THE CLAIMS: Lancôme’s new Teint Miracle Liquid Foundation packs a sales pitch so seductive, it’s practically daring you to test-drive it for yourself. What’s the fuss, you say? Well, it’s billed as a filter app in a bottle – the intriguing implication being, of course, that you can pull off a #NoFilter selfie by using this product.
Remember the buzz orchestrated by Ellen’s Oscar selfie? Clearly targeted at tech-savvy young’uns, this camera-friendly complexion perfector isn’t new per se; instead, it’s a very clever reboot of one of Lancôme’s loveliest and longest-standing foundies.
What’s new? There’s the addition of three pearlescent pigments which promise to ramp up the radiance of your complexion by up to 25 percent. The French beauty brand says that this boost in brilliance will bolster your mien with a dewy “day” glow, even in the dead of night – sort of like having a steady stream of sunlight trained on your face 24/7.
And because this is Lancôme we’re talking about, expect a skin-comforting surge of moisture magnets said to proffer precisely 12 hours of hydration. Add a mattifying “miracle particle” that sops up to four times its weight in gunk and grease and bam! Quite possibly the foundie to beat this year.
WHY I LOVE IT: Hand to heart, this is the best tinted base out of the many makeup marvels lining the beauty aisles this season.
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. For starters, there’s what I like to call the cosmetics equivalent of gastronomic “mouthfeel”; that is, the almost sensuous way a product slips and slides on my skin. Teint Miracle more than passes muster on that front: Its souffle-soft, sumptuously spreadable consistency affords coverage that flirts on the edge of sheer and medium for almost-nude skin that’s mine, only better.
One gentle push of the hygienic pump dispenser is plenty for the whole face; two if you’re kiasu. While Lancôme doesn’t explicitly tout the prowess of Teint Miracle’s staying power, I’ve found that a dusting of translucent setting powder, sans primer, is all I need for it to stay put for a full workday.
UV protection-wise, the modest SPF 15 simply will not do for a vampire like me, but layering a sunscreen under my facepaint is de rigeur and par for the course, really. Also worth noting: Lumps and bumps will need attending to by a heavier-duty concealer (ditto for dark circles).
Minor quibble aside, what I really, really love about this foundie is the incredible incandescence it lends my skin – fabulously flattering if you’re gunning for the glimmering mermaid makeup look.
Indeed, I’ve found that the only other way to replicate this shall we say, je ne sais quoi (an epithet befitting the French brand!) is to mix equal parts of my regular foundation with a very popular highlighting pen from a rival Parisian house.
Quick note on application: Fingers are fine, but blending with a synthetic brush works best. Beauty bugbear: Please don’t drag the brush across your face as if you’re whitewashing a wall (one word: Wrinkles!)
Instead, pump your product onto the back of your non-dominant hand, then take the brush and use stippling motions to buff outwards – “stippling” being fancy vernacular for “dotting”. Use tissue paper to pat away the excess that tends to accumulate in the no-woman’s land between the temples and hairline, and you’re good to go.
Oh, and that filter-free business? Let’s just say I was using Teint Miracle when posing for a selfie with one of the coolest chicks in showbiz (Cate, cough, Blanchett) and my skin, if I dare say so myself, rivalled hers in clarity. Make of that what you will!
GET IT AT: Lancôme Teint Miracle Liquid Foundation, $66 each, is available in 11 Asian shades at all Lancôme counters. For more information, visit www.lancome.com.sg and follow Lancôme Singapore on Facebook and Instagram.