by Carlee Tibbs

Created on: October 13, 2010

"Teint Idole" is a liquid foundation manufactured by the premium make-up brand, Lancome. Lancome claims this foundation will last for up to 14 hours without needing retouching; that it is transfer resistant and will not "cake or look fake". Lancome also says that their Teint Idole foundation doesn't contain oil but that it contains "highly stable ColorKeeper pigments" - which means that it shouldn't appear oily or shiny by the end of the day or oxidise (go dark).

The packaging is pretty standard for Lancome; shiny silver "cardboard" houses the bottle and a little information leaflet. The bottle itself is very attractive and feels reassuringly heavy and expensive and it appears that it has been made out of frosted glass. Under the little semi-transparent lid at the top of the bottle, is a pump, which is great for getting "just the right amount" and thus minimising wastage.

After pumping some of the product onto the back of my hand, it looked worryingly watery and runny but after picking some up with my fingers, it felt quite creamy without being too thick.

To apply this product, I used a foundation brush. I picked up some of the product from the back of my hand and onto the brush and started sweeping it on my face. Because of how thin the formula looks, I expected the foundation on my skin to look very sheer and not really cover any of the areas I felt needed covering but I found that it covered those problematic areas very well and I ended up with an even looking complexion.
One of my big problem areas is my nose; I have combination skin and my nose manages to be both oily and dry. Although I moisturise and use a light exfoliant daily, foundation can quite often make the skin on my nose look like chicken skin. With Teint Idole, however, I had no such problems.
Another big problem area for me are the few small chicken pox scars and open pores I have on my face. Many foundations seem to highlight these dips in my skin by settling in them but I was very pleased to find that Teint Idole didn't do this.

After applying the foundation, I went about my day as normal. 12 hours after applying the foundation, it was time to remove it but first, I wanted to see how it had held up.
Because of the oiliness in my skin, many foundations - "oil free" or otherwise - oxidise (go darker) really badly. I wear a very good primer but this doesn't completely remove the problem. And so, when I looked in the mirror, I was expecting my make-up to be at least a shade or two darker than it was when I applied it some 12 hours before but I saw no change in shade. In addition to this, I was expecting it to have faded off in some areas or to have caked but no - my make-up looked exactly the same as it did when I first applied it.

Although this product is very expensive, it is well worth the money.

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