I was fortunate (unfortunate?) enough to find tester of the Giorgio Armani Maestro Glow Foundation ($64) and brought home Shade 4. The sales assistant's skin looked absolutely flawless and radiantly dewy, but I couldn't tell that he was wearing base product until unscrupulous inspection. I've heard of their original Maestro foundation being a flawless demi-matte finish but didn't want to bother with working it around flakes and dry spots.
There are nine total shades with a 0 mixer that's white and can be used as a primer/mixer. 4 is a cool yellow NC20-25, which is surprising since 4 in their Luminous Silk Foundation is NC20. Keep in mind that the color in the bottle is misleading (too dark and warm) in comparison to how the product looks when blended out.
Here is the product and shade description, courtesy of Nordstrom.com:
Maestro Glow is the first bi-phase foundation elixir that gives you the richest glow in the thinnest texture. The light, silky formula gives you an instant and lasting glow thanks to true skincare oils infused with pure pigments. These oils make the texture comfortable, easy to apply and nourishing for women with drier skin. Each drop perfects the complexion.
- Shade 0: pure white for brightening and highlighting.
- Shade 2: fair skin with warm undertones.
- Shade 4: light skin with neutral undertones.
- Shade 5: light skin with rosy undertones.
- Shade 5.5: medium skin with neutral undertones.
- Shade 6.25: medium skin with warm undertones.
- Shade 7: tan skin with neutral undertones.
- Shade 8: tan skin with warm undertones.
- Shade 11.75: deep skin with red undertones.
How to use: Shake the bottle before using to blend the oils and pigments. Mix it on the back of your hand to prepare for application. Apply with your fingertips over the face, from the center outward.
To be completely honest, I was not enamored with this foundation upon first use. Its sheer to light coverage and extreme luminosity (no glitter, mind you, just WOW DEWY) cannot take an entire day's wear without fading and sheering out completely on the skin.
The delicate glass bottle and rubber nipple pipette (hehe) makes it a strange experience to use this foundation but I found no trouble with dispensing product. Also worthy of note: use less than you think and blend the product in with a flat brush for more coverage.
Observe below, where I had been wearing the Maestro Glow for 3-4 hours without a primer or setting powder on top. I look like I blotted my nose with a pizza. However, the overall effect on the drier parts of my skin is softly radiant. Not bad.
When you set it down with a powder you lose a lot of the luminosity but in turn get a satin to matte finish that doesn't look flat on the skin. Therefore, I think those with combination skin (like me!) can make this foundation work.
If you REALLY want to make this budge proof, you can use a setting powder with even more oil control such as the Urban Decay Loose Powder (I use Medium Light) to set the entire face. The foundation eventually breaks through the oil after 6 hours of wear for me and I get a very natural skin finish with this method without looking insanely greasy or dry as a bone.
It's incredibly lightweight and doesn't sink into lines, pores, textural issues, anything! In fact, my skin looks plump as a pork bun.
I think that my IT Cosmetics OMG Foundation brush applies this perfectly. It's flat with some surface area to blend around the nose and prevents streaks as well. I find that this foundation performs best on freshly moisturized skin WITHOUT skin primer and you should use less than you think. It will cover redness but not dark spots.
There's SPF 30 inside the foundation! Not that it hurts or helps, but you may want to consider flash back issues for photography. This works better as an "every day" foundation, although $64 is STEEP AF and you can dilute it for further use with YOUR TEARS.
In the end, I started to realize the Maestro's flexibility of finish. It takes a little bit of experimentation to coax out its true potential, but this is a great foundation for those with dry to combination skin wanting a dewy finish with an air light (not greasy, not thick, not "moisturizing" feel.)
There are similar base products on the market this spring: Laura Mercier Candleglow Foundation is very similar but with less lasting power and Becca Aqua Luminous Perfecting, which has more coverage but less glow (more shimmer).
With that being said, I will not be picking up a darker shade for summer. However, I'm curious to see what toxic nuclear waste meltdown and/or miracle happens on my face if I wear this mixed in with their Luminous Silk.
xo Be
