The minute the Giorgio ArmaniMaestro Fusion Foundation ($66, available here) hit the market, the beauty world seemed to have lost its mind and it was for a good reason. It was truly one of the very few truly innovative product to hit the market – it was a step up in foundation technology. Giorgio Armani was responsible for introducing the world to the dry-oil texture and formulation and a whole slew of dupes followed shortly afterwards.
Despite the popularity of the Giorgio Armani Maestro Fusion Foundation and how every beauty-obsessed guru seems to love it, I actually waffled on it, and never ended up buying it until the last VIB Rouge sale. My first experience, thus, with the dry-oil formula was with the Dior Nude Air Foundation ($53, available here) which not was easier to match to my skin, but was a whole $13 cheaper!
I went through a whole period when I said I needed it because as a foundation junkie, it was a neccessary part of my beauty arsenal, and there were times when I told myself I could live without it. When Giorgio Armani started being carried at the Toronto Eaton Centre, I finally decided that I couldn’t really live without it.
By now, you’re already very familiar with the product aesthetics – from the dropper-style applicator, and very thin and liquid-like texture, this is probably one of the trickiest product I’ve ever worked with for my face. I bought shade #5, after seeing what a great match it was in-store (Mistake #1), and after reading multiple reviews which recommended either shade #5 or #5.5 for NC25-30 skintone.
With any self-adjusting technology and sheer coverage, I knew that it probably wouldn’t be something I would feel completely blown away by. The whole self-adjusting technology seems to mean that it takes a little bit of time for the product to adjust to your skin colour. That could mean you’re walking looking like an oompa loompa for the first 10 minutes. For some reason, I had a hard time making this work on my skintone compared to the Dior Nude Air Foundation. #5 was far too orange on my skintone and I just couldn’t get the product to look right. I had a hard time with the application and the fact that it seemed to highlight the uneven textures on my skin.
After hem and hawing, trying so many different different methods to make this work, I realized I just couldn’t justify throwing away that $66 for absolutely no result.
The Dupe
Immediately after the L’Oreal The Nude entered the market as the exact dupe of its more expensive sister, I knew it was another opportunity to give the dry oil formula another whirl. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), it seemed to be on clearout at Shoppers Drug Mart so I bought mine for only $10, almost half of what this product normally would cost me. That said, I found myself finding this dupe to work slightly better, with the only drawback being the shades are not very accurate. My colour ended up looking to pink and much darker than I would normally be comfortable be wearing.
The point that I wanted to share about comparing the two is that even though the product didn’t work for me, they are definitely great dupes for each other and you can have the utmost confidence that you won’t be wasting money on the L’Oreal one because L’Oreal (or rather their luxe line) actually owns Giorgio Armani among the many luxury beauty brands they also carry.
Now it’s your turn! Have you tried the Giorgio Armani Maestro Fusion foundation? As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts! Share with me comment section or through Twitter or Instagram!
Agreed – I just wished they didn’t discontinue it. I have been seeing it a lot on shelf despite the clearouts!
I’ve always wanted to try the Luminous Silk foundation but can’t bring myself to spend that much, thanks for sharing a dupe!