Giorgio Armani Power Fabric Longwear High Coverage Foundation Spf 25 Foundation Review Shade 7.5 & 8

Right at the beginning of the launch Giorgio Armani were offering 2 shade samples of their latest foundation release, the Power Fabric Longwear High Coverage Foundation Spf 25. I was hoping to get shade 6 and 6.5 but they had already gone and the next best options for me were shades 7.5 and 8. I've tested the foundation a good few times and am ready to share my thoughts.

Picture and description taken from Giorgio Armani website

What Giorgio Armani say:

POWER FABRIC is a new liquid foundation that teams full coverage with a matte, lightweight second skin finish. 

POWER FABRIC is a concentration of oils with no greasy effect, which delivers a velvet matte finish. To achieve perfect full coverage foundation, powerful pigments were selected and then shaped to obtain extremely fine pigment particles with a quality of color beyond reproach.

POWER FABRIC combines full coverage with an ultra-light formula. Upon application, the texture melts into the skin, effectively blurring imperfections with an incredibly lightweight matte veil that feels like you're not wearing make-up at all. With a SPF 25 filter, power fabric offers effective daily UVA and UVB protection up to the promise of broad-spectrum SPF protection.

Because every woman is unique, POWER FABRIC foundation comes in 20 shades to suit all skin tones. The formula is adapted for each shade to deliver optimal coverage without cracking or dulling.

Coverage: 

✔ Full 

Skin type: 

✔ Sensitive 

✔ Normal 

✔ Dry 

✔ Combination

✔ Oily 

Finish: 

✔ Matte 

✔ Natural 

SPF: 

- SPF 25

Shade & Oxidisation:

The shades 7.5 (Tan Golden) and 8 (Tan Warm) are too neutral pink for my skin, I can just about get away with shade 7.5 but not shade 8, but neither are ideal. I've seen swatch comparisons of the Power Fabric in shade 6 (Medium Warm) next to the Luminous Silk Foundation in shade 6 (Golden Beige) (review here), which if you remember was a perfect match for me and they are quite different, Power Fabric shade 6 looks a lot more neutral warm. I'm curious as to how it looks on me compared to shade 7.5 but other than that I am disappointed that the shades don't run similar to the Luminous Silk range as the shade 6 in Luminous Silk was an impeccable match for my olive skin tone. 7.5 is actually the only shade in the medium range described as golden so I'm wondering if it's the only shade that'll work for me. Here's the link to the really helpful swatch post by the Beauty Professor. 

Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Stromboli, Power Fabric 7.5, Power Fabric 8

With regards to oxidisation, I haven't noticed any major oxidising to be honest, I mean the undertone and shade are already a little off so it's hard for me to notice any further changes, but I don't think there is a lot of change. I've done some swatches 5 minutes apart and it deepens a touch but it's not a lot.

Texture

The texture of the Power Fabric is a normal liquid foundation consistency, not too thick and not too runny. In comparison to the Luminous Silk it's a little more thicker but still fairly lightweight. This formula blends really effortlessly into the skin. I've used both brushes and sponges and have noticed the finish is a lot nicer with a sponge and surprisingly there isn't a lot of product absorption. Usually I like using a brush for thin-ish formulas but the finish is a lot smoother and flawless with a sponge. I would agree that this formula is best for combination skin types, it's not at all drying nor is it highly emollient, it's a very easy formula to work with, but I suggest anyone with oily skin use a mattifying primer as I don't agree that this is a very matte formula and I would also suggest that you start off with a flake free base as this can sit around dry patches, I would also say that this is an easily adaptable formula so you can tweak the finish with the appropriate skin prep etc. I've been using my Boots Time Delay Radiance Booster (mentioned here) and love how this foundation sits on my skin when using this as a primer, it blends smoother and looks smoother too.

N.B. This foundation kinda smells faintly like washing up liquid, kinda fresh and clean but it's not overpowering at all.

