Lancome Miracle Air de Teint review

Lancome Miracle Air de Teint is a new foundation recently released by Lancome, probably only in Europe (I haven’t seen it on US Sephora or Nordstrom wepsites). I’ve been using it for 2 weeks and here is my review in case you are interested in buying it. I bought it from ICIPARISXL website (Belgium perfumery) when they held sales of 20%. It costs 39,85€, with discount 31,88€ for 30ml (with free shipping). In French Sephora it costs 46,50€ and if you order it online you pay also shipping of 9,95€ to Belgium so definitely don’t buy it there.

Lancome Miracle Air de Teint, colour 01 Beige Ivory

Smell: it doesn’t have a foundation smell; it reminds me of a toner water smell, very clean with hint of alcohol (its 4th ingredient).

Shades: I bought 01 Beige Ivory (“Beige Albatre”) and it was second lightest colour in ICIPARISXL (in French Sephora this is the lightest colour). My skin is NW15-20 in MAC foundations and I have to say 01 Beige Ivory is quite dark for me, I wouldn’t be able to use it in winter at all and I can use it only when I’m tanned.
ICIPARISXL carries 11 shades which is average number of shades, there could be more on the light and very dark side of the spectrum, medium skin is quite covered and from what I see online, they have cool and warm undertone shades there. French Sephora carries only 8 shades which is poor since even some drugstore brands carry 8 shades.

Application: it has very liquid consistency. It seems to be water-based, although first ingredient is Cyclohexasiloxane and Dimethicone. You need to shake it well to mix liquid with the colour pigments. It is best applied with hands. The sponge would “drink” all the foundation and the application with brush is not as nice as with the hands.

Lancome Miracle Air de Teint, colour 01 Beige Ivory

Finish: it has semi matt finish which makes the foundation look quite natural. It blends well enough even though it dries quite quickly. It is not sticky so it doesn’t need powder once it’s set. It is not suitable for dry skin at all, it clings to dry patches, even the small ones, so if you have slightly dry skin, you need to exfoliate and moisturize well before using it. Since it is so liquidy it doesn’t fill out the pores and scars so it won’t make your skin look flawless, but since it’s matt, it doesn’t accentuate them either.
It has SPF 15 and I haven’t tried how it photographs but since it’s quite matt and the SPF is quite small, it should look well.

Coverage: it has medium coverage, it is buildable and you can make it almost full coverage without making it look too caky.

Longevity: I powdered it and it still looked well only 5 hours before I noticed oiliness on my nose. I have dry skin during the winter and relatively normal during the summer so seeing actual shine and oil on my nose was a surprise. I wouldn’t recommend it to oily skin girls.

Final verdict: it is nice foundation for normal skin that doesn’t have scars or large pores. Since it has nice coverage I think it is suitable for people who just need to cover discolorations. I wouldn’t use it for 8 hours work day but it is ok for short periods such as dinner with friends, running errands and so. I will use it up, probably in conjunction with primer to make it last longer and to fill out my pores but I won’t repurchase it. I need foundations that are long-lasting and make my uneven skin more flawless.

Potential dupe in drugstore? Yes! L’Oreal Nude Magique Eau de Teint (mine in colour 110 Warm Ivory). While it is not the same colour (which is good, you have more options looking at both ranges) it is comparable in other features: the same smell, finish, texture and longevity. It is liquid and you need to apply it with hands, it has slightly less coverage than Lancome but buildable too, it dries slower but looks the same at the end. It also has lower SPF than Lancome – SPF 18.

L'Oreal Nude Magique Eau de Teint, colour 110 Warm Ivory

It is not very surprising that these two are very similar to each other since L’Oreal owns Lancome and they may share patents and products. It is the same situation as with Bourjois that owns Chanel and lot of products are the same. Good advice, if you like something from expensive brand, do some research if there is any drugstore brand belonging to the same “family” and try to find the product there first.

Have you tried this foundation, girls?