The longest running award-winning foundation, known to be used by top makeup artists for every celebrity braving the glaring lights of the red carpet. Armani’s Luminous Silk is said to be a cut above the rest – with the brands perfected light bouncing technology and spherical pigments. An understated glow is something this foundation definitely provides, but is it all good stuff? Perhaps for some and not for others. See, I’ve grown to have an acquired taste when it comes to what I consider to be a good foundation – I can thank NARS sheer glow for setting the bar real high. Anyway, this is how it went down on my skin.
The Expectation | A long-lasting medium – full coverage base with a natural luminosity – minus the tacky finish? They were the big selling points for me. It’s not everyday I’m willing to splash out on a $95 foundation. But this baby had to be number one eleven years running for a reason, right?
The Application | Initially I tried blending it with my hands, just to get a feel for the consistency. Silly me, I knew I was kidding myself from the get go as that particular method of application has always been my least favourite. In saying that, I know Karima from Shameless Fripperies applies it with her fingers and it looks flawless on her! For me though – not so much. So with that, I took to my beloved beauty blender. This thing never bloody fails me! As expected it applied the foundation to my skin with ease providing a solid medium coverage that could easily be built upon very nicely. The creamy liquid blends well as you have a ton of time before it actually sets. Yes, this foundation does actually set – beautifully might I add.
The Formula | Luminous Silk has a creamy yet liquid consistency as I mentioned above. It applies nicely onto the skin, though I would recommend working in sections with this one. I think the trick is to make sure you prep your skin well before hand. On my ultra dehydrated skin, I couldn’t get away without doing so. If you have normal, slightly oily or slightly dry skin than I do believe you can make this work for you. But if you’re skin leans more toward being an extremity on either end of the spectrum than I’d recommend giving this one a pass. It was a bit of a weird one for me as it looked ever so slightly drying when first applied, only to work its way up to a shine pretty quickly throughout the day. The thing that caught me out though is that I’ve never experienced looking both shiny and dry at any one time with a foundation. You know what, I didn’t mind the shine having such dehydrated skin and all. But while it was oiling up it did maintain that initial appearance that I don’t quite like or desire in a base. In saying that the formula was in no way heavy feeling or looking on the skin. I can definitely see how this has the potential to perform beautifully on less problematic (in terms of hydration/oil levels) skin.
The Verdict | While I imagine this would be lovely on anyone with remotely normal to slightly dry or oily skin, I don’t think it’s much of a hit for everyone else in between. Which is a shame, because despite all else – the stuff holds up on the skin that’s for sure! I’m pretty certain 95% of the product was still on my face by the end of the day. And at one point it did acquire a beautiful glow and luminosity about it. But unfortunately, the finish was an undesirable one on me as no matter what it still looked dry behind that shine. It is worth noting that my blush, highlight and contour all remained vibrant and as even as when I first applied them at the beginning of the day each time I wore this foundation. But I guess with everything you spend that much money on, you don’t want it to be underwhelming in its wonders. You’d expect it to be nothing less than remarkable.
Armani’s Luminous Silk is without a doubt a beautiful foundation for those who have the right skin type to pull it off. I just personally couldn’t justify the $95 price tag for this one. Again, when I spend that much on any type of beauty product I expect straight up goodness. This may be Kim K’s ride or die – but NARS Sheer Glow still stands number one in my eyes.
Have you tried a base from Giorgio Armani’s line of foundations before? I’m certainly intrigued by the brand. I do have an inkling that I’ll soon discover some holy grail worthy stuff from them if what I’ve seen is anything to go by. I had a feel of one of their primers on my hand and boy did it feel smooth – truly luxurious stuff. One for the wish list that one..
When I’m brave enough to bring myself to splash out that much money on a product again I’ll be sure to let you know. Until then, I’ll be with my $8 Nivea primer and drugstore foundation. You know, to make up for that unjustifiable $95 I said goodbye to. Ha! I’m spent. *Cries self to sleep*
