Wednesday 27 February 2013

Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation





Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation - £33

When Estee Lauder made the oh so silly decision to discontinue the lightest shade of their Double Wear foundation I felt a bit stuck. I've tried lots of foundations and theres still only a few select brands out there that make a shade light enough for me in a formula I like. As much as I sometimes complained about the matte finish & flash photography induced 'ghost face' that Double Wear delivered, it really was my favourite foundation. Nothing could compare to the shade, the coverage and the staying power of Double Wear. That was until I tried Laura Mercier's Silk Creme foundation. I'm a huge Laura Mercier fan and I used to love their Tinted Moisturiser when I was at school. Nowadays I like a bit more coverage due to my horrid freckles (nothing against freckles, I just don't like them on me!) so I was intrigued to try one of their proper foundations. I noticed Kate raving about Silk Creme and it looked lovely on her so I figured I would give it a go. I've been using this for a few months now and it has fast become a brilliant replacement for my beloved Double Wear.

Silk Creme is a medium to full coverage foundation with a luminous finish. As the name suggests it is a cream formula which means it blends out really nicely. It feels so soft and silky on the skin. It contains several silicones which add to that flawless polished look so it would be great for anyone with enlarged pores. Much like with a silicone based primer, it will help to fill in those areas and airbrush over them. It is highly pigmented so a tiny blob will cover your whole face. My favourite thing about this foundation is how radiant it makes my skin look. It boasts light-reflecting properties which add natural glowing highlights to your face without making it look greasy. Perfection.

I use the shade Soft Ivory which is the lightest available & a perfect match for me. First of all I love how well this colour balances out my skintone. My face was looking quite red and spotty before I applied my makeup this morning and now look at it! This is one of the areas in which Silk Creme is superior to Estee Lauder Double Wear as their old lightest shade Shell was fairly pink toned so it didn't completely eliminate my redness despite being a full coverage foundation. Soft Ivory is just as light coloured but its slightly more yellow toned. It matches up just as well but the extra yellowness really helps to even out my skin properly. I'm happy to report that it doesn't oxidise at all either so the colour in the tube will be the colour on your face. I've not concealed any of my blemishes other than with the foundation. I only used concealer & powder under my eyes so you can get a better idea of the glowing finish this gives to your skin.

When I first tried this foundation I used waaaay too much of it and it looked really streaky even after buffing it in for ages. I think the secret to this foundation is to use a really small amount and then build it up as you go. Lots of the reviews I read about this product suggested using the Real Techniques Buffing Brush to apply it. But I actually prefer to apply Silk Creme in the same way I used to apply Double Wear - with a damp Beautyblender sponge. It even suggests applying it with a sponge on the back of the tube. Silk Creme was designed to give a luminous finish but the Beautyblender actually adds to that effect further and really smooths it out to give a truly flawless glowing look to your skin. Another advantage of this foundation is that it doesn't contain any SPF so it photographs beautifully. Then its just up to you whether you apply a moisturiser with SPF or not. As Silk Creme is a medium to full coverage foundation it is possible to build it up or wear it a bit sheerer. I find that it covers my blemishes, redness and scarring perfectly but no matter how much I layer it I can't seem to completely eliminate my freckles which is where Double Wear really excelled.

I'm so pleased with how long this lasts on my skin and I can go a whole day without having to top up at all. Thats pretty much a dealbreaker for me when it comes to foundations, I want to be able to apply something once in the morning & be done with it. This just stays looking really fresh all day long. However its not entirely transfer resistant so for that reason I would suggest you make sure you set it properly, either with powder or something like Urban Decay's All Nighter Setting Spray. I prefer to use a spray as I don't want to lose that lovely luminous quality. I can't recommend trying out this foundation enough. It offers brilliant coverage but with a natural looking flawless finish. Isn't that what most of us want from a foundation? Don't let the price put you off because this really is a wonderful product and as you only need a tiny pea sized blob each time it will last for ages. Its well worth a cheeky trip to Space.NK!


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30 comments:

  1. I love Silk creme, and it looks lovely on you! xx

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    1. thank you :) such a gorgeous foundation, should've bought it years ago! xx

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  2. I love this foundation, too! I'd love it even more if it didn't broke me out :(

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    1. aww no! thats what happened to me with that ysl touche eclat foundation everyone loves. luckily my skin seems okay with this one though xx

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  3. I really liked this foundation as well I only wish it wasn't as expensive!

