Not only did I draft this review at the beginning of the year and then forget to edit and publish it, I went to a load of trouble trying to obtain an old version of Dior’s Diorskin Forever foundation so that I could do a comparison with this new one and then – about ten minutes ago in fact – realised that I had done a whole post on that three years ago. Complete with before-and-after pictures. What a div. But it’s a good one, so worth the effort – if you love a full coverage base with a flawless, slightly luminescent finish then keep on reading…

So, the new Forever; what’s changed? Shall we start with what was so brilliant about the original version? You can read the full review and see before-and-after photos here, but to recap: it’s a full-coverage foundation with a velvety finish that manages to nicely illuminate the skin whilst giving that even, photoshoot-perfection sort of finish.

Sound good? It was. So much so that I put it into my (now apparently defunct) “favourite things” category. (Honestly, the online filing systems I start and then forget about. Do you remember Moneybags Monday?! Or, So You Want To Be A Model?!) But I do think that Dior have managed to improve on the original with the “new” (it came out earlier this year) formula. In a direct comparison, I found that the new formula is ever so slightly more fresh and hydrating in feel and a smidgen, smidgen more glowy.

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When I say “fresh and hydrating in feel”, I really do mean in comparison to the older Forever version. If you put it on alongside, say, Becca’s Aqua Luminous, it would feel like applying cake topping. It’s not a lightweight, glide-it-on sort of foundation by any stretch of the imagination – I like to prep with a serum, few drops of oil and then a moisturiser before going on in with this – and you really need to make sure that everything is properly blended in.

But the finish! Ooh, it takes me back to my peak modelling days when I’d look in the studio mirror and see a totally different person staring back – not the one who’d had three hours’ sleep and battled through a Milanese rush-hour, not the one who’d (perhaps) been the last one to bed, playing Tiny Dancer on the hotel piano… There’s a perfected, airbrushed feel to the finish without any hint of that flat, deathmask look that high-coverage foundations so often give.

Here I am before:

And after:

It does a great job on redness, dark circles and general unevenness. My skin was very, very good when these were taken (must have been the breastfeeding hormones!) but even so, the foundation just gives a beautiful, perfect canvas.

It’s sort of odd that these photos were taken at the tail-end of last winter and the foundation shade, 020, looks slightly paler than my skin, because when I tried it again this week it was just a pinch darker than my skin. And I’ve had a few days in the sun. The mind boggles. Worth noting that the new version in shade 020 is a little tiny bit more yellow than the original, but that’s only useful if you’re the same shade as me – I don’t know whether it applies to the complete range.

In summary, there’s no denying that the Forever has a gorgeous finish – the same sort of “not-quite-matte” as Chanel’s Perfection Lumiere Velvet, a similar coverage and glow to YSL’s Touche Eclat Le Teint and the staying power of Estée Lauder’s hero base, Double Wear. (For full coverage with a bouncier, dewier finish, take a look at my Lancome cushion review.)

The formula’s shine control abilities are exemplary; I think actually better than the original, despite the fluid feeling more comfortable and fresh on the skin. As someone who very often wears “sheer” or “barely there” foundations when off-duty, I’m always taken aback by just how long some of these full-coverage bases last for, but Diorskin Forever really does stick around. After twelve hours (it boasts 16 hour wear, but I reckon it would be longer) I needed a very thorough cleanse, twice, to remove all of the makeup from my face and there was not even the barest hint of oiliness across my t-zone.

A great one for those who need longevity and high coverage – especially those with oilier skin – and who want that smooth, perfected finish. Diorskin Forever comes in nineteen shades and costs £33, you can find it online at Escentual.com and John Lewis.

*note that there’s a primer in the top photo; I liked this, but haven’t tested it enough yet to do a review. In all honesty, I can’t have loved it that much because it seems to have been relegated to the “test at some point in the future” drawer. I wasn’t wearing any primer, Dior or otherwise, in any of the face photos.