Lancome Tient Miracle Foundation; Review & Swatches of Shades

Lancome Tient Miracle Foundation 
(Lit from Within Natural Skin Perfecting Makeup) SPF 15

Price: $42 per ounce

Lancome Tient Miracle Foundation is one of those foundations that quickly became a favorite among its users. While Tient Miracle is one of Lancome's most popular foundations, there are a few things that the consumer should be aware of before spending this kind of money...

Lancome Tient Miracle was, in alot of ways, ahead of its time. The elegant fluid texture is exemplary and glides on to skin beautifully before setting to a satin finish that does add a "glow" to the skin (because of the Mica.) 

Lancome claims that Tient Miracle is more than a foundation by saying that it will-

Hydrate for 18 hours. Create a bare skin sensation with transluceny for a natural finish, as if matter-free. Enhances skin's natural light so complexion appears flawless and full of light, as if lit from within. Diminishes redness for a more uniform complexion. Not irritating, won't cause breakouts.

While Tient Miracle will create a "bare skin sensation" with its incredibly light-weight formula, and will add shine to the face, it doesn't do so in the "Lit-From-Within" manner Lancome describes. It look's like a satin foundation (which is what it is), and that's because of the Mica (which every other satin finish foundation, blush and highlighter usually includes too.)

As for diminishing redness, doesn't any good foundation do that? The non-irritating claim is where things get interesting. Lancome used the L'Oreal-company-Liquid-to-Powder- Foundation trick here (as seen with L'Oreal Magic Nude Foundation, YSL Fusion Ink, Maybelline Dream Wonder) and gave Tient Miracle its wonderful slip and blendability by adding a very large amount of alcohol which is probably THE most irritating ingredient used in cosmetics!

***Alcohol has been shown to have very adverse reactions to skin. Even if your skin shows no signs of irritation after using a product, the inflammation and irritation going on below the skins surface is undeniably present. Any skincare you use will likely be rendered useless or (at best) just be trying to undo the damage of the alcohol which has been shown to increase cell death by 26% in just 2 days with concentration levels of only 3%. Lancome Tient Miracle likely includes levels of at least 10-15%.***

Lancome has added several shades to the Tient Miracle Foundation shade line-up with a total of 28 available shades. Most of the shades lean either very pink or very beige when dry so be sure to "test and let set" if you're still considering Tient Miracle but unfortunately, the alcohol isn't something the skin-conscience would even consider over-looking unless they were willing to "evaporate" the alcohol and go through a good amount of effort to ensure Tient Miracles safety, but that's alot of effort for a $42 foundation.

If you want a Cruelty-Free option that won't destroy your skin, check out Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Foundation or Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation.

Lancome Tient Miracle Foundation Swatches of Shades;
Ivoire 2C, Ivoire 4N, Buff 2W, Buff 4W, Buff 5C, Buff 6W, Bisque 1N,
Bisque 2C, Bisque 4W, Bisque 5C, Bisque 6W, Bisque 8N, 450 Suede C, 460 Suede W,

Lancome Tient Miracle Foundation Swatches of Shades;
Ivoire 2C, Ivoire 4N, Buff 2W, Buff 4W, Buff 5C, Buff 6W, Bisque 1N,
Bisque 2C, Bisque 4W, Bisque 5C, Bisque 6W, Bisque 8N, 450 Suede C, 460 Suede W,

Lancome Tient Miracle Foundation Swatches of Shades;
Ivoire 2C, Ivoire 4N, Buff 2W, Buff 4W, Buff 5C, Buff 6W, Bisque 1N,
Bisque 2C, Bisque 4W, Bisque 5C, Bisque 6W, Bisque 8N, 450 Suede C, 460 Suede W,