L'Oreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder Foundation

L'Oreal recently released their version of the Armani Maestro foundation and it is called the L'Oreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder Foundation.  I picked mine up this weekend at Wal-Mart and I have to say, I am very impressed.

I picked up the color 310 Light Ivory, which I believe is the lightest shade that they make.  The range comes in 12 shades total.  Here is L'Oreal's official line on the product:

Get the ultimate un-makeup look with Magic Nude Liquid Powder Bare Skin Perfecting Makeup with SPF 18. Revolutionary liquid transforms on contact, leaving a soft powder like finish. This foundation is so amazingly lightweight it's like wearing no makeup at all! Just shake and apply – it’s magic!

Application:  Shake Well. For best makeup result, pour just a few drops onto fingers and apply directly onto skin. Not recommended for use with a sponge or brush.

I am shocked in the best way that L'Oreal decided to release a version of the Armani Maestro foundation at a drugstore price point.  After only two days of wearing this foundation, I will say that it is my favorite drugstore foundation, ever.  It is phenomenal ... for the drugstore.

A caveat to my review:

• I have incredibly dry skin.  L'Oreal doesn't seem to have an official recommendation on what skintypes this foundation is good for.  I love it on my super dry skin.  The only other foundation I'm aware of that is based on volatile oils, the Armani Maestro foundation, says that it is good for all skin types, but I cannot attest to how either formula wears on oily skin.  If you have oily skin, buyer beware. 

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I figure that most people who pick this foundation up, or at least the ones who are going to bother reading beauty blog reviews of this foundation, are interested in it because it is an extremely budget friendly version of the Armani Maestro foundation, so my review is going to concentrate on comparing the two foundations.

Packaging:
I really like the L'Oreal Magic Nude packaging.  It is a really tall, thin, square, glass bottle. It doesn't take up a lot of space on the counter.  It fits neatly into my makeup organizer, unlike the Armani Maestro foundation, which is a round bottle and doesn't really play nicely with any kind of storage.

The Armani Maestro foundation comes with a dropper, which I really like.  I know that some people found it really gimmicky, but I find it incredibly convenient.  It allows you to keep the makeup sanitary and it makes it easy to dispense.  The L'Oreal Magic Nude, you have to just take the lid off and pour it out, which is not sanitary at all.  Also .. messy.

The L'Oreal Magic Nude foundation contains .91oz.  The Armani Maestro foundation contains 1 oz.

Look and Feel:
The Armani Maestro foundation is made of volatile oils.  When you first apply it, it feels very cooling on the skin as those oils evaporate.  The L'Oreal Magic Nude doesn't have the cooling feel.  It also doesn't feel as oily to the touch.  I think it has more silicones in it than the Armani.

On the Skin:
I think on the skin, the products look very similar.  They both sit very nicely on my dry, mature skin.  They are both virtually undetectable provided you get them applied evenly.  They are both so lightweight that it really feels like you're wearing nothing at all.

I will say, that like the Armani foundation, the L'Oreal will cling to any flaky skin.  My skin is super dry and I think the foundation sits well, but if I have any spots where the skin is flaking off, both foundations will cling to it and make it look worse.

The Armani does seem to have more pigmentation.  The L'Oreal isn't bad, but it's not quite as pigmented as the Armani.  The Armani foundation bills itself as having a luminous finish.  I don't think it does at all.  I think both foundations have a wonderful natural matte finish that looks like bare skin.  At least in the marketing, I think L'Oreal did a much better job with this aspect in calling it "nude" than Armani did with the "luminous".

SPF:
The L'Oreal Magic Nude has an SPF of 18.  The Armani Maestro has an SPF of 15.  The active ingredient in the L'Oreal Magic Nude is Octinoxate 3%.

Wear Time:
I get really similar results from both foundations.  I've worn them both up to 12 hours and they don't really seem to break down.  I may get a tiny bit shiny in my t-zone, but nothing bad.  Neither foundation seems to oxidize on me.

As previously mentioned, the L'Oreal Magic Nude foundation contains .91oz of product.  It retails for $10 - $13 wherever L'Oreal is sold.  I picked mine up at Wal-Mart for $10.97.

Overall:  10/10

Review: Armani Maestro Fusion Makeup Foundation

Official Armani PR materials say of Armani Maestro:

“It’s not a foundation, it’s a complexion perfector. A whole new generation of make-up that feels incredible, looks invisible and makes skin appear luminous every time. Anyone can wear it!!!”

- Linda Cantello, International Make-up Artist for Giorgio Armani Cosmetics

More things Armani has to say about their Maestro fusion makeup:

A formula that is easy to apply with unified distribution, and covers imperfections.  An ultra-fine oil-pigment suspension that perfects the complexion, instantly igniting skin’s natural luminosity. A water and powder-free base.



My Experience:

I picked up a bottle of the Maestro foundation in November 2012 at Nieman Marcus after being color matched to shade 5 - which I definitely wouldn't have chosen online.  I had been wanting to try this foundation for a while, but it was impossible for me to find.  No one locally carried it and especially at this price point, I wanted to be color matched before buying.  I finally managed to pick some up while I was on vacation in Las Vegas (also got another Tom Ford eyeshadow quad, but that's another post.)

I feel like I should admit right now that I love oil-based beauty products (for the most part).  I use the Boscia Make-up Break-up Cool Cleansing Oil every night to remove my makeup.  I often use plain Argan oil as a nighttime moisturizer.  I have super dry skin and it works fantastically well.  If you have really oily skin or if you react badly to oils, your mileage definitely may vary.

I apply this foundation with my hands.  It is so light and you need so little of it, that I don't think that I personally would try to apply it with a brush.  Despite what the PR materials may say about it being a "pigment suspension", it's an oil, straight up.  It feels like a really thin oil, cooling on the skin, but you wouldn't mistake it for anything else.  The bottle comes with a dropper, which I personally like, but I know some people do not.

To apply, I shake the bottle really well, squeeze the dropper a few times (to make sure product isn't stuck in there and settled) and then squeeze several drops onto my clean fingers.  I rub my fingers together and then smooth it onto my face, starting with my cheeks and nose and then working outward to the rest of my face.

My results with this stuff has been phenomenal.  I would say that I get light to medium coverage out of it.  I've heard it's buildable, but I've never really tried because I don't really need to build it up.

This stuff sits so nicely on the skin.  I really almost can't tell it's there - looking at my skin in the sunlight with a magnifying mirror.  It feels so lightweight that it is really easy to forget that it's there.  It's not tacky at all, the way a lot of foundations are.  I would definitely agree with Armani's claims that it has "Natural make-up result without make up feel".  

The finish once applied on my skin is pretty matte, but also a natural matte.  I don't think it looks flat the way some matte foundations can.  I don't find it luminous at all.  I do find that it wears really well.  I find that even with my dry skin, my T-zone gets oily during the day.  Wearing this oil based product, I really don't have much of an issue with that.  I can easily get 8 - 10 hours of wear out of this foundation.

I'm not really acne prone, but I have to say that after several months of wearing this daily, I switched to a couple of my other foundations just to switch things up a bit and almost immediately, I had a couple of breakouts.  Prior to that I'd had almost none.

I am in love with this foundation, so much so that I'm considering getting the Maestro concealer as well.  Like I said, this foundation is pricey - $62 for 1oz.  However, you need a tiny amount of it, so the bottle will last a long time.  I've been using it daily for the last 3 1/2 months and I've hardly made a dent.

The foundation is available in the US in 12 shades, both warm and cool toned.  It's available online at Armani or high end department stores (Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, etc.)

Overall:  10/10