Giorgio Armani Luminous silk Foundation

I regularly contribute to many makeup review websites and have decided to start my own blog with my thoughts on various hair and beauty aids/products. This blog will record my various contributions that I have made in one convenient location :) I hope its helpful!

 

I was introduced to this Giogrio Armani foundation by a friend who has skin similar to mine. The foundation retails for $90 in Australia and the finishing powder is $80. I purchased the foundation in 2 shades and the finishing powder in one shade and was gifted a makeup bag with my purchase :)

Here is a little about the foundation and the powder:

THE FORMULA:
Firstly, the foundation is a good pick for DRY SKIN, not recommended for oily skin whatsoever. LIGHT MEDIUM to BUILDABLE coverage. This foundation is runny, but not so runny that it becomes difficult to apply. It is water based so it does not have an emollient like consistecy, however it is good for dry skin. LOOKS BEAUTIFULLY LUMINOUS WHEN FIRST APPLIED. I was going through a period of very dry flakey skin when I purchased this foundation to wear at my sisters wedding. It applied very well without catching onto the dry patches, but I did apply a very rich night cream the day before the wedding to ensure that my makeup does not cling to my dry skin. Overall the formula is GOOD but not faultless.
The powder is a very average sheer setting powder, it does the job but nothing. Period.

THE COLOR RANGE:
Giorgio Armani uses a very odd numbering system (4, 5, 5.75, 6, 6.5, 7 ect) and is very confusing because the numbers do not necessary indicate the darkness of the shades in ascending order. I found shade 5 to be darker than shade 6. There is also no particular order for undertones. For instances, 5 is pink, 6 is yellow, 6.5 is reddish, 7 is pink. It is best to head to the counter and get a professional colormatch.

 

My colormatch was spot on, I am SHADE 6.5 (I also own shade 7) and for reference I wear STROMBOLI in Nars Sheer Glow NC35-40 in Mac Studio Tech and TAWNY in Estee Lauder Double Wear.

 

The powder has very poor color selection and I dont think anyone darker than NC40 will be able to find a match :(

APPLICATION:
I applied this with a BEAUTYBLENDER. Because I have dry skin this was the best option for me. Ideally it should be buffed into the skin with a Kabuki if your skin can tolerate it. I would not recommend applying this with your fingers simply because this will result in a very sheer application.
The powder can be applied with a duo-fiber brush to avoid cake-face :p I find that it accentuates fine lines :(

STAYING POWER:
This foundation is definitely not long wearing. Even though it looks beautiful on, it will start to fade in the T-zone and breakdown after 5 HOURS MAX even with the setting powder.

THE VERDICT:
I will not buy this foundation again mainly due to poor staying power. Same for the powder, it is very average.