Review| Dior Forever Flawless Foundation Perfection Wear Makeup in 031 Sand

As often as the world rages on with their love for high end foundation, I think they can be offensive nonetheless. High end brands tend to overload on fragrances, alcohol, and have terrible shade selections. At the same time, I believe in splurging on a foundation if it is perfect for you. Besides, my motto is complexion first, the rest will follow.

The weather here is rather hot in the day and balmy at night, so my poor skin is always confused as to whether it should tan and overproduce oil or stay dry and withered. Sigh. Right now I'm juggling several different finishes and shades of base products just because I tan too easily and mass produce oil every time the sun is around.

Dior Forever Flawless (for short) retails for 49 dollars. I bought mine off Sephora with a 10% discount since I had been eyeing it for a while but didn't have the nerve to spend so much.

Would I say it's worth $49 retail? Yes and no. Reasons?

1. There are many other mid-range foundations that already close in on 40 dollars yet will never deliver as this product does. To me, the closest equivalent would be MAC Studio Fix (but satin finish), NARS Sheer Glow (but more natural looking), and Covergirl 3-in-1 Outlast (but much lighter on the skin). If any of those work for you, you probably don't need this.

2. The packaging and experience is TDF. Shit is always more serious in frosted glass.

3. It really does make you look flawless for a very long time. I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing this every day (it's not obvious on the skin, just obviously too beautiful for human eyes) so it works as an investment for a "going out" base where you know lots of pictures will be taken.

Claims:  Dior claims that with its fancy technology the foundation can adapt to dry or oily skin, but I've heard repeatedly that this performs well for combo to slightly oily skin types who like medium to full coverage. This is a breath of fresh air from other high end brands who makes it a goal to produce very light coverage and dewy foundations that never last in the summer heat.

Color Range: There are twelve shades in the line which has a decent range, even if only two are truly olive/yellow. The rest take neutral, peach, yellow, and pink undertones into consideration. I picked up Sand 31 because I knew I would be tanner in the summer. I think Linen 21 would have been too light for my current shade hovering around NC30 to NC35 (depends on if I match my face or my chest.)

Keep in mind that for me, Sand went on around NC30 but oxidized to around NC35. This isn't a dealbreaker since it doesn't lean orange, but it does get darker than the packaging suggests.

Packaging: The frosted glass bottle contains a standard 1 fl oz of product. I like that there's a cap on top of a pump just in case, but it isn't the most travel-friendly container. That's ok, because it looks super fancy on my vanity. It's really in these details that drives up the pricing for luxury products.

Scent: You guessed it, this one has a very strong floral-alcohol scent that can be a little coying. It does fade after a minute, but those with sensitivity should avoid. I would say that it's even stronger than YSL Touche Éclat foundation.

Consistency: It is very "watery" and lightweight for a medium to full coverage foundation, meaning you can't feel it as much on the face as other full coverage products that are liquid. This is its strongest selling point in my opinion. I found that using my RT EFB yielded the best results, but the BB can also be used to sheer it down for daily wear.

Below are swatches of the foundation next to colors within its range. My inner arm in at about NC25. You'll see the other two foundations in the swatch pictures in a future review soon.

Overall, this foundation looks amazing and wears like steel. To me, the finish is satin or natural, not leaning too dewy or matte. I got around 8 hours of solid wear before noticing a little build-up around my nose (happens with every foundation for me) and some slight fading on the T-zone area. I am able to layer a finishing powder or mattifying powder with no worries of caking.

I can wear this foundation sans concealer, so it is a medium to full coverage for me. Those looking to cover hyperpigmentation will definitely need a separate concealer, while those who like a sheer finish may not find Dior Forever very natural on the skin. It's very flawless like the name suggests.  The best part is that I did not see any emphasis on pores or laugh lines, which often happens on me when I wear a fuller coverage foundation.

Do you think that a price point correlates directly to the effectiveness of a product, especially when it comes to base products? Or do you have great luck with drugstore foundations just the same?

xo Be