“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:
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
