For as long as I can remember, my mom has always worn little to no makeup. When it comes to beauty products as a whole she’s quite the minimalist — sticking to basic face washing and petroleum jelly as a follow up. She even forwent having her makeup applied professionally for my wedding, adding just a touch of foundation to targeted areas and otherwise telling me that it was just “too hot to put makeup underneath a face mask.”
So I was a little surprised when she agreed to experiment with the L’Oréal Paris Age Perfect 4-in-1 Tinted Face Balm Foundation. Curious about how it would offer coverage on my thirty-something, acne-prone, dry-to-combination skin versus her dry, mature, sixty-something complexion, I asked her to give it a try with me. So on Mother’s Day, we crowded my little bathroom, put on some Afro beats and played with the tinted face balm to see how it performs — the results were beyond impressive.
Before we get into how this balm foundation worked on our skin with different needs and maturity levels, let's take a look at what this incredible drugstore foundation has to offer.
This creamy lightweight foundation offers light to medium coverage. Made with a firming serum, it melts into the skin for a smooth, radiant finish that wears comfortably throughout the day. It’s dermatologist tested and even suitable for sensitive skin, plus it won’t clog pores — so the blemish-prone can rest-assured. You can blend it onto the skin with your fingers, a foundation brush or a makeup blender, like the L’Oréal Paris Infallible Blend Artist Foundation Blender.
Another skin care-meets-makeup multitasker, this foundation offers four unique benefits for the wearer. Instantly, it does the expected in concealing imperfections and evening out the look of your skin tone. But over time, it helps to firm your visage (thank you very much firming serum!) and smooth lines and wrinkles.
Both my mom and I lean into more natural coverage so this is the perfect pick for us. I love that I don’t need a lot of the foundation to give me exactly the look that I want. I mixed the shades deep 10 and medium 20 to match my freshly tanned skin. Because it feels so smooth on my fingers I felt really comfortable applying this with my hands — something I almost never do anymore just to avoid the mess and clean up.
I like that this gave me an even skin tone but still let a little of my hyperpigmentation come through with just one layer — which was the goal. I always want my skin to look like skin, and it did just that. Later that evening while on a virtual call with my sister she said my skin looked amazing. She assumed it was from my recent vacation but I knew that it was really my new favorite foundation balm. I also love that the smell is so subtle and light — as someone who is super sensitive to smells this is an important feature for any product that’s going to sit on my face all day.
I like the way [the foundation] blends in with my natural skin tone and the way it hides my blemishes. It feels really light and natural — it doesn’t have that heavy or greasy feel like other foundations. It’s very soft on my skin and it doesn’t transfer when I touch it. Some foundations get all over your clothes but this one stays where you put it. It makes me look younger and when you look younger you feel younger!
Editor’s tip: My mom dotted the foundation onto her face with her fingers and then I blended it into her face using a damp makeup blender. I also filled in her brows using the L’Oréal Paris Brow Stylist Definer Waterproof Eyebrow Mechanical Pencil and tightlined her eyes with the L’Oréal Paris Age Perfect Makeup Satin Glide Eyeliner with Mineral Pigments.
Anytime I can share a product with my mom, it’s a winner. We have very different tastes, very different needs and different processes for achieving our looks. It’s refreshing to find a product that you can use and love in your thirties, but also know that it’ll still hold up as your skin ages well into your sixties (and beyond).
Not only did this foundation allow us an opportunity to bond over beauty (with coffees in hand), but it helped my mother discover a great foundation for mature skin that she otherwise may not have tried. She texted me days later to say that she wore it (with the brow pencil and eyeliner) to a brunch with friends. I’m excited to use this foundation balm throughout the summer because it has that lightweight feel and finish that I love, but I’m even more excited that my favorite gal loves it too.
Next: 6 Pro Tips for Applying Makeup On Mature Skin
Written and photographed by: Shalwah Evans
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