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The official product claims “A weightless touch and long-lasting buildable coverage. Hydration and renewal provided by La Mer’s iconic skincare benefits seamlessly blended with healthy-looking colour, leaves your skin looking effortlessly radiant. Stays true – even in humidity.”
Who is it for?
Skin types: Marketed to all.
Ethos: Formulated Without Parabens, Phthalates, Sulfates
Packaging
This foundation came with a standard white La Mer cardboard box which I already discarded. The foundation itself is in a frosted glass bottle, a bit weighted and feels absolutely luxurious. It has a nice pump and each pump gives about half a pea size amount. My last bottle got a bit messy around the pump over time; also like most foundation in a glass bottle, it’s inevitable that you won’t be able to get every last drop out.
My experience
This is my second bottle, what can I say? I love this. There aren’t that many foundations I would repurchase, partly because there is always something newer and better that comes to the market. But La Mer got me, it’s the ultimate perfect foundation, for me at least. If this is in your price range then buy it! If you are even slightly interested, then go and grab a sample. I promise you you will not be disappointed.
Initially, when I got this foundation, my skin was really going through a phase of heightening sensitivity and I was really looking into the idea of foundation with added skincare benefits. This foundation was one of them I looked at. I managed to get a couple of samples so I could try out the shades and the formula.
Colour
I ended up with the shade Neutral (For reference roughly between Mac NC/NW 20-25), not pink nor yellow which is one of the reasons why I’m in love with this foundation. A lot of foundation out there don’t have neutral tone, they have cool/warm, pink/golden or yellow adding oxidisation you end up darker over the course of the day. This one has no visible oxidisation on me. You shouldn’t need to go down or up a shade when testing it out in-store. While it has SPF 20, it doesn’t cause any ghost-like flashbacks, so it photographs very well.
Formula
It’s very moisturising and sinks into the skin very quickly. Like most La Mer products, this includes the infamous Miracle Broth—the healing force that hydrates, energises, and soothes. This might not work for everyone but it certainly works wonders on my skin. As I mentioned, I was quite sensitive when I first started with this, I was also dealing with dehydration on my oily skin but this never clung onto dry patches or exaggerated them. When my skin isn’t dehydrated, this foundation isn’t so dewy that it’d be melty on my oily skin. When I remove my foundation after a whole day of wear, typically my face would appear calmer (comparing with other foundations I wear which some might either accentuate redness or cause a couple of tiny congestions). This is why I think this foundation is suitable for all skin types.
Coverage, Wear & Finish
It’s a buildable medium to full coverage, full enough to cover any redness but not too heavy that it feels it’s just weighing your skin down. Typically I do 2 pumps for the whole face, apply with foundation brushes (dense but fluffy and very short and dense) and that give me a medium to full coverage. The finish is very soft and natural, it’s definitely not matte nor dewy. On my dehydrated days, I would only focus on powdering my nose to set the foundation, other times I dust all over but very very lightly.
For a normal workday, I wear foundation from early morning to late evening, about 12 hours or so. I would get a bit of shine on my nose by mid-day but, for me, this is less than some other foundation I’ve used. By about 10 hours mark, I could see it’s starting to wear off slowly but very gracefully. I think if you are someone with good skin and only needs medium coverage, then the wearing off part won’t even be noticeable.
Scent
Yes, there’s a scent. You can’t miss it. It also does linger for a few minutes once on the face. If you are sensitive to smell or fragrance ingredients, then definitely try before you buy. I’m used to the scent now and also this has never caused me any irritations nor breakouts.
Price
£90/30ml
Available: UK (AllBeauty | HarveyNichols)*
La Mer – The Soft Fluid Long Wear Foundation SPF20 Ingredients
Ingredient Listing: Octinoxate 7.5% , Titanium Dioxide 1.9% Declustered Water (-)\Aqua\Eau De-Structuree (-) , Declustered Water (+)\Aqua\Eau De-Structuree (+) , Cyclopentasiloxane , Isododecane , Dimethicone , Phenyl Trimethicone , Butylene Glycol , Polysilicone-11 , Polymethyl Methacrylate , Coco-Caprylate/Caprate , Peg/Ppg-18/18 Dimethicone , Silica , Algae (Seaweed) Extract , Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil , Medicago Sativa (Alfalfa) Seed Powder , Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seedcake , Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Seed Meal , Eucalyptus Globulus (Eucalyptus) Leaf Oil , Sodium Gluconate , Copper Gluconate , Calcium Gluconate , Magnesium Gluconate , Zinc Gluconate , Tocopheryl Succinate , Niacin , Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Powder , Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate , Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Peel Extract , Chondrus Crispus (Carrageenan) Extract , Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract , Hordeum Vulgare (Barley) Extract\Extrait D’Orge , Molasses Extract\Saccharum Officinarum\Extrait De Melasse , Chlorella Vulgaris Extract , Gelidium Cartilagineum Extract , Corallina Officinalis Extract , Saccharomyces Lysate Extract , Silybum Marianum (Lady’S Thistle) Extract , Whey Protein\Lactis Protein\Proteine Du Petit-Lait , Laminaria Saccharina Extract , Codium Tomentosum Extract , Sucrose , Glycerin , Cholesterol , Eryngium Maritimum Extract , Laminaria Digitata Extract , Glycine Soja (Soybean) Protein , Acetyl Glucosamine , Caffeine , Sorbitol , Sigesbeckia Orientalis (St. Paul’S Wort) Extract , Tourmaline , Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 , Sodium Hyaluronate , Hexyl Laurate , Cetyl Peg/Ppg-10/1 Dimethicone , Disteardimonium Hectorite , C12-16 Alcohols , Magnesium Aluminum Silicate , Trehalose , Yeast Extract\Faex\Extrait De Levure , Dimethicone Silylate , Propylene Glycol Diethylhexanoate , Yeast Polysaccharides , Caprylyl Glycol , Triethyl Citrate , Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate , Palmitic Acid , Hydrogenated Lecithin , Methicone , Propylene Glycol Dicaprate , Tocopheryl Linoleate/Oleate , Sodium Chloride , Aluminum Hydroxide , Hexylene Glycol , Triethoxycaprylylsilane , Fragrance (Parfum) , Alcohol Denat. , Disodium Edta , Bht , Phenoxyethanol , [+/- Mica , Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891) , Iron Oxides (Ci 77492) , Iron Oxides (Ci 77491) , Iron Oxides (Ci 77499)