The Hamlet of Foundations: a great, great product, tragically flawed
Written: Dec 30 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: your skin just glows; blends in perfectly; sheer, but conceals well, too; totally non-comedogenic
Cons: wears off quickly; your oily skin = a grease slick in the summer; relatively expensive
The Bottom Line: This is nature, but better (much better!): your skin is poreless, zero wrinkles, and you just glow. Watch out for MAJOR oil slicks, though--best for dry skin.
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| violette's Full Review: Lancome Photogenic Skin Illuminating Makeup SPF 15 |
I am terribly conflicted about this stuff. And yet I keep buying it, even at $32 a bottle. I've just never had a product make my skin look so good.
I have combination acne-prone skin--i.e., extremely oily t-zone and dry and sensitive everywhere else; you gotta love it. I've always been a foundation fan because my skin has never been quite perfect: I'm chronically pale, I tend to have pronounced dark circles, and of course, the dread zit or two. And to add to my beauty neuroses: now that I'm 27, I'm just getting more and more uptight about those little wrinkles I see here and there.
So I needed something noncomedogenic, with good coverage, that wouldn't make me look like the proverbial old lady wearing foundation. (Is there anything worse than that line at the jaw where the skin and the foundation don't quite... well, enough said.)
In a word: "nature, but better" was what I wanted. The ideal foundation, ever the elusive prey. I've tried everything--expensive, cheap, you name it.
So I lucked out. Kind of.
THE UPSIDE: I LOOK LIKE UMA THURMAN*
Photogenic was one of the first of the "light reflecting" or "skin enhancing" products that are everywhere now, reflecting not only light but also how we're so sick of matte, fake looking skin. It's now marketed in a campaign featuring Uma Thurman or her doppelganger--like Uma needs foundation? Heh. But Photogenic will make your skin look like hers. It was awarded Allure's beauty product of the year back one or two, which was why I checked it out, and it claims to contain "light-reflecting particles." I'm no scientist, but I believe I've read that it's some sort of silicone product.
Whatever it is, it delivers: Photogenic lends an amazing glow to your skin. My face never looked better. No pores, not even on my nose. No wrinkles and none of that product settling in creases. The coverage wasn't as heavy as I would have preferred initially--I was used to products that were much more opaque--but with acclimation, I found that the light-reflecting qualities of Photogenic somehow balanced out the flaws. I found a color match that was perfect for my rosier complexion, none of the dread "jaw line." There I was: nature, but better, in the flesh.
Important note: I have very acne-prone skin, as I said, but this has been perfectly safe.
THE DOWNSIDE: SHINY UNHAPPY PERSON
About three hours later, though, I was dismayed with the state of my face. I looked rather like I had when I put the stuff on in the morning. I don't know where the makeup went, but not much of it was on my face. What was worse was the state of my t-zone. I was blinded by the bathroom mirror reflected on my forehead. This was't the kind of skin illumination I was looking for from Lancome, here.
THE FIX
Lot of blotting paper and frequent touch ups. And I'm certain Photogenic would work better for someone who doesn't have such awfully oily skin--probably, in fact, idea for an older woman with drier skin.
It's a bit of a pain, but my skin looks so good!--and with problem skin like mine, it's really hard to find a great product. This is just a great product with tragic flaws.
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*I do. I really do, honest!!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
violette
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Location: Milwaukee (((sigh)))
Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
"Pretty? who, me??"
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