Price: $48 per ounce
Laura Mercier has added a new foundation to her current line
up with her just released Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide Foundation. This new
foundation promises to deliver a matte finish for 12 hours with a
lightweight formula.
So the question is; is Laura Mercier's Smooth Finish
Flawless Fluide Foundation just another oil-free, long-wearing formula with a
hefty price tag, or something really special?
The claims for Laura Mercier's Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide
Foundation start off reasonable; a "matte finish, oil-free, liquid
foundation that will wear halfway decently for 12 hours". That's
buyable and the formula does live up to that expectation (unless of course you
have extremely oily skin in which case you may need to set it, blot it or touch
it up throughout the day.)
Laura Mercier goes on to claim Flawless Fluide will "visibly
even your skintone and minimize the appearance of pores." Yes.
Probably. Any foundation with any coverage will visibly even your skintone on a
temporary basis since that's the whole reason behind using a foundation and a
halfway decent formula which is applied correctly will also minimize pores, but Flawless Fluide does an exemplary job of it.
The "Hydro-Brilliant Technology" is interesting. Hydro=water and hydration is implied, but its
actually meant for the "special reflective" water in the formula
which is Laura Mercier's try at HD/Light Diffusing Pigment
marketing, which is the "in" thing for cosmetic companies! The water in the formula is no more reflective or special than what
comes out of your kitchen faucet!
As for the "color-true shades"? That part is
100% true and that is one thing that Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide has going
for it over it's rival oil-free/long-wearing foundations. If you look at the
images below, you can see that (aside from the changes in lighting) there is
virtually no difference in any of the shades and they all remain a nearly
identical color to their initial shades. Oxidation is a huge issue with
formulas like this and you almost always see a
moderate-severe difference in shades after they dry, so this is a
really impressive trait.
The "humidity proof, sweat proof,
water resistant" claim is odd. Foundations can be Water-Proof,
in fact, many are, but no foundation is oil proof, especially when Laura
Mercier is claiming that Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide is merely "water
resistant." Ofcourse, those with normal/dry skin will likely find
that it does have very good staying power through most environments and
those with oily skin will probably find it to be better than average in regards
to longevity but again, they will likely need to blot and/or set it.
The formula of Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide Foundation is
quite unique in that it's actually a liquid to powder foundation, but Laura
managed to retain the true fluidness of liquid-powder foundations (like L'Oreal
Magic Nude Foundation, YSL
Fusion Ink, Maybelline
Dream Wonder), but did so without adding alcohol to the formula like so
many other companies .
While Flawless Fluide Foundation is not a bad product, (actually it's a rather
fantastic foundation) but when you factor in the price tag, it begins to get a
little daunting. For $50 an ounce, Laura Mercier could have done a bit
better with the claims and packaging- especially since Flawless Fluide has
enough positive attributes to hold it's own in the competitive foundation world, but that little hiccup shouldn't be enough to deter you from trying Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide.
If Laura Mercier's Flawless Fluid Foundation is a bit too drying for you, Urban
Decay's Naked Weightless Ultra-Definition Foundation is a similar formula with a slightly less intense matte finish. (Both are Cruelty Free and absolutely deserve a place on your "foundation bucket list.")
***The lightest shade of Flawless Fluide Foundation is Creme and it is very light, (one of
the lightest from any oil free foundation that STAYS
LIGHT) but it does have yellow undertones. If you have pink undertones and are
purchasing Creme from a store, I would suggest getting a
sample of Shell as well, or, if Creme may be too light for you, get a sample of
the next shade up so that you can mix accordingly and don't have to buy two
bottles!***
After drying for several hours
After drying for several hours
Thanx alot, this was very helpful for me when ordering the shades :)
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