My summer of sporting joviality is finally over!!!
What an amazing time serving my city and the nation as one of the Games Makers! Yesterday I spent most of the day in central London for the TeamGB and ParalympicGB Athletes Parade – joining thousands of other Games Makers, London ambassadors, the Police, The armed Forces and all of the other fantastic people who gave up their time to make London 2012 the success that it was!
So here is my first foundation review since May !!! It’s been a long time coming…but I hope it is worth the wait!
For my newest followers and subbies, here is the criteria I use when I review a foundation:
– 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 assess the marketing support for each product to see how well each brand represents the markets that they are targeting.
The Product and Colour match
YSL Beauty is known the world over for the cult highlighter Touche Éclat, which launched 2 shades for darker skins last year! Le Teint Touche Éclat foundation joined the family in June of this year.
The brand launched a sampling campaign and I was quick to pick up my 7 day sample! The packaging was SO cute!
However, as YSL Beauty is owned by the L’Oreal group, I have to admit that I was a little sceptical about the ‘novelty’ of this new foundation – was it just the same formulations as the Teint Idole Ultra 24H by Lancôme – which is also owned by L’Oreal – in different packaging??
I was very excited to see that the ranged boasted 22 shades vs. the 18 that the Lancôme range launched with – and I had high hopes that there would be an increased choice for women of colour, especially those with a darker skin tone…but alas, it wasn’t to be. Like the Lancôme range the new Le Teint Touche Éclat foundation only has 6 shades out of the 22 that suit women of colour, so the additional 4 shades that are part of the range are for lighter skin tones. 🙁
I was colour matched by the lovely sales assistant at the YSL counter in Persons in Enfield and was given the shade BD70.
According to the brand’s creative director of make-up, Lloyd Simmonds, Le Teint Touche Éclat is “..natural, feather-light, but with a touch of very Parisian, very Saint Laurent sophistication that beautifies the skin and makes the complexion expressive. I like to call it a dewy luminosity, as fresh as dew on the complexion – and definitely not shiny.”
…but would I see this difference?
Here you can see the YSL foundation (right) vs. the Teint Idole Ultra 24H by Lancôme (shade 13, Sienne).
The YSL product is much less red in tone than the Lancôme foundation (which I stated in my review was slightly too dark) and upon blending was virtually undetectable. I really do need foundations with more of a yellow undertone and this one is perfect! I was pleasantly surprised!
Colour Match score: 9/10
Coverage and Wear
The finish created by the YSL Le Teint Touche Éclat was also a pleasant surprise! The coverage is light to medium, so was insufficient to conceal my blemishes completely. I used a concealer to hide these imperfections, but upon application of the foundation I found that there was indeed the luminosity and brightening effect that the product claimed to produce – this is due to the absence of opaque powders. The quick drying formulation produces a slightly more matte finish than the Lancôme variant, thus I found that it lasted longer throughout the day. This foundation was perfect for those warm summer days that we enjoyed over the summer! I really did like it!
Coverage and Wear: 9/10
NB: I do wish these brands would launch matching concealers at the same time as launching foundations for darker skins – it is as if they are not thinking about all the needs of this consumer! hyperpigmentation is a key challenge and concealers are vital for many women of colour.
Marketing
Like its Lancôme counterpart, the YSL brand has big marketing budgets and can afford to spare no expense in promoting the products and building the brand image.
British beauty Jourdan Dunn appeared in the campaign for the foundation alongside Ginta Lapina.
All of the major glossy magazines carried the campaign images, and so it was evident that this new range was catering for women of all skin tones.
I went into store to collect my sample a few days before the official national launch date, and thus the model imagery was not yet on display, but again , the elegant pack shot imagery featured the lighter and darker shades.
Another stunning campaign from YSL Beauty and Team L’Oreal!
Marketing 10/10
Buy YSL Le Teint Touche Éclat Foundation here
You did a really good job on this review. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for reading!
First time reading your blog and I must say, you did a great job on this review. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much Rose!
xx
This is amongst one of the best foundations I have tried and I must say it is truly magnificent!! It makes the skin look absolutely gorgeous, people often think I am not wearing any makeup at all which is exactly the look i’m going for! I give this a full 10 out of 10 especially because the campaign to advertise this product has been exceptional and very visual in terms of letting us know they have colours in their range which may suit some people of our community. This review just confirms everything I felt when making the discovery.
Thanks for reading! It was a great campaign!