When I first received the new L’Oreal True Match Genius 4in1 Compact Foundation, I was completely expecting it to be one of those quite dense powder formulas that had a slight creaminess, do you know the ones I mean? But actually this is a lovely cream formula that has a velvet finish, so it isn’t the dry-fest I was expecting!
The L’Oreal True Match Genius 4in1 Compact Foundation is available in six shades, most of which are suited to the pale-to-medium end of the spectrum. There’s a good mix of cool, warm and neutral, and the palest shade – Linen (1.5N) is almost a perfect match for me; if it were just the tiniest bit paler it would be absolutely spot-on!
The L’Oreal True Match Genius 4