Review | Lancôme Teint Miracle Liquid Foundation

If you’ve been following me on Twitter, you’d know that I’ve been test-driving the new Lancôme Teint Miracle that Lancôme Singapore had given me to try. Formulated with bioptic pigments and a ‘liquid light essence’, Teint Miracle promises to deliver an aura of glowing skin. Here are my thoughts on this new-age foundation that is the fruit of optical research.

The Pros

• It goes on well

Its hydrating ingredients are evident at first swipe. Thanks to its moist feel and a nice emollience, it glides on the skin; blending evenly and effortlessly.

• It is light in texture

Light and smooth, it almost feels like second skin.

• It has buildable coverage

Despite its lightweight quality, it has buildable coverage and can minimise the appearance of my facial spots.

• It brightens my complexion

True to its word, Teint Miracle imparts a glow that is somewhat different from what I get with other base products. I’d pegged it as a refined radiance and yes, the glow is somewhat akin to a lit-from-within appearance, as promised by the brand. Ultimately, this is what I love about Teint Miracle and it is this that will tempt me to purchase a(nother) bottle.

• It is beautifully-packaged

The clear crystal cap embossed with a rose, together with the sturdy feel of the glass bottle, makes this one of the prettiest and classiest foundation bottles that I’ve seen in a while.

• It has a pump dispenser

I appreciate this feature very much because the pump dispenses the foundation easily and hygienically. I also like  how the pump structure keeps the foundation fresh.

The Cons

• It cakes a little

It can streak/cake a little, so blending and setting it well is important. I like that I can easily rectify this with a gentle swipe of the finger or a velour puff. I suspect this happens because of its unusually-high water content. Interestingly, I don’t oil up with this foundation until I’ve worn it for about six to seven hours.

• It’s a tad too fair for me

A quick glance at my photo below says it all. It will be difficult to use sunscreen with this shade too because of the inherent lightness. That said, this problem can be easily solved with a darker powder and gentle downward contouring on the jawline. For reference, I’m a MAC NC25 but I like to mix foundations to achieve the right tone.

The disparity isn’t very obvious in real life – friends have told me that it looks natural and didn’t discern the difference until I actually told them about it.

• It has a low SPF value

It contains SPF 16, an unusual number. If they were going to up the value from that of the US version (SPF 15), I wish they had made it higher, considering Asia’s sunny climes.

• It is somewhat pricey

Although I feel that S$65 isn’t terribly expensive for a good foundation such as this one, I’d admit that it is dearer than many foundations (as a comparison, MAC Studio Fix Fluid, also 30 ml, is S$47). On the other hand, there are several foundations out there that command a higher price too, so it really depends on the brands that you’re comparing this to, as well as the foundations’ efficacy.

As you can tell, this shade is too light for me – it doesn’t match my neck in tone and in shade.  However, I was able to mix it with O-04 (darker and yellower) and this combination works much better on me.

My eyebags are evident in the first photo (*boo* to ageing and the eyebag genes I received from my mummy!) . Thankfully, my glasses do a good job of obscuring them. In this second photo, I also have the foundation on; I definitely prefer how this photo turned out! :) I’ve been using this foundation exclusively since I received it – you can see more photos of me wearing it at the Teint Miracle press event, as well as at the MAC Fabulous Felines event.