L'Oreal Lumi Magique

I've had this foundation for a few weeks now but I've been too quick to judge in the past and totally changed my mind about products so I wanted to give this one a good run before revealing my thoughts to you all. I've been hooked on my Garnier BB cream for so long but recently wanted to return to a more traditional base. I've struggled to find one that fits (more reviews to come) and my skin type has changed since the last time I was on the 'foundation market' so i made a few poor choices before I arrived at this one. In the meantime I returned to my beloved Nars Sheer Glow. Nars remains the one and only brand to have perfectly colour matched me and I think that clouds my judgement when I'm reviewing them a touch but I do love it. When I first bought this I was hoping it would replace my HG foundation as I don't fancy dropping £29.00 to replace it when I'm out and although this is a very close second.. it's not quite as good! I don't want to get into that now, I'll likely pit them against each other in a future comparison post but for now I want to talk about the Lumi Magique as it's own animal.

First of all.. I really like it! I'm not going to keep you waiting for my verdict, I think it's great! I've tried some not so hot L'Oreal foundations over the past few months and this has totally redeemed them where I'm concerned. It's a light to medium, buildable coverage and it feels like I'm applying a second skin its so lightweight. It doesn't dry too quickly (like the True Match) and leaves a kind of satin finish. They say you will look 'lit from within'.. well I'm not so sure about that but once I'm all made up it does give me a familiar (*cough* Nars) glow.

I don't know why I do this to myself but here's my before and after...Although it's what I consider to be light to medium it's as full coverage as I would want and completely weightless.

I'm not saying that everything about this product is perfect because it's most certainly not.. it has flaws as everything inevitably does. The staying power is.. not good. The photos I took were less than half an hour after application.. by lunchtime unless you are staying indoors and doing absolutely nothing you will feel it's time for a touch up. I do find that improves when I wear my Clarins Beauty Flash Balm (or I suppose any good primer) but then I'm doubling up and increasing the cost, aren't I?  It's has similar lasting power to a tinted moisturiser worn alone but a lot more coverage. If you're looking to upgrade to your first full foundation this might be a good first step.

*Please ignore my dry lips.. it's still winter here up North!*

I've been mixing this with a little of the Infallible which is far too drying (post to come) on me to be worn alone and it does definitely improve the longevity but you lose a little of the 'glow'. I do really like this and as I'm coming off a serious BB cream binge it's the perfect gateway foundation for me right now. It's a lot like my Sheer Glow but unfortunately the one thing I would change in my Nars counterpart is how long it lasts and even that is better than this so I was disappointed. I would still recommend you give it a go if you like a lighter coverage  because at the end of the day we'll probably never find the absolute perfect foundation, will we? So we have to choose what's most important and I'd rather my makeup wear away early than look dry and cakey all day.

Miss BB