L'Oreal Nude Magique Eau de Teint 100 Porcelain

Ever since its release this foundation intrigued me greatly. It's one of those new generation foundations that are incredibly light, but still offer coverage and this particular one claims to have a liquid-to-powder finish, it's even called Liquid Powder in the USA. It's similar to Armani's Maestro foundation, Maybelline's Dream Wonder and I hear to the new YSL Le Teint Encre De Peau as well, though it shouldn't be too surprising since they are all owned by the same company. In their usual flashy manner, L'Oreal states that the formula is lighter than water and though I wouldn't be so bold in my claims, I can confirm that it definitely is super light-weight, which pleases me a lot as a fan of light bases.  

Texture: This is very, very liquid and it might shock you how it just pours out of the bottle. It's incredibly light-weight, but feels super slippery indicating there is a lot of silicones in it. It can be applied with fingers and by putting the finger on the opening and turning the bottle, you are left with enough foundation for about 1/3 of the face as it is very easy to blend due to the silicones. I actually prefer to apply it with a brush, it's just easier and less messy.

Coverage: A lot of people claim this has light to medium coverage, I've even heard it said it has almost full coverage, which makes me wonder if we're even discussing the same product. I wouldn't even call this a proper foundation as the coverage is closer to a tinted moisturiser. You can still see every freckle I have, though the redness is diminished to a certain degree. On my skin, it's the darkness of the shade that provides most coverage

Finish: The abundance of silicones might put some off as from the start it almost feels like it's greasy, but it later dries to a powdery matte finish, making it a nice choice for those with oily skin. My skin is normal and I haven't noticed it causing any dryness, but it does cling to dry patches, in my case particularly in the eyebrow area. It's a foundation that has a my-skin-but-better effect and it's almost undetectable, except the powdery finish gives it away. I usually don't even feel the need to put powder over the top. 

Colour: I was very concerned that the lightest shade, ironically called Porcelain, would be too dark for me, which discouraged me from purchasing it sooner. My fears were well founded as 100 Porcelain does not resemble porcelain in any way (dearest L'Oreal you really need to brush up your knowledge of what porcelain means), rather it's closer to NC20 or perhaps even NC25 as it's even darker than Bourjois CC cream in 31 and suspiciously close to MAC's Face & Body N1, which is super dark for me. You can see from the pictures yourself just how much darker it makes my skin, though with Garnier's Miracle Cream underneath I can kind of pull it off, but it's best if I use a self tanner to avoid the floating head effect.

Staying power: I've never really paid much attention to how well it lasts, since because the coverage is so light, it's difficult to notice how it's wearing off. But at the end of the day there is enough foundation on the cotton pad when I'm removing it with micellar water.

Scent: This has a very strong alcohol scent indicating a high content of it. Not the best thing, I'm afraid. 

Packaging: A small, glass bottle, which I find adorable, but it only holds 20 ml of product. The most obvious is the lack of a pump or some sort of an applicator, which is indeed disappointing.

Price and availability: I got mine on Feel Unique for 13 €.

Basically were are dealing with a super liquidy and featherlight matte tinted moisturiser. If the lightest shade were more appropriate for my skin tone, I'd love it especially in the summer months, but now I can hardly use it, at least not without mixing it with a lighter foundation. Maybe the YSL version will have a lighter shade if they even plan to sell it here. Eau de Teint is a product for those who want a low level of coverage and something that is barely detectable on the skin, while the matte finish will appeal to those with oily or oily-combination skin.

Have a great day.