Most vampire-pale skinned cosmetics aficionados know that finding a match for your skintone is nigh impossible: most foundations are either too dark, too warm or too cool. I was color matched to N100 which means that my undertone leans neither yellow or pink but smack in the middle of the lightest color that Lancôme makes. On it’s own, Tient Idole blends beautifully into skin with medium-to-full coverage. It also leaves a matte finish--perfect for someone with combination-to-oily skin who’s looking for a kind of a “my skin but better” effect; or someone with dry skin who needs a liquid foundation that doesn’t cling to and accentuate dry patches. It’s also stellar for maturing skin since it doesn’t settle into pores or fine lines but instead glides over imperfections to slightly blur them. My skin swings wildly between combination to dry depending on the season, so finding a foundation that can accommodate my skin’s ever changing drama was a breakthrough: no other foundation that I’ve tried--from drug store to department store--has been able to achieve the results I got from Teint Idole.
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Packaging + Swatches
Top swatch: Unblended
Bottom swatch: Slightly blended |
As an everyday foundation, you can’t really get much better than this. I originally thought that because it was a department store product, I would have to shell out upwards of $60 (think Yves Saint Laurent’s Touche Éclait or Giorgio Armani’s Luminous Silk). But I was wrong. Happily wrong. Coming in at only $45.50, Teint Idole is one of the most reasonably priced department store foundations out there for the wear time, shade range and finish.
Then, we have Becca’s Shimmering Skin Perfector. I’m not gonna lie--I was a bit skeptical of luminizers on pale skin: I’m already so pale that I practically glow anyway by accident. But I received this product in the shade Opal as a sample (regular price is $41 from Sephora and Becca's website) and figured I might as well put my skepticism to the test.
When I first measured out a pea-size of the the Skin Perfector, I wasn’t sure that it was going to mix well into my foundation. It’s a medium-toned peach liquid with gold flecks and a slightly runny consistency. That alone did not bode well for mixing. The directions for wearing luminizers, though, are all different: some suggest to wear them alone as a base, or to strategically place it and wear it as a highlighter, or mix it in with foundation. I opted for the latter since I thought that it would give me the most subtle results despite my reservations about its ability to completely mix together.
I was completely blown away.
The peach luminizer absorbed into the foundation when I mixed them together and it left a beautiful glow on my skin that Tient Idole just didn’t give on its own. Even in artificial light, I could tell a difference between the typical matte results I usually get from Teint Idole and the amplified version that I achieved from adding the Skin Perfector.
In direct sunlight, the results are even better. Luminizers contain light-reflecting particles that bounce light off the skin which creates the illusion of a healthy glow. Basically: it’s science that looks like wizardry.
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Indoor Experiment Exhibit A: Me and my mother at graduation
Results: Glowy skin in indoor lighting without looking like an oil slick. |
I have a feeling I’ll be wearing these two together for a long time.