    Gillian from Glam Up Everyday x

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    1. yeah its gonna suck having to repurchase it! hopefully my tube will hold out for a few more months eek! xx

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  4. oooh this sounds great, I used doublewear and doublewear max on my scars but this would be great for work where I don't need such heavy coverage x

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    1. if you like double wear i'll think you'll love this too. it just covers everything other than freckles so would be ideal for you gem xx

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  5. Been toying with the idea of this for ages - I was matched to the same shade as you but it was out of stock, and they called me over a month later to say it'd come back haha, I'd re-bought my lancome by then! Definitely gonna give this a go soon though I tihnketh! xx

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    1. aw thats a shame, keep it in mind for the future though. so nice! xx

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  6. I so so wish they'd let you try samples of this! I'm a ghost and that colour looks perfect... but I've never tried such a full coverage foundation before! I will probably cave and get it one day though ;)
    Looks lovely on you, your skin is flawless in those shots xoxox

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    1. i think this colour would be great for you annabel! just get an empty pot & squeeze some out on the sly lol xx

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  7. This sounds really great for some people but I'm really worried that for the price it will not work on my skin. It looks fab on you though, wish you try samples first! xx

    www.charissarae.com

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    1. i'm sure you could sneak a tiny bit into a little pot ;) i think its probably best for people with normal/dry/combination skin, might be a bit iffy for oily skin but i'm sure a bit of powder would sort it out xx

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  8. Oh this looks so good on you that i'm going to have to give it a go, although 33 quid is a hell of a lot of money for a foundation. does it last all day?
    Poppy | far away

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    1. it does! but i use my clarins primer & urban decay setting spray with it to make doubly sure. its such a pain being this pale as i literally cannot use any drugstore foundation. otherwise i probably wouldn't be so inclined to shell out for expensive products such as this xx

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  9. Oh your skin really is glowing! I might go have a swatch to see if it'll blend into my face.. I really hate the conversion prices to euro though!

    Chloe - Very Lovely Stuff
    x

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  10. This sounds great! I always find it difficult to find foundation shades that match my skin tone. I'm definitely going to have to look into this one! It also looks amazing on you!

    www.beautythoughts38.blogspot.co.uk

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  11. I`m always surprised at how little I need of this -- if I go anywhere above pea-size, it ends up looking really mask-y. You definitely need something damp to apply this with, or in a pinch, I mix it with a tiny dot of face oil/moisturiser to help it blend out.

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  12. I bought this yesterday! I can never find drugstore foundations to match my colouring either, so I decided to try this because of all the great reviews. I didn't realise that soft ivory was the lightest, I bought creamy ivory but it luckily is a great match this time! I've used it for the first time today and I already love it! Your skin looks so lovely and flawless in the photos, great post :) xx

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  13. This looks amazing on you! I was so excited to try this, but after buying it and really disliking it, I ended up giving it away to my best friend - I'm so annoyed it didn't work for me :(! x
    fiveonecouture.blogspot.co.uk

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  14. Your makeup looks flawless! This foundation really does look amazing on you xx

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  15. I really want to try the silk creme :( you look so gorgeous

    A little bit Unique

    x


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  16. adore this foundation! x

    http://thebeautyvisual.blogspot.co.uk

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  17. You look gorgeous!! xx


    www.satinandsouffles.com
    www.satinandsouffles.com

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  18. Even more annoying with Estee Lauder is that they have kept the name of my shade (Fresco) but they have changed it's colour! Can't think what possessed them. Glad you have found an alternative, you look lovely :)
    Annie.x

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  19. love your eye make up, the colours blend in perfectly and look so flawless xo

    A
    xx
    http://epiquemoi.blogspot.com.au

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  20. Hi! I came across your blog looking for review of this foundation and how it looks during flash photography. Have you tried this out during a night out?? Hoe long does it stay on you?

    Thanks!

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  21. Hi! I came across your blog looking for review of this foundation and how it looks during flash photography. Have you tried this out during a night out?? Hoe long does it stay on you?

    Thanks!

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