Review: Giorgio Armani Lasting Silk UV Foundation

by Row on December 16, 2009 · 0 comments

in Make Up,Review

TAGS: Armani •

So I had a bit of a thing for Armani a few months ago (yep….that fad has gone, *poof*) and I spent my birthday gift voucher on this Lasting Silk UV Foundation.

They say: Lasting Silk UV foundation SPF 20, a new high tech silk fine milling process, an innovative high definition cosmetic textile.

Starlight proof, spotlight proof,… in a new liquid silk texture.

Here it is:

armani lasting silk ev foundation.jpg

Armani foundations, I believe had a good reputation. I own Face Fabric, which is good but I wanted something a little less dry looking so I tried out this liquid foundation instead.

Armani Lasting Silk UV Foundation .jpg

I was sensible with this one – I picked up a sample in shade 7 and tested it for a week before going back to invest in a big bottle.

Armani Lasting Silk UV Foundation.jpg

This foundation definitely has strengths. Firstly, it blends in pretty seamlessly – it kind of evaporates on the skin (more on this later) and is so easy to blend in. Its a light – medium coverage base, buildable though. Secondly, it does last – at the end of a work day, quite a lot of the base remains….The foundation is a smooth light liquid:

Armani foundation.jpg

The finish is soft matte:

Armani Lasting Silk Foundation.jpg

Now – despite that fact that I sampled this before I bought a full size, having used it for a good few weeks now I am no longer in love with it.

The first problem was screamingly obvious to me (although to be fair, it didn’t stop me buying the foundation.). The base contains Alcohol. When I took the sample pot home, the smell of Alcohol was very strong – it is less apparent when using the full size pump bottle.

Sure enough on the ingredients label, Alcohol Denat is number 3 on the list.

Alcohol is included in a lot of Japanese skincare AND base products so in a way this is nothing new. It makes the foundation feel like it has evaporated quickly, however, alcohol is also drying. My skin is currently super dry – the last thing I need is alcohol plopped on top of it every day.

Lasting silk armani foundation.jpg

I was also a bit peed with the shade. Initially I was matched to a 7 when I got my sample, but when I went in to buy the base I was told I was a 5.

When I told her that the last time I went, I was matched to a 7 (3 shades darker than what she said I was) she argued that I could have looked more tan that day. Hmmmm.

So in the end I said I’d prefer a 7 but she disagreed. When I got home she had given me the 6.5….only slightly off but nevertheless, still off by a little. Too pale.

Armani Lasting Silk Foundation-1.jpg

Verdict:

It goes to show you should test things for a reasonable time to see if something if right for you or not. My initial reaction was very positive (or I wouldn’t have gone back for the full size bottle) but having used it, I must conclude that it is:

1. Drying (I think because of the Alcohol)

2. Lacks the ability to cover pores

3. Generally makes the skin look a little ‘dead’. I don’t feel like it brightens my skin at all, like my La Mer base does.

Ooh how I wish we could take cosmetics back to the counter in the UK!

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