Armani Beauty Foundations

Where I got it

A number of years ago I tried the Armani Maestro foundation and really loved it. However, as new products and brands come into the market, I started trying other things out. Maestro foundation was a super lightweight liquid foundation that is more like a serum foundation with sheer to medium coverage. However, if we want to talk about Armani’s best-selling foundations, it has got to be their Luminous Silk and Power Fabric (now Power Fabric+ is the updated formula). This time, I picked up both of these because they both sound very appealing. During AfterPay Day in August, I picked up both these foundations via Adorebeauty because they had 20% off which was quite a good deal (plus, not many places are stocking the new Power Fabric+). Otherwise, you can get these at Smith & Caughey’s online and in-store if you are in New Zealand. Otherwise, Armani beauty should be available in a lot of other countries.

Adore Beauty stocks the Luminous Silk and Power Fabric+ foundation as well as the Power Fabric Concealer for a total of $220. The foundations are usually $118 each, the concealer is $73. After a 20% discount, the foundations came down to $84 each and the concealer came down to $52.

What I got

The 3 items I bought were the Luminous Silk foundation in shade 4.5 (30ml), Power Fabric+ foundation (30ml) also in shade 4.5, and the Power Fabric concealer in shade 03 (7ml). The Giorgio Armani makeup look is all about natural perfection that still looks real, and that is blended, layered, and tailored to perfection. With flawless complexions that never look made-up, Armani believes that you should notice the person, not what they are wearing, and this philosophy extends from textiles to cosmetics.

Luminous Silk foundation (shade 4.5). Reveal your inner light with Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation. This cult classic is weightless on the skin, while imparting a flawless, lit-from-within glow. Created by renowned makeup artist Pat McGrath and inspired by charmeuse silk, a luxurious fabric known for its lustrous finish, the formula of this foundation has remained unchanged since it was launched over 15 years ago. Containing Giorgio Armani’s exclusive Micro-fil technology, this liquid foundation seamlessly applies and blends to skin. Micro-fil technology micronises each pigment and ingredient before the final blending and milling process, for a smooth finish that sculpts and brightens the face. Imperfections are gently blurred and texture is smoothed, for a light-infused finish and that Armani glow. Radiant and silky, Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation offers light to medium coverage that is easily buildable, and is ideal for all skin types. Best applied with a brush or fingers, apply over Luminous Silk Hydration Primer for an enhanced finish and feel.

Ingredients: Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Glycerin, Isododecane, Alcohol, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Cetyl Peg/Ppg-10/1 Dimethicone, Hexyl Laurate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Phenoxyethanol, Acetylated Glycol Stearate, Magnesium Sulfate, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Tristearin, Cellulose Gum, Nylon-12, Limonene, Benzyl Salicylate, Linalool, Diphenyl Dimethicone, Acrylates Copolymer, Fragrance, Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Methylparaben, Butylparaben, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Aluminum Hydroxide, Hexyl Cinnamal. May Contain: CI 77891/Titanium Dioxide, CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 77491/Iron Oxides, CI 77007/Ultramarines, Mica.

Power Fabric+ foundation (shade 4.5). Giorgio Armani Power Fabric+ Foundation combines full coverage with a lightweight texture, for a matte yet radiant finish and flawless hold. Comfortable to wear on the skin all day long, Armani Power Fabric Foundation has a second skin finish while easily covering imperfections. With a unique formulation consisting of intense pigments blended into a concentration of oils, this liquid foundation melts into skin for a lightweight, matte veil that feels invisible and never greasy. Imperfections and texture and blurred and smoothed, for skin that looks flawless but feels makeup-free. Best suited to normal to oily skin types, Giorgio Armani Longwear High Cover Foundation features a matte finish, and applies and blends on the skin seamlessly for a weightless feel. With SPF 20, skin is protected from the harsh effects of UVA and UVB rays. Giorgio Armani Power Fabric Foundation wears all day and holds up in all circumstances, giving everyone the confidence to go about their day.

Ingredients: Cyclohexasiloxane, Water, Dimethicone, Vinyl Dimethicone/Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Propanediol, Alcohol Denat, Butylene Glycol, Phenyl Trimethicone, Cetyl Peg/Ppg-10/1 Dimethicone, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Tocopherol, Phenoxyethanol, Magnesium Sulfate, Peg/Ppg-18/6 Dimethicone, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Limonene, Benzyl Salicylate, Benzyl Alcohol, Linalool, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-di-t-butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Isobutane, Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Bht, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Aluminum Hydroxide, Hexyl Cinnamal, Fragrance, Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide.

Power Fabric Concealer (shade 03). Perfect your complexion with Giorgio Armani Power Fabric Concealer. This highly blendable liquid concealer minimises dark circles, redness, blemishes, and other imperfections, for a flawless finish.

