With warmer weather coming up soon, today I want to write up a thorough review on a product I've been using and liking during the summer for awhile now - Lancome Tient Idole Fresh Wear 18 HR Shine-Free Makeup, SPF 15 (amazon or Lancome USA). It's not a new product, but an old favorite.
The official blurb: "Experience 18 hours of coverage, while skin feels completely bare. This fluid foundation leaves skin looking fresh and flawless for 18-hour, shine-free perfection with a beautifully bare sensation. The feather-light formula with Lancôme’s Color Keeper™ Refining Complex instantly minimizes the look of pores and imperfections, while shine-control technology keeps skin comfortably matte for a full 18 hours, even under stress, humidity and perspiration. It simply feels too good to be makeup. SPF 15 offers protection against harmful UV rays. Ideal for normal to oily skin types."
The reason I chose to review this product is because I am pleasantly surprised how well it works for me and want to share my findings in case you may have ruled it out based on your skin type.
FOR SKIN TYPE
According to Lancome, this foundation is designed for Normal to Oily Skin types, but I have Dry to Very Dry skin and this foundation works very well for me as long as I apply moisturizer first, but who doesn't already do that? Usually long-lasting, matte foundations make my face feel tight and look cakey, but not Tient Idole Freshwear.
PACKAGING
This foundation comes in a squeezy tube with a twist on lid. The tube is 0.8 Fl. Oz.
PRICE
From $18.50 on Amazon for certain shades to $34 at Lancome.com and Sephora.
FINISH
Tient Idole Fresh Wear dries down to a matte, powdery finish. I find that if I use my normal (fairly rich) day cream underneath this foundation, it feels comfortable, looks good, and lasts all day. I don't mind the matte finish, since I can always add a shimmering primer or illuminator or highlighter if I really want to. It's kind of nice to have options and not be shimmery by default like so many products are anymore. I hate to complain, but shimmery is not the same as "dewy", and some products just make people look shiny and gross. But I digress...
WEAR
Lancome claims this foundation wears for 18 hours, and I admittedly have not put that claim to the test scientifically, but I can say that it lasts all day (8-10 hours) for me with no problem. It wears a bit harder when it's very humid and I'm a bit sweaty, but that's going to be true of any foundation. In spring and fall, this is flawless all day for me.
SHADES
I think the shade range is pretty good for this foundation, it has lots of very light to medium options and even a few darker caramel tones. For the very dark , though, there aren't really any options. *sadface* I do wish more lines had a better selection at the extreme ends of the scale, for the very light and the very dark.
Shades for Tient Idole Freshwear are broken up into three "intensities", and quite honestly, you'd have to ask the counter help at Lancome to explain them because they don't immediately make sense to me looking at them online. In Intensity I, for example, there are 3 shades: Ivoire 1C, Ivoire 2C, and Ivoire 4N.
I'm assuming "C" means "cool/pinkish", "W" means "warm/yellowish" and "N" means "neutral/neither yellow nor pink" with regard to the undertones. For those of you familiar with MAC, this is the *opposite* of how MAC labels their foundations, so just be aware of that.
Intensity II has 4 shades, ranging from Buff 2W to Buff 6W with two cool Buff shades in the middle.
Intensity III is the largest group with seven shades total. The shades range from Bisque 9 (W) as the darkest, to Bisque 0 (W), which is the shade I am currently using. It's a teensy bit too dark and too warm for me, but thinned out with a bit of moisturizer, it looks pretty good on my winter-pasty coloring right now and perks it up a little bit. I think if I wanted a perfect match, I would need something more like Ivoire 4N or maybe Buff 4C? Maybe it's just my computer, but the swatches on the website seem really terrible and nonintuitive - for example Buff 6W in Intensity II appears much darker than Bisque 6W in Intensity III. Like I mentioned earlier, it could just be that I don't understand what the intensity levels indicate, also. I'll look into that next time I'm near a counter and post an update on what I learn.
Intensity IV has 3 shades, all for darker skin tones in the caramel range: Suede 0N, Suede 1N, and Suede 2W.
None of the shades seemed terribly pink with the exception of perhaps Buff 5C and Bisque 2C. Most seemed more yellow based in the lighter tones and more orange as they got darker. KarlaSugar has some great swatches in this post.
COVERAGE
Light to medium. I've read elsewhere that it's buildable, but i haven't personally really had the need to build it up since it covers so well the first time. A lot of the time, I don't even use concealer with this foundation because it's unnecessary. I know that sounds like a lot of coverage, but I swear it looks like I've got nothing on!
TEXTURE
The texture is very lightweight and thin, almost watery, and the product needs a good shake before you use it each time. I really like how concentrated it is. It is $34 for 0.8 Fl Oz on the Lancome site, but a little bit goes a looong way. To do my entire face, I use about 3-4 drops. Seriously.
APPLICATION
I usually apply this foundation with my fingers. You could also use a damp sponge to sheer it out a bit, or even stippling brush, though I am concerned that using a brush would cause you to use a whole lot more product to get the same effect.
SPF
This foundation has SPF 15, which is a good start, but most dermatologists recommend wearing SPF 30 daily if you are concerned about sun exposure. But really, you shouldn't be relying on your foundation to provide all your sunscreen anyhow.
