Best Things in Beauty : foundation overview #16: Laura Mercier Silk Crème Foundation.

i've been testing the Laura Mercier Silk Crème Luminous Coverage Foundation over the past few months. i bought it on ebay for about 30$.
it comes in a opaque squeeze tube and contains 35ml. i chose the shade Cream Ivory.

it claims to give you "The ultimate in flawless natural coverage. Silk Crème Foundation is a beautiful, light-diffusing formula offering advanced light-reflection properties which cause fine lines and wrinkles to optically vanish. Laura created an innovative foundation that delivers flawless, buildable coverage in a long wearing rich hydrating base."

and i must say, i'm not very impressed.

Cream Ivory is a shade too light for me, i'm about NC22 in MAC right now. it might match NC15-20, with peachy undertones. i think i will only use it for the palest of pale days in winter times. but other than that i think that it doesn't feel lightweight at all, it's a rich, creamy texture and has a very high coverage that you must blend out and buff in well to avoid it looking mask-like. fortunately it spreads very nicely, i like to use a dense synthetic brush the best. but still, i find that it sits like a heavy cream on my face as if it contains a bit too much of titanium dioxide. it has a weird scent, too. like from fermenting fruits...
the finish isn't very luminous either, it's quite dull and semi-matte the first two hours after application and needs to emoliate with my skin's natural oils to become more satiny/glowy. it doesn't oxidize on me. i like that it sets dry to the touch and stays on quite well, even after 9 hours i still had good coverage and not so much shine. it does settle into fine lines a little bit when worn alone without a powder.
setted with the Translucent Setting Powder by Laura Mercier though, this makes the best oil-controlling combination i've tried so far.
i think it's quite nice for oily skin like mine, but i don't like the feeling at all. i might mix it with lighter foundations or with a serum...