Another foundation launch; this time it’s Estée Lauder with the Perfectionist Youth-Infusing Makeup. Foundations are just getting better and better; lightweight formulas, great coverage and glowy finishes that aren’t shimmery or reflective, but give the skin a “lit from within” kind of radiance. I know that many of you are keen for me to do a full review of YSL’s Fusion Ink and I promise I’ll do that as soon as I’m back from my holiday – it’s a truly excellent, weightless face base that just glides onto the skin and miraculously disappears. Well worth the wait for a review and before-and-afters!
Lauder’s Perfectionist is a completely different kettle of fish, texture-wise. It’s not a super-light liquid like the YSL or Lancome’s Air de Teint; this is more along the traditional lines in that it has a creamy formula that requires proper blending. Like Dior’s new Star makeup, it evens out skintone beautifully and gives fairly good coverage, though I think in terms of radiance Dior’s foundation just about pips Lauder’s to the post. (Read about Star here.)
Here are the (now traditional!) before and after pictures:
Now you see the darkness underneath the eyes, the odd blemish and bits of redness and discolouration;
Now you don’t. Well okay, they’re not completely concealed, but the general effect is beautiful, don’t you think? It’s not quite so “real skin” as the Dior Star, but it definitely has a sheerness and radiance to it that lifts it way above my old EL foundation pick, Double Wear Light. The longevity is good, and I think that the coverage is pretty decent if you just need your skin to look more uniform and smooth. Dark circles and blemishes don’t completely vanish (I’d say that Star has more coverage, if that’s what you need) but that’s often the obvious payoff if you’re opting for a sheerer, lighter foundation.
You can see my applying the Perfectionist Youth-Infusing Foundation in the video below; do let me know if you’ve tried it and what you think. It sits very well on my combination-type skin, but I’d be interested how drier skin fares and also what the wear is like if you have very oily skin. Comments below, please!
You can find Estée Lauder’s Perfectionist Youth-Infusing Foundation online here – it’s £37. Foundation prices do seem to be climbing, but perhaps this is justified considering some of the quite remarkable makeup developments that are happening. What do you think? Would you pay extra for an amazing finish or beautiful, lightweight texture? What’s your limit when it comes to face base prices? I’m constantly on the hunt for good, affordable options but I must say that there’s often a glaring difference in formula and finish between budget bases and the pricier ones. Though I do get on very well with Bourjois…
The selling-point with Lauder’s new foundation seems to be that the formula incorporates a dose of the Perfectionist serum; personally, I like to apply my serum as a dedicated skincare product (read about serums here) but I suppose it can’t hurt to double up. Though I’m guessing you’d be applying this after your moisturiser (barrier) layer and have to wonder how much of the serum would wiggle its way down to the skin…
My wonderful A Model Recommends assistant, @AMR_Rach, would pooh-pooh that suggestion; she’s the Queen of Enthusiastic Product Application and has been known to pat on her wrinkle cream up to ten times a day! Crivens! (More on that later – she’s been testing out some retinol products for me.)
Estee Lauder Perfectionist: http://tidd.ly/737c1b77
Laura Mercier High Coverage Concealer: http://goo.gl/sQFegr
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