I feel like over the years I just created a list of products in my head that are well liked and I have to try at some point. Giorgio Armani is really not an affordable brand so trying out their foundations wasn't looking too possible until now because I got one on a huge sale.
The Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation is like a staple in the beauty world. People love it and it has been the norm for glowy light coverage before the world even asked for it. So I was very excited to try it out. It's supposed to give you the perfect glow and flawless coverage with smoothing, brightening and all the good stuff. It uses Micro-filâ„¢ technology which helps to sculpt and brighten the skin. It's also supposed to be very lightweight, hydrating for the whole day thanks to glycerin and it is oil-free. It comes in 40 shades which is pretty impressive and it's also supposed to be a great bridal foundation. It's silk infused and promises medium buildable coverage. I have the shade 3. It retails for $44 but I got it for about $25.
It comes in a glass bottle with a pump which feels heavy and expensive and also hard to travel with. You get 30ml of product. On the first touch it doesn't feel any different from any other medium coverage glowy foundation. I like the finish, it does seem to be very nice and glowy. But the coverage looks more light to me than medium. It's supposed to be skin enhancing and you can absolutelly see your skin through with more glow.
That being said, glowy in this case doesn't mean glittery. There's no glitter in the formula. The shade matching was a little tricky because GA website doesn't have any shade descriptions. I found some on the US Sephora website and once I connected the shades to the available stock on sale...I figured shade 3 is the best for me. It is described as "very fair golden" which is not really how I would describe my skin but it was the closest available and I would say the shade match is pretty good. It is even better because the coverage is so light.
Wear test
I decided to apply the foundation with my favorite brush that never let's me down - IT Cosmetics Love Is The Foundation Brush. It went on a little streaky but I kind of felt like primer caused it. It was sitting a little weird on top of my skin because I decided to ruin my complexion the night before with a strong chemical exfoliant. That just happens sometimes.
Once I let the foundation sit for a minute it looked less streaky and more even but the coverage is very light. I really enjoy the luminous finish but it didn't cover up all of my redness and irritated patches of skin.
I applied cream bronzer and a cream blush to see how they work with the complexion and both went on quite alright. The blush is a little hard to master sometimes. I powdered my whole face and went on with powder products which worked really well too.
List of used products
Catrice Clean ID Pore Perfecting Primer
Essence Hello, Good Stuff Face Primer
Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Perfect Glow Flawless Foundation, shade 3
Rival Loves Me Skin Optimizer Under Eye Concealer, shade 01 Light Natural
Kiko Milano Mood Boost Perfecting Powder
Fenty Beauty Cheeks Out Freestyle Cream Bronzer, shade 03 Macchiatto
Made by Mitchell BLURSH, shade Dairy Queen
Wibo Aqua Mist Powder
Essence Make Me Brow Eyebrow Gel Mascara, shade 04 Ashy Brows
Nars Tinted Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base, shade Light
MMMMitchell x BeautyBay Me, Myself & MMMMitchell Palette
NYX Cake That! Powder Eyeliner, shade Black
Makeup Obsession x Tiffany So Kohl Kohl Eyeliner, shade Coctail
Maybelline Falsies Lash Lift Mascara, shade Extra Black
NikkieTutorials x Ofra Highlighter, shade Glazed Donut
Essence WANTED: Sunset Dreams Fading Bronzer
Essence WANTED: Sunset Dream Fading Blush
NYX Suede Matte Lip Liner, shade Acai You
Essence Extreme Shine Volume Lipgloss, shade 04 Purple Rain
Wear time 11 hours
So honestly I expected a little more from this foundation since it's so popular. It's completely gone on my chin, parts of my cheeks, nose and basically everywhere where a mask touched my face. That is to be partially expected but not in this extend. It's budging pretty badly between my eyebrows to be honest which is never a good sign. It is also rubbing off even in places where I didn't have the mask and it's almost like stuck in my pores without creating an even layer of coverage. It looks SO weird. I don't think I saw this happening in years.
I am not sure what to think yet and I am pretty sure we'll have to test this foundation out another day. There's a big chance that my messed up skin influenced the texture and overall longevity of this foundation so I'll have to give it another shot once my face recovers.
Final thoughts
This review is a great example of not trusting everything you hear online. My skin is quite dry and it's hardly ever effected by hydrating foundation in a bad way. They never get too hydrating or too slippery and they always hydrate the skin and stay on better because the skin isn't dry. Not in this case.
First, I don't think you can call a foundation hydrating because it has glycerin. My face didn't feel better hydrated when I was using this foundation, in fact there were some dry patches appearing after more hours of wear. It is way lighter coverage than it looks. The swatch does it too much justice but on the skin it's just not covering much which would be fine but the coverage is almost like a slightly tinted glowy primer. I am not that impressed by it. I quite like the finish but it doesn't seem to last well.
When I wear for more than 5 hours and I wear a mask at any point of the day the foundation just starts coming off in patches and looks just horrible. This has happened to me multiple times with different primers, different products on top of the foundation but it just doesn't last on me for some reason. I find it weirdly slippery and not hydrating enough at the same time. Also I am not impressed by almost any aspect of it because even the pretty finish can be achieved with different (more affordable) products.
If you're curious to see how this foundation is I would rush out and buy it. In fact, I would recommend going to the drugstore and getting the new L'Oreal True Match Nude Plumping Tinted Serum because I find them very similar in texture and finish. However, the L'Oreal tinted serum lasts a lot better and hydrates my skin a lot more. So there's a little better dupe recommendation for you.
Have you ever been let down by a luxury product? Let me know in the comments and thanks for reading!