Ingredients: Aqua/Water, Undecane, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Tridecane, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Pentylene Glycol, Cetyl Peg/Ppg-10/1 Dimethicone, Hexyl Laurate, Magnesium Sulfate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Tocopherol, Acetylated Glycol Stearate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Trihydroxystearin, Cellulose Gum, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil/Sunflower Seed Oil, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Isobutane, Acrylonitrile/Methyl Methacrylate/Vinylidene Chloride, Copolymer, Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Aluminum Hydroxide; May Contain: Ci 77891/Titanium Dioxide, I 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499/Iron Oxides.

How I find it

I unboxed these goodies on my IG story the other day and started testing the shades and textures. From the frosted bottle, I can already tell there is a slight difference in shade between the PF+ and LS. Let’s have a look at the concealer first, because that one looks way too pale even from the tube. Initially, I wanted to get shade 4, but it was sold out, so I thought I could go for a brightening concealer and go 1.5 shade lighter, but that jump proves to be way too much. It is very fair and I’m not sure if I could make it work.

Let’s have a look at the foundations. The PF+ and LS are both shade 4.5 and I picked this shade because I shade-matched myself at Smith & Caughey’s in Auckland CBD last month with Power Fabric (old formula). So I figured I would be the same in the LS and the reformulated PF+. I’m not too far off but when I tested the LS in shade 4.5, it looked more neutral and the PF+ has a warmer undertone. You can see in the swatch photo below. However, the skin on my face is slightly more yellow and darker than the inside of my wrists, so I need to try it on my face before I give my full opinion on it.

The Luminous Silk foundation claims to provide a luminous finish, feels weightless on the skin and light to medium coverage. It is buildable and best applied with fingers or a sponge. Oil-free and non-comedogenic as well. I applied the foundation with a dense, flat-top kabuki brush. I like to pump the foundation on the back of my hand and then dot it on my face focusing on the center area, and working outwards. I used about 1 and a half pumps for the entire face and I would just build up if I need more coverage. The first time I used this, I did not use a primer or a concealer to see how it works on my skin and how it wears. The foundation is applied easily and blends seamlessly on the skin. It does leave a slightly luminous finish, but I do like to add a translucent powder to set my foundation, just for the sake of longevity.

During the day, my foundation looks nice and after a few hours, oils on my face comes through and it still looked quite nice – dewier. It did rub off quite a bit on my face which I only wore for maybe 30 minutes. After a whole day (about 8 hours, and about 1 hour of wearing my mask), some areas have been rubbed off but on my forehead, the foundation still looks pretty good.

The Power Fabric+ foundation claims to provide a matte, long-wear finish, and full coverage but is comfortable to wear. Best suited to normal to oily skin. SPF20 sun protection. This foundation is obviously different to the Luminous Silk that it gives higher coverage and with a velvet-like matte finish. Not like a cakey and dry matte finish, but very skin-like smooth finish. I was quite impressed. However, if you have even the slightest patch of dry or flakey skin, you really should avoid this. Even though I have combination oil skin, I think having dry and flakey patches where foundation doesn’t sit well is more of a concern for me than my natural oils coming through and melting some of the foundation.

Therefore I love to wear this foundation when my skin barrier is in good health, but I just need long-wearing foundation that would last for a good few hours. I make sure I use a good hydrating and moisturising base before my foundation so that foundation adheres well. Otherwise I don’t need to powder over this foundation and I just apply a nice cream blush and highlighter to give my face some colour and extra dimension.

I chose the Power Fabric concealer over the Luminous Silk concealer because when I reach for a concealer, I want coverage. If I want sheer coverage, I would have reached for a foundation and applied that my entire face. So I decided to go for a full-coverage concealer (Power Fabric) over the sheer/medium coverage concealer (Luminous Silk). I had no idea what shade I would be, so I tried the “Findation colour match” tool on Adore Beauty and I was matched to shade 04. However, that was out of stock so I went for shade 03 hoping that it would be close, only slightly brightening. But it was at least 2 shades lighter than my usual skin tone and I am not used such a light concealer.

Anyway, I tried the concealer on my dark circles mainly, and on the sides of my mouth where I want more light to catch. I would not use this on my blemishes to draw attention. I like to use concealer on a very light hand and under foundation so I can blend everything in with my correct foundation shade. I prefer using a flat top small kabuki brush to blend the product out and apply a light dusting of loose powder to set and prevent creasing. Then I apply my foundation and use whatever is left on the brush to blend everything in. If needed, I lightly powder again over the foundation. This helps my concealer from creasing, but it happens anyway that’s just the way my eye area is like, you really can’t prevent creasing if you have a fold under your eyes.

Overall

I think I have rambled on way too much in this post, but in conclusion, I love both of these foundations for different reasons. Luminous Silk give a really beautiful finish and the wear is super comfortable. Power Fabric is perfect medium coverage foundation for combination to oily skin. It leaves a semi-matte finish that looks really skin-like. It is also longer wearing than Luminous Silk. The Power Fabric concealer is also a long-wearing, high coverage concealer, but I would say it is not the best if the skin around your eye is dry. This can be applied lightly or heavier to acheive medium to full coverage.