****image credit goes to Nordstrom****
I know you probably all went "?" when you saw the title... a "sort of" review? What does that even mean?!
Well the reason why this is a sort-of review is because this is gonna be a very crude review... more like a one-day wear impression/review. I am not able to come up with a thorough review because this foundation did break me out. I noticed my face was itchy throughout the day, and had to tissue it off as soon as I got home. Then after I removed and cleansed my face properly I still felt itchy and noticed red little bumps along my jawline and a little bit on my cheeks. I treated my face immediately with active charcoal mask and some yogurt and next day I woke up to some dry patches along my jawline instead (which is a good thing by the way). There are still some red bumps on my cheeks but they don't bother me as much because they don't itch. My only concern now is the itchy patches on my chin. So luckily I only wore this for one day so it didn't get out of control, but with that said I'm not about to try and test out this foundation further. Luckily I did have time to snap some photograph the first day I tried it so hopefully that will give you some idea about the finish and texture! :)
So the Maestro foundation is very liquidy, and as most of you probably have heard, contains A TON of silicone. It actually reminds me of the Loreal Base Magique Transforming Smoothing Primer, except the Loreal primer is in a mousse form and GA is in liquid (and is a foundation obviously).
It's very watery. The MUA gave me a ton of sample now I don't know what I'm gonna do with it =T and excuse my chipped nail polish.
If you're familiar with Giorgio Armani, you will know that his foundation generally leans more orange than neutral. My shade is in 4.5, which is slightly orange on me but nothing too bad.
Can you tell the foundation accentuates lines/dryness a bit?
This picture captures the dryness much better. This is why after I initially swatched it at store I was no longer excited/eager to try this foundation anymore-- I was immediately put off by the texture. I usually look for something creamier.
From afar it doesn't look too bad, however I don't feel like it enhances the look of my skin either
I have to admit though, the Maestro foundation does perform a bit better after being applied to my face.
I don't have the before and after comparison because I thought I was gonna review this foundation more... so yeah.
I don't really understand why people keep saying YSL Touche Eclat is a sheer foundation and Maestro is not??? Because in my opinion Maestro doesn't have more coverage than YSL. In fact, I think YSL have more coverage than Maestro. I did use quite a bit to achieve this finish (on the website it says you're supposed to only need 1-2 drops... well I don't have the droplet dispenser but I do believe I had to use more than that to cover my redness. But this foundation is quite buildable I will give it that.
Anyway while I'm not really fond of this foundation (I feel like it makes my skin look dry especially around my nose). I want to say this foundation does minimize pores pretty well and gives that soft-focusing/blurred effect on the skin. It was hard to photograph these pictures because this foundation kept mis-focusing my camera XD
Overall effect. I look so serious LMAO. Looks pretty good in the pic but I just don't like it when I see the finish up close in person -_-"
And in terms of oil control... this foundation absolutely fails. With YSL Touche Eclat which is a dewy foundation I got 4-5 hours of wear without any noticeable shine. And I noticed oil seeping through within 30 minutes of wearing this foundation.
After about 8 hours
It held up reasonably well on my cheeks (normal skin), but you can obviously see the oil has broken through the foundation on my nose (so gross haha but just want to give you guys an idea how it holds up on combination skin). And you might notice the foundation has faded somewhat on my nose.
So I'm not fond of how this foundation wears either. When I get oily the oil doesn't meld in with the foundation, it kind of just sits there and is pretty noticeable. In conclusion, this foundation is definitely more suitable for those who have normal skin (dry skin might want to stay away as I do feel like it emphasizes dry/patchiness).
That concludes my "review" for the Maestro foundation. While this foundation is definitely a miss for me (it broke me out!!! T__T haven't had a reaction from a foundation in a while), I still encourage those who are interested to get a sample, and just try it out! I honestly think I'm the only person giving a negative review on this foundation orz... seek second opinion! Just because this foundation doesn't work for me, it doesn't mean it won't work for you!
I hope some of you found this review helpful! =) Have a great week guys!
<3 Frances
I've tried the YSL T.E. vs the Armani Maestro and in terms of coverage, Maestro definitely has more. I have very dark pigmentation (acne scarring) and Maestro definitely covered it a LOT more than the YSL touche eclat did, so I'm sort of confused why people are saying that the Maestro has "sheer" coverage...
ReplyDeletelol that's so funny! I guess it's just very different for everyone. Thanks for letting me know =P
DeleteInteresting! Full of silicones huh? Yikes! I've seen quite a few negative reviews so far but I like the dropper haha :D
ReplyDeleteHahaha that's funny because the dropper is a turn-off for me as well XD because I don't like air getting in and out of my products O_O I'm a pump-all-the-way girl xD
DeleteI totally agree with you. it happens with me too, it makes my skin so dry and so light coverage that it had to put another foundation on top of it. It was nice that it was just a sample i got. i think it's is not for me. I'm asian too so i don't know if it's cos of asian skin or what.. thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteAw I'm sorry that it didn't work out for you! (Although I'm secretly glad there are others disliking the foundation with me XD) Thanks for the input =D Not sure if it's an Asian thing bcuz I wanted to try this foundation because of Raeview from Youtube and she's Asian and she raved about this foundation (:
Delete"Asian skin"? Skin is skin regardless of the ethnicity. The only differentiation in skin is the oiliness.
Deletelol fair point well made. I think she's referring to how different ethnicities/types of skin can react differently to different products, like how Asian skincare/makeup usually work best for Asians that kind of thing :) for me it doesn't matter, if it works it works, if it doesn't then it doesn't LOL
DeleteHow did you apply the foundation to your face? I've read that since it's so fluid, brushes and sponges will soak everything up and lead to next to nothing coverage. I'm not sure if it's the angle of the photos, but the between the hand comparisons of Maestro and YSL T.E., it actually looks to me like Maestro has higher coverage because I can detect some veins in the YSL photo, but that's just me :P Anyway, thanks for the review. I was really curious about this foundation but also worried that it'd easily cause breakouts, which it seems to have done for you =/ Glad you were able to remedy those spots before they became serious. Regards.
ReplyDeleteI used my fingers because I was told that's the best way to apply it! I think I'm beginning to understand when ppl say GA has more coverage is because of how buildable it is?? You can just keep applying and it would blend right in, but you certainly can't do that with YSL TE lol. To me the hallmark of the amount of coverage a foundation provides is how little you need to achieve the same coverage. Maybe it's just different personal definition haha. You should get a sample! Best way to test out if a foundation is good for you without committing to a whole bottle :D
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