Guerlain Lingerie De Peau Nude Powder Foundation

 Dear reader, it’s done. After years of swearing by liquid foundations, I’m back to where it all started for me: power foundation. Gasp. Even I cannot believe it. Like so many Dutch/Belgian teens I started out with the Hema compact powder foundations. My (junior) high school friends and I loved them to death and hit pan one compact after another. All of that ended when I tried and discovered the magical natural-looking powers of a liquid foundation and I never looked back.

Oh yeah, there was this one powder foundation I gave a go during my (pre-blogging) liquid period: the L’Oréal True Match loose powder foundation, you know the one with the built-in brush. Enter major cake-face. Perhaps it was the powder, perhaps it was my naivety of using the same built-in brush, but that sure did not come out right and I swore off powders for good.

Then, a couple of months ago Guerlain introduced me to their new Lingerie De Peau Nude Powder Foundation compacts that promise moisture retention and a matte effect. I’ll admit I was intrigued by the popularity of the Lingerie De Peau series, but I wasn’t expecting much of a compact powder foundation. At first, I tried it on top of the Diorskin Star foundation (we get along soo much better now btw), as a finishing powder on days where a little more coverage was needed (aka breakout days, aka the shitty period of the month) and I quite liked the result. It didn’t take long after that until I tried it on it’s own and BOOM, I was sold.

The packaging is typically Guerlain; sleek, black, shiny, with the GG logo and embossed brand name on top. It closes magnetically (major love) and it has a big distortion-free mirror which makes application on-the-go super handy. It’s almost too pretty to sneak your way into the wash room to touch up.

If you have oily/combination skin and you’re looking for a lightweight foundation with a flawless matte finish, then look this way. Guardian’s Lingerie De Peau Nude Powder Foundation compact is a light-weight, finely milled powder that applies a bit powdery at first, but blends in beautifully with the skin while protecting it with SPF 20/PAA++-. I’m wearing 02 Light Beige / Beige Clair, which is a little bit too beige for my fair skin  (I’m so repetitive when I review foundations, sorry), but I can make it work. It does oxidize a little after a couple of hours, so keep that in mind that you definitely don’t pick a colour that’s darker than your own skin tone. And even if you’re familiar with the Lingerie De Peau liquid foundations, it’s best you get yourself matched because those colours are darker than those of the powders (even though they have the same shade name).

 The foundation comes with a sponge, something I hadn’t seen before since I’ve been out of the powder game for so long, but I apply it with my Real Techniques Powder Brush. One layer is enough to even out the skin tone and cover some minor blemishes or red scars and this is also how I’ll do it most of the time. On days where my skin needs a little more help (like now, see pic below) I added another layer. Please note I also used a green foundation stick underneath on the blemishes to cancel out the redness. Other than that, all points go to the Guerlain foundation. As for lasting power, this does a better job than any (liquid) foundation I own.

Pros:

– magnetic lock, big mirror, thin & light packaging
– easy to tuck into your handbag for touch-ups during the day (even when wearing liquid foundation)
– silky matte finish but doesn’t dry out or need extra help of matifying powders/ blotting papers
– longlasting
– lightweight but manages to even out the skin tone and cover blemishes to some degree
– blends in perfectly and natural looking

Cons:

– may accentuate dry patches (see: around the nose), can be fixed with heavier moisturizer & primer
– covers not all blemishes (I use my Maybelline Fit Me concealer underneath, not shown here)
– limited number of shades available (depends on where you live, only 6 in Belgium)
– doesn’t cover my pores without the help of primer
– slightly oxidation/darkening occurs after a couple of hours

UPDATE: ** The picture above doesn’t show the product in the best way possible. My skin has been rather dry because of the amount of anti-acne products I’ve been slapping on for the past week and we all know dry/dehydrated skin + powders isn’t the best combination. Therefore, I’ll try to reshoot it in one of the upcoming weeks to give you a better idea on how it performs on combination skin. **

In short: This is a product oily skin types with a hunger for a flawless matte finish & natural looking complexion will love. I’ll be on the lookout for my perfect match next time I visit a Guerlain counter (either here or abroad). I definitely hope they’ll release some more shades here.

Guerlain Lingerie De Peau Nude Powder Foundation compact (10g) – € 55 / $ 66 / £ 37,50.

What do you prefer? Liquid or powder foundations?
Let me know your faves in the comments!

Disclaimer: This post contains PR samples.