Product Review: Teint Idole Ultra 24H by Lancôme

A few posts ago I was enthusing about the newest foundation launches with shades for dark skin!

I will reviewing some of these new offerings over the course of the next few weeks, letting you know my thoughts based upon 3 criteria:

  • Colour Match – is it detectable?
  • Coverage and Wear – how does it perform during the day?
  • Marketing Support –   many woman of colour bemoan the fact that they are        underrepresented in the marketing and advertising of beauty products, and as a result conclude that these products are ‘not for them’.   I will assess the marketing support for each product to see how well each brand represents the markets that they are targeting.

I am a loyal MAC Studio Fix user and I have been wearing shade NW45 for years.  It  is a good match for me…just so you know what I am benchmarking the trial foundations against.

First up…

…Teint Idole Utra 24H by Lancôme

As I mentioned in my previous post, Skin Deep, Lancôme offered customers a 7 day trial of their newest  foundation.  From the adverts in the press I suspected that I would be shade 13 (Sienne)…and what do you know…I was right!

Lancôme describes the foundation as “an exceptional longwear formula featuring a unique heart-shaped flexible polymer for comfort…. in 18 shades to suit all skin tones from very pale to very dark.”

Interestingly, it was back in 2005 that Lancôme identified a need to extend its foundation colour palette.  Employees of the USA laboratories noticed they were not all able to find the right shade among those available on the market.  Too red, not dark enough, overly ash, not vibrant enough, too orangey…

Thus L’Oreal  (the parent company Lancôme belongs to) created what was dubbed the “Women of Color” association, and  these women decided to blend a shade range perfectly tailored to their specific needs with shades for every skin tone.

Lancôme soon committed to support “Women of Color” with the launch of an international study.  Using colorimetric measurements, 15,000 complexion colour points were observed on around 1,000 women. This international study gave rise to the shades unveiled in the Teint Idole Ultra 24H  range!

The new shades suitable for a darker skin tone include:

Shades 10 (Praline), 11 (Muscade), 12 (Ambre), 13 (Sienne), 14 (Brownie) range from sandy to more intense tones and these shades been developed for every mixed-race, South-American, Afro-American, Indian-American, Antillean or North-African complexion.  Shade 15 (Acajou), the darkest shade is designed for ebony-toned skin.

So that was the science…but what do I think??

Colour Match

Although Lancôme professes to have a shade for all, with only 6 shades for women with a darker skin tone,  I am not 100% convinced.

Sienne is a rich toffee colour with deep yellow undertones.

It did blend well to match my skin tone…however upon application to my face (with my fabulous BECCA foundation brush), it was slightly to dark…but I know that shade 12 would be to light, so unfortunately it was a mismatch for me.

Colour Match Score: 6/10

Coverage and Wear

The foundation provided a medium coverage, and was easy to apply.  If you do have any imperfections that require extra coverage (as I do!) you may need to use a concealer too.  The foundation has a subtle floral fragrance, which was surprising – but it was pleasant to inhale the fragrance as I applied the makeup.

It dries to give a velvety matte finish.  My skin tends to get shiny throughout the day, thus I was concerned that the liquid formulation would begin to slide, but I found that it wore well although I did need a little powder to take down the shine.  All in all I was very impressed!

Coverage and Wear score: 8/10

Marketing Support

Lancôme has backed the launch of  Teint Idole 24H with a heavyweight campaign which has been highly visible in store, outdoor, online and in the press.

 

Lancôme’s global HQ has done a fantastic job in communicating that this range is indeed for all women…and I was commenting to a friend just last week (yes…I am always talking about beauty!!), that I believe that this is the first major Lancôme campaign that DOES NOT feature a Caucasian woman!!  It is fronted by Tunisian beauty, Hanaa Ben Abdesslem and the stunning Arlenis Sosa.


 

A fabulous campaign!

Marketing Support score: 10/10

So there you have it!  All in all, if you can find your colour match, I would highly recommend this foundation!

7 comments for “Product Review: Teint Idole Ultra 24H by Lancôme

  1. February 23, 2012 at 4:02 pm

    Great review! I saw this on the side a bus yesterday and wondered what you would think and here I have it! Thanks for sharing your valuable insight. You know my skin, which shade do you think would suit me?

    • February 23, 2012 at 5:56 pm

      Thanks for your comment! I suggest that you visit a Lancome counter and get a match. You can then take away a sample! The offer is on until the end of March.

      🙂

  2. February 23, 2012 at 9:15 pm

    I tried this the other day and I have some reservations about staying power I’m going to be fair and give it another go as I did put it through its paces the day I tried it. The colour match for me was excellent. I really give Lancome a thumbs up for taking the steps to into the black skin market, though they should have done this a long time ago.

  3. March 2, 2012 at 8:15 pm

    Nice review, I’m really tempted to try this out, I’m use Mac mineralize powder during the day, and bobbi brown liquid foundation for nights out. Looking for a day foundation as feel like I need the extra coverage, so might have to check it out!

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