L'Oreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder Foundation and Sleek Lagoon i-Divine Palette

L'Oreal's latest liquid foundation, Magic Nude Liquid Powder, is often described as being a dupe for Giorgio Armani's Maestro so naturally I was curious to try it. The American version was released earlier in June this year with 12 shades available while the European version (made in France) has just launched in the UK where it comes in only six shades, with different shade numbers.

I purchased the lightest shade 100 Porcelain from FeelUnique.com where it is £9.99 for 20ml (with free international shipping). Boots.com has it on introductory offer for just £6.99 at the moment. The name in Europe is also slight different - Nude Magique Eau de Teint. Both the US and European versions have SPF18 but the US version contains slightly more product (27ml). In Switzerland, the lightest shade available is 140.

List of ingredients below.

Described as L'Oreal's lightest foundation formula ever, Magic Nude has a watery texture that feels ultra lightweight on the skin. Given the dominance of silicones on the ingredient list, it is not surprising that the foundation transforms to a slightly slippery feel on the skin without feeling overly powdery. It is recommended to apply this with one's fingertips, and not a brush or sponge. It takes some effort to blend in to ensure that it does not pool in the pores.


100 Porcelain turned out to be a good match for my MAC NC20 skintone.

Despite being so watery, I was surprised to find that it does offer some light coverage and helps to even out my skintone. A separate concealer is still needed for darker spots and under eye circles though. I think this would be more suitable for the hot summer months, when one does not feel like wearing heavy makeup but still wants some coverage. Pic below taken under indoor lighting

Pic below taken near window in natural daylight

One flaw of Magic Nude was that it brought out dry patches on my cheeks and nose which were not visible before I applied it. It is definitely much more suitable for normal to oily skintypes and not ladies with dry skin. This was similar to the experience I had with a sample of Armani Maestro. You can see the dry patches in the close-up shot below. Strangely though, the foundation looked better after a few hours and the dry patches became much less obvious. I had to blot my T-zone after 3 hours, while my cheeks remained relatively shine-free, which was pretty good by my standards. There was also no caking or oxidisation after several hours of wear. Overall, I did like the light texture although it does not provide the most flawless finish. The affordable price tag certainly helps too if Maestro is out of your budget.

For this look, I used Sleek Lagoon i-Divine palette which was released as part of the Aqua collection back in March. Although it was limited edition, it can still be found easily on Ebay.

Lagoon contains mainly shimmery shades with a couple of mattes thrown in. Nothing super unique if you already have a huge stash of i-Divine palettes, but it's still a fun palette to play around with for creating colorful looks.