perfected. Wearing a full fur coat and standing at the blow dry bar while interviewing a hair guru is enough to raise even the calmest of journalist’s temperatures by a few degrees.
The Result:
After the show and a skip, hop, and a jump back to the hotel, a check in the elevator mirror reassured me that this foundation can handle a high pace without budging. I was suitably impressed. There was a natural radiance to my skin minus an oily t-zone. And with 18 shades on offer, there is sure to be one to suit your skin type.
VS.
The Product: Lancôme Miracle Air De Teint Perfecting Fluid Matte Glow Creator
The Durability test:
Massaging this foundation into my skin first thing in the morning, I was struck by its lightweight texture—it felt like applying weightless silk. Although it’s a liquid (dispensed through a fancy pipette), it dries to a translucent finish, much like a powder. The technology behind the product is designed to hide any evidence of makeup.
On my way to a model agency, I was blasted head-on by rain, wind, and then hail—not an ideal start by any means. I found refuse in a sheltered shop window and tried to pull myself together; although my hair looked less “wet-look” and more “water rat,” my face looked surprisingly perky. Thank goodness my interviewee was running late, so I could slick my hair back into a sleek ponytail and wait for my face to thaw out before starting. After the interview, I headed straight to dinner, with a quick stop in the powder room—I felt like I need another application to take me from day to night.
The Result: This product is well-crafted for those whose skin feels suffocated by foundation. This is a formula that I think that will work for both young and mature skins.
The Verdict: For my combination skin and hectic schedules, I need a little more holding power behind my canvas corrector. With its coverage and refusal to budge, the Lancôme Teint Miracle Bare Skin Foundation Natural Light Creator SPF15 wins this head-to-head battle.
