My friend had recently told me about her favourite foundation by Lancôme, Teint Idole Ultra 24 H. As we both have combination skin, I was glad to hear that there was a foundation that would stay consistent even for oily noses. Last month, I’d bought YSL Touche Éclat Illuminating Foundation SPF 19. It was more expensive than I’d liked it to be ($55?) but I loved how my face was glowing. Sadly (because it’s summer), I’d have to blot the T-zone later in the day to prevent my nose from looking like a shiny ornament.

I went online to read about Lancôme’s Idole only to realise that Lancôme carried quite a few foundations, their newest and most expensive being Visionnaire. So on Saturday, I stopped by the Bay to see what kind of Lancôme foundation would suit me. I was immediately recommended the new product, Teint Visionnaire. Visionnaire will supposedly transform your skin within 4 weeks, correcting wrinkles, pores and uneven skin. As my skin is in pretty good condition (only some break outs on the right side of my face), I was told that Idole would be too heavy for my skin. Furthermore, Idole is more matte, which I’d already noticed on my friend. (By the way, my friend had on Idole when we went skydiving and it stayed matte on her. I couldn’t tell she had makeup on. You couldn’t tell she had combo skin. Her foundation didn’t run. I was very impressed!)

I’ve tried quite a few liquid foundations now and have never found one that blended so well to my skin as Visionnaire did (actually, Vichy’s Normaderm Teint works quite well but is somewhat too sheer at times). You simply would not be able to tell that I had any foundation on. It was sheer enough but could even cover the acne on my right cheek. Not wanting to splurge right away on an expensive product only to discover that it would run, I asked if I might see how my skin would ‘behave’ for the next few hours. I was given a sample too which I ended up using from Monday on. When I’d first tried on the foundation, I had on La Base primer. I tried the foundation without a primer on Monday and it applied smoothly as if I had no foundation on. I noticed that the foundation did run a bit on my nose but not so obviously. My forehead was fine (amazing!). On Tuesday, I tried it on with Benefit’s Stay Flawless primer. That’s when I realised that the primer did not work for me after all. I could see the primer texture underneath. 😦 Today, I tried Benefit’s That Gal brightening primer to see if a liquid primer would work better. It certainly did.

Hoping not to miss the gift promotion, I went back to the Bay today to purchase the new foundation. To my surprise, I was given a free foundation brush with a sample size of Visionnaire corrector serum (total: $65 CAD), as well as the new gift bag (green tote with eyeshadow palette, makeup remover, brightener, and Génifique serum). Furthermore, I was introduced to the new product, DreamTone and received a sample. The next best part was receiving a $10 discount because I had enough Bay points. Hurrah! 😀

Lancome’s Teint Visionnaire with gift

By the way, the liquid foundation also comes with SPF 20! Since the shade I have is a match for my summer tan, this will clearly be my summer foundation. 🙂

Gift with purchase over $50 with tote

eyeshadow palette

If you are hesitant about the price tag, let me tell you why it’s worth it:

• Foundation is 30 ml. Like all or most foundations, I’ve noticed. Every jar is different and some look like there’s more product.
• It comes with a concealer. You can carry it with you for touch ups. The case comes off and has a compact mirror. Reminded me of Benefit’s Boi-ing.
• Both will be allowed on your carry-on bag when you travel! 😉
• You don’t have to spend money on two different products or brands. I wish I’d known about this 2-in1 product earlier!
• Liquid foundations has SPF 20.
• It’s $60 CAD before taxes but 56€ in France. It’s still cheaper to buy in Canada (I imagine it’s much cheaper in USA as usual). If you get free things and can earn points (at the Bay, for example), then why not? 😉

This is my best purchase to date!

At the moment, you can find Visionnaire at the Bay and London Drugs in Vancouver. I did not see it at Sephora in Pacific Centre, nor have I checked Murale.