SUMMARY
I think this is a really good choice for hot/humid summer weather, especially if you have Normal to Oily skin. It may also work for you if you have Dry skin if you moisturize before application. It is not necessary to powder this foundation to set it, and you probably want to use blotting papers with it if you get oily breakthrough during the day rather than add powder to an already powdery finish. A little bit goes a long way, so don't let the price scare you. No special tools needed to apply well. Probably not the best choice for flash photography due to the SPF 15. Not a great choice if you have really dark skin.
Have questions or want to share your experience with this foundation or your favorites for summer wear? Please leave your comments below!
The reason I chose to review this product is because I am pleasantly surprised how well it works for me and want to share my findings in case you may have ruled it out based on your skin type.
FOR SKIN TYPE
According to Lancome, this foundation is designed for Normal to Oily Skin types, but I have Dry to Very Dry skin and this foundation works very well for me as long as I apply moisturizer first, but who doesn't already do that? Usually long-lasting, matte foundations make my face feel tight and look cakey, but not Tient Idole Freshwear.
PACKAGING
This foundation comes in a squeezy tube with a twist on lid. The tube is 0.8 Fl. Oz.
PRICE
From $18.50 on Amazon for certain shades to $34 at Lancome.com and Sephora.
FINISH
Tient Idole Fresh Wear dries down to a matte, powdery finish. I find that if I use my normal (fairly rich) day cream underneath this foundation, it feels comfortable, looks good, and lasts all day. I don't mind the matte finish, since I can always add a shimmering primer or illuminator or highlighter if I really want to. It's kind of nice to have options and not be shimmery by default like so many products are anymore. I hate to complain, but shimmery is not the same as "dewy", and some products just make people look shiny and gross. But I digress...
WEAR
Lancome claims this foundation wears for 18 hours, and I admittedly have not put that claim to the test scientifically, but I can say that it lasts all day (8-10 hours) for me with no problem. It wears a bit harder when it's very humid and I'm a bit sweaty, but that's going to be true of any foundation. In spring and fall, this is flawless all day for me.
SHADES
I think the shade range is pretty good for this foundation, it has lots of very light to medium options and even a few darker caramel tones. For the very dark , though, there aren't really any options. *sadface* I do wish more lines had a better selection at the extreme ends of the scale, for the very light and the very dark.
Shades for Tient Idole Freshwear are broken up into three "intensities", and quite honestly, you'd have to ask the counter help at Lancome to explain them because they don't immediately make sense to me looking at them online. In Intensity I, for example, there are 3 shades: Ivoire 1C, Ivoire 2C, and Ivoire 4N.
I'm assuming "C" means "cool/pinkish", "W" means "warm/yellowish" and "N" means "neutral/neither yellow nor pink" with regard to the undertones. For those of you familiar with MAC, this is the *opposite* of how MAC labels their foundations, so just be aware of that.
Intensity II has 4 shades, ranging from Buff 2W to Buff 6W with two cool Buff shades in the middle.
Intensity III is the largest group with seven shades total. The shades range from Bisque 9 (W) as the darkest, to Bisque 0 (W), which is the shade I am currently using. It's a teensy bit too dark and too warm for me, but thinned out with a bit of moisturizer, it looks pretty good on my winter-pasty coloring right now and perks it up a little bit. I think if I wanted a perfect match, I would need something more like Ivoire 4N or maybe Buff 4C? Maybe it's just my computer, but the swatches on the website seem really terrible and nonintuitive - for example Buff 6W in Intensity II appears much darker than Bisque 6W in Intensity III. Like I mentioned earlier, it could just be that I don't understand what the intensity levels indicate, also. I'll look into that next time I'm near a counter and post an update on what I learn.
Intensity IV has 3 shades, all for darker skin tones in the caramel range: Suede 0N, Suede 1N, and Suede 2W.
None of the shades seemed terribly pink with the exception of perhaps Buff 5C and Bisque 2C. Most seemed more yellow based in the lighter tones and more orange as they got darker. KarlaSugar has some great swatches in this post.
COVERAGE
Light to medium. I've read elsewhere that it's buildable, but i haven't personally really had the need to build it up since it covers so well the first time. A lot of the time, I don't even use concealer with this foundation because it's unnecessary. I know that sounds like a lot of coverage, but I swear it looks like I've got nothing on!
TEXTURE
The texture is very lightweight and thin, almost watery, and the product needs a good shake before you use it each time. I really like how concentrated it is. It is $34 for 0.8 Fl Oz on the Lancome site, but a little bit goes a looong way. To do my entire face, I use about 3-4 drops. Seriously.
APPLICATION
I usually apply this foundation with my fingers. You could also use a damp sponge to sheer it out a bit, or even stippling brush, though I am concerned that using a brush would cause you to use a whole lot more product to get the same effect.
SPF
This foundation has SPF 15, which is a good start, but most dermatologists recommend wearing SPF 30 daily if you are concerned about sun exposure. But really, you shouldn't be relying on your foundation to provide all your sunscreen anyhow.
SUMMARY
I think this is a really good choice for hot/humid summer weather, especially if you have Normal to Oily skin. It may also work for you if you have Dry skin if you moisturize before application. It is not necessary to powder this foundation to set it, and you probably want to use blotting papers with it if you get oily breakthrough during the day rather than add powder to an already powdery finish. A little bit goes a long way, so don't let the price scare you. No special tools needed to apply well. Probably not the best choice for flash photography due to the SPF 15. Not a great choice if you have really dark skin.
Have questions or want to share your experience with this foundation or your favorites for summer wear? Please leave your comments below!
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