Finish

Giorgio Armani describe this as a matte foundation, which I kinda disagree with, it's more of a natural satin-matte finish or a matte finish with a glow, it's not dewy but the skin does bounce light off the face in areas. I actually adore the finish to this foundation, perhaps more than the Luminous Silk, it's quite radiant but not at all in a greasy way and it doesn't highlight all the texture on the skin the way Luminous Silk can do all whilst looking quite natural. It gives the skin a nice smooth and soft appearance, it fills the pores just enough and doesn't exaggerate texture too bad, though saying that my skins texture has improved a lot in the past couple of months (alhamdulillah). I would say you can easily achieve a undetectable finish with this foundation as it definitely has a second skin like finish.

Feel

This formula is very lightweight, it doesn't feel or look heavy whatsoever, it sinks in wonderfully into the skin and becomes one with it. It doesn't feel overly emollient or drying, it's a very very comfortable formula, even more comfortable than the Lancome Teint Idole Ultra (review here) and even more natural looking too. If you have oily skin I highly recommend you use a mattifying primer and set well as your oils may make the foundation feel heavier after a while but on myself (combination dehydrated skin) this sits and wears really comfortably and I can barely feel it on my skin. I would say this is quite hydrating too as even by the end of the day my skin doesn't feel dry nor does it look parched.

Coverage & Build-ability

The Power Fabric in my opinion offers medium to medium full coverage, not quite a full full coverage. Using little product you can achieve a decent amount of coverage so you know a little goes long way. I personally don't have a lot of marks or anything on my face to cover, just some typical Indian girl hyper pigmentation around my mouth and some darkness under the eyes,  I use a 5p dot on my forehead, a 5p dot on each cheek and the nose and 4x5p dots around a colour corrected mouth and I get decent amount of coverage, you can still vaguely see a couple of faint PIH on my cheeks peeking through so I've dabbed a little more foundation on and it's covered them well. It builds really well and doesn't cake up at all, it remains smooth and seamless. I've also tried building up coverage on my dark circles but it still doesn't quite cover them, so you'll probably need some concealer as well. I also use some concealer around my mouth for a little extra coverage there as it's my main problem area. 

Longevity

I actually adore the way this wears on my skin, it looks better and smoother as the hours go by. It doesn't separate or disintegrate on myself and it remains looking pretty and natural. It still looks like  the way it does when I first apply it, it really does move with the skin. I have quite prominent laugh lines and foundation can sink into them quite easily but I've noticed this foundation doesn't do that too much if at all, I've even had long naps with it on and have noticed very little wearing away, I've tested this with and without setting with powder and I'm quite impressed, without powder it does last a decent amount of time and I don't get hideously oily considering how radiant this is but it does and can transfer quite easily, if I needed this to last and stay in place I would definitely set with a light dusting of powder as I wouldn't want to compromise the pretty radiant finish too much. Definitely set with well if you have oily skin as I can imagine how oily the radiant finish will leave you after a few hours.

Overall Thoughts

I've actually come to adore this formula very much, it's a pity that they don't have a lovely olive golden shade for me as I think I like it more than the Luminous Silk Foundation. I would even say it's the updated better version of Luminous Silk, it offers more coverage, it's just as lightweight, it wears better and longer. Power Fabric is just slightly more matte, so Luminous Silk is better for those with slightly drier skin. The Power Fabric is such a comfortable and easy formula to use and you get such decent amount of coverage with such little product, I adore how this looks, feels and wears on me and really appreciate the thought and technology that has been put into this formula, you can really tell a difference with how foundation technology is advancing as time progresses. I want to get my hands on shades 6 and 6.5 to see if they're better matches for me compared to 7.5. Other than that apart from the premium price (£40) I don't have any other qualms with this foundation, it's probably my favourite matte foundation formula as of yet, it's been an absolute pleasure to sample and I'm happy the formula's worked really well for me.

Pros

- Very Lightweight

- Little goes a long way

- Medium - Medium Full Coverage

- Very comfortable on the skin

- Best for combination skin types

- Pretty smooth and soft finish on the skin

- Natural looking and second skin like

- Wears well on my skin

- Not drying

- Natural Satin - Matte finish

Cons

- Not ideal for very oily skin - will need good skin prep

- Can sit around dry patches

- Shade range isn't olive / yellow enough

- On the pricier premium range

- Not as full coverage as described