I purchased L'Oreal's Magic Nude ($12.95) last June, but then I gave birth to my son a few weeks later and I never got around to doing a review on it. Funny enough, I posted a quick blurb when I originally bought it, and that remains my #1 most popular post even today, which tells me that you guys are searching for reviews on this. So I really wanted to get this review out as quickly as possible! Let's take a look...
I think the packaging could use some improvement. The frosted glass bottle is pretty, but if this ever broke on my bathroom floor, I can just imagine thousands of tiny shards of glass everywhere, not to mention foundation. Also, there's no pump or dropper to dispense the product, so you have to pour it out. It gets messy and I always end up pouring out more than I want, which is a waste of product.
The Formula-
I love this formula- it's really unique. It has a silicone base that makes it feel like silk on the skin. It's super lightweight and once blended, it feels like you're wearing nothing at all. The name "liquid powder" made me worry since I have dry skin, but this doesn't cling to or accentuate my dry spots. It provides light coverage, but has a flawless finish, so I find it different than a tinted moisturizer or a BB Cream. It gives a satin finish rather than a dewy one and whatever this doesn't cover, I just use concealer over and my skin looks flawless.
Oily skins might not like this as much, because it does contain a lot of silicone and it might slide right off.
It comes in 12 shades, and although I have light skin, I'm usually not the palest shade, so I bought the second lightest shade, Classic Ivory 312. It looks darker than my skin when swatched, but when blended out, it matches pretty well. It has a yellow base, while my skin has pink undertones.
Here, I swatched it and you can see how it's already starting to melt into my skin.
Here, I blended it a little more and it's starting to disappear.
The bottle says to apply it with your fingers, which I do, but I've also had good results with Sonia Kashuk's flat top brush. Either way, you don't need a lot of product, a little goes a long way.
Ingredients-
Since L'Oreal owns Armani cosmetics, I thought that this might be a dupe for Armani's Maestro foundation, which is $64! I decided to compare the ingredients.
Both list sunscreen as the active ingredient, and Armani's Maestro has one additional sunscreen in their ingredient list below (Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate). I've color coded the ingredients to show you how similar these foundations are.
Formulas always list ingredients in order of quantity, so the first few ingredients make up the majority of the product, while the middle to end of the ingredient list is usually preservatives, fillers and fragrances. As you can see, both foundations have the same major ingredients in the same order!
Armani Maestro Ingredients: Dimethicone, Cyclohexasiloxane, Isododecane, Alcohol Denat, Vinyl Dimethicone/Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Phenyl Trimethicone, Acrylates/Polytrimethylsiloxymethacrylate Copolymer, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Nelumbium Speciosum Extract/Nelumbium Speciosum Flower Extract, Limonene, Synthetic Fluorphelogopite, Benzyl Salicylate, Benzyl Alcohol, Linalool, Propylene Carbonate, Caprilyic/Capric Triglyceride, Parfum / Fragrance, Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Citrus Aurantium Amara Flower Oil / Bitter Orange Flower Oil, Aqua / Water, Aluminum Hydroxide, Hexyl Cinnamal. May contain: Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides
Final Thoughts-
I've been using Magic Nude since the summer, and it's one of my favorite foundations ever. It feels so weightless and has a beautiful finish. I definitely recommend trying this one. I'll also add it as a dupe for Maestro on my Pinterest Dupes Board.
Has anyone tried this? What are your thoughts?
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