You might have been hearing about L'Oreal MagicSmooth Souffle since the near year. It launched January of 2011 like Maybelline Fit Me, but was spotted in some stores a little earlier. The first time I came across this foundation was when I spotted Maybelline Fit Me and purchased it. It was something I was interested in purchasing, but with the close to $15 price tag, I decided to hold out until some reviews popped up for it. What's pretty cool is that the display for L'Oreal MagicSmooth Souffle has little samples that you can take for free to try it for yourself. Each display doesn't have very many, so I took one each time I went to a different drugstore. I accumulated four.. so I thought it would be a good time to try it out.
What I don't like about the sample is that for some reason, it isn't labeled what shade it is. The color is light/med neutral beige. The sample is the smallest smudge of product, that you wouldn't even be able to cover your chin with one packet. With a free sample, you'd expect at least a full face application.. but I can't complain, right? At least there are samples so you can at least test it and feel the consistency.
Swatched on my hand, the color is a little on the pink/orange side..
I knew that even the 4 packets weren't going to be enough for the type of coverage I'd want, so I decided only to apply it to half of my face and on the other half of my face apply Revlon Colorstay - mostly to compare the coverage and finish.
As you can see, the left side of my face is slightly shinier - or brighter than the right. Revlon Colorstay (for combination skin) gives me a satiny matte finish with a heavy medium coverage. The right side of my face is completely matte, and slightly dull. The dullness may be due to the incorrect color match though. The coverage I received from using 3 packets was a medium coverage (a light-medium). I have a few blemishes (you can't tell from the photo) and the redness from them peeked through.. but my overall skin tone was evened out. I'm sure if I had more product, the coverage would be buildable to a solid medium or a bit of a full coverage.
To apply the foundation I moisturized my face with Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel and then swirled the foundation into my face with my ELF Studio Duo Fibre Brush. I think the Duo Fibre is the appropriate brush for this type of foundation. I was actually happy with the coverage considering I used such a little amount of product. The only thing I didn't really care for was the very matte finish (I prefer satin or slightly dewy). Also, I wasn't very happy with the dullness my face had wearing this foundation. But, like I said it may be due to the incorrect shade. I wore the foundation for around 5 hours to see how it would hold up and my face didn't get oily at all, despite I didn't set it with a powder. Most of the foundation stayed in tact, but because I took a nap.. a little bit had disappeared. So, I can't really say how the lasting power is.
I actually do plan on purchasing the full size product, but only if it's on sale.
Have you tried this product or are you planning to?