YSL Fusion Ink Foundation Review

There's been quite a bit of hype around the new YSL Fusion Ink or 'Le Teint Encre De Peau' Foundation. With Cara Delevingne on the ads, and YSL handing out free 7-day trial pots last week, it's gotten quite a lot of attention, but is it justified? I've been giving it a try this week so I can give you my thoughts amongst all of the fanfare.

So basically, it's very similar in consistency to both the Giorgio Armani Maestro and L'Oreal Paris Eau De Teint foundations (all three brands being under the L'Oreal umbrella, it's probably also made in the same labs...)


That aside, I have to say that this is probably my favourite of the three. Something about it seems more moisturising than the other two. It's incredibly light on the skin, yet has a lovely medium build-able coverage with a natural, semi-matte finish. Despite being semi-matte, it still manages to give you a definite 'glow'. I think this is a great foundation for those who want a light base for the day and a heavier one for the evening, but don't want to buy two different products. One layer is perfect for the daytime, two works well for the evening.

I apply this using a small stippling brush from Sephora, which I think it the best way. Blending it in with your fingers also works nicely, but I would avoid traditional 'paint brush' style foundation brushes.

YSL's claims for the foundation are pretty huge too, it's meant to last for 24 hours and not require a primer or powder. I'm not sure I agree with the 24 hours (who would leave it on for that long anyway?!) but this does have fantastic staying power on my skin, especially considering how light it feels. I didn't use a primer with this and it seemed to sit perfectly on the skin, but I did need to powder a little around my T-Zone in the afternoon.

There are 16 shades available, so a good selection to choose from in both neutral, warm and cool tones. (The bottle & swatches above are BD20, the shade I've used in the pictures below is B30)

1. No makeup, 2. Just foundation, 3. Full Makeup

Overall I was really impressed with this. I much prefer it to the touché éclat foundation (which has lighter coverage and doesn't last nearly as well as this). It's just launched in Debenhams, priced at £30.50, The nationwide launch is set for the 20th August. I know they've been giving out 7-day free trials of this all of last week, but I'm not sure if they are still available post-launch. It's worth asking, but if not, you can sample it on counter.

Has anyone else tried this yet? What do you think?!

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