Recently I received the newly reformulated Clarins Everlasting Foundation, and I was very excited to get my hands on it. As a makeup artist who works mainly with special events and wedding scenarios, I'm always on the lookout for a high-performance long-lasting base makeup. I'm also well aware that many women love a fuller coverage. The challenge has always been finding one that wasn't thick and caky; Estee Lauder Double Wear, I'm looking at you. I'm familiar with the previous version of Everlasting and frankly, wasn't a fan. It was too heavy and chalky for me. Well, let me say that this new version is a vast improvement.
When I talk about great advancements in ingredients and formulation of cosmetics in recent years, and the value of splurging on the superior quality of a premium product, Clarins hits the nail on the head with this one.
I've been wearing Everlasting for four days in a row now. You could say I'm a little addicted... and I can confidently give it two thumbs way up!
I've been wearing Everlasting for four days in a row now. You could say I'm a little addicted... and I can confidently give it two thumbs way up!
Here's why I love it:
Packaging: A beautiful frosted glass bottle with a brushed gold top. I appreciate the brushed gold as it doesn't show fingerprints easily. It comes with a pump for a perfect dispensing of the product. I love the packaging, true to Clarins' high-quality French style.
Coverage: This isn't a wimpy foundation. I would call it full natural coverage that does not look obvious or caky. I can't stress enough how flawless it makes my skin look, yet it doesn't sit on top like a mask of makeup. One pump is great for daily natural wear. If you want more coverage, two pumps does the trick nicely without looking thick.
Feel: EF feels supple and beautiful on my skin. Not dry, tight, powdery or sticky. It seems to set itself but I applied a very sheer finish of translucent powder as I do to set all liquid or cream makeup. I didn't use a primer, just my Lise Watier Sunsmart Universel for UV protection. A bonus is that this has SPF 15 built in, but I'm prudent when it comes to UV protection. I applied it with Real Techniques buffing brush, one of my favourites for foundation. One of the ingredients is quinoa seed extract which is supposed to have moisturizing properties. It felt comfortable as I applied it and after it set, not tight or heavy as many full coverage long-wearing foundations do. It didn't feel greasy at all. Impressive.
Finish: This gives a radiant demi-matte finish, great for young to mature skin. It looks beautiful even over areas with pores and fine lines. This is coverage you can get up close and personal with, and - I can't laud this fact enough - still feel confident that you don't look like you have a cake-face. Super-impressive.
Wear: I applied EF at 9am and removed my makeup at 8pm and this really held up! My skin didn't get overly oily after a full day wearing this. I do get dewy as the day goes on (blame those Mediterranean genes) but there was no breakdown of the product around areas where I get oiler, on and around my nose, on my forehead. Coverage was still great right up until I removed my makeup. 18 hours is the claim. I don't plan on staying up that late but if I do, I'll be wearing this foundation!
Shade: I wore EF in the shade Honey, a beautiful luminous golden colour in the NC35 range (for MAC reference) or 128 in Make Up For Ever. I preferred this shade over either of those on my skin. It will get a tad light for me in the summer when I get tanned but there are 19 shades to choose from so no worries there. Even for multi-ethnic skin tones. Can I get a "hallelujah?!"
How it stacks up to its competition: This formula is as good as, if not superior to Dior Star and Nars Luminous Weightless Foundations, both highly regarded by me and other bloggers, in the long-wearing category with similar medium/full coverage. I found it incredibly light, breathable, with exceptional coverage. Yet the most impressive thing was how it was very easy to blend; there was no urgent need to get it worked in so quickly for fear it would start to set too soon. That was the worry with Dior Star and other long-wear foundations like Mac Pro-Longwear. And unlike Nars, which covered great and looked beautiful after working a fair bit to blend in, this buffed in with the brush easily and perfectly. No need to use fingers over areas around the nose or use the Beauty Blender for fear it looked thick. It just sits perfectly.
Overall, I would say the bar has been set at a new high in the long-wearing foundation category.
Overall, I would say the bar has been set at a new high in the long-wearing foundation category.
This photo is me wearing just one pump for a natural day look, 4 hours after application (no flash):
No comments:
Post a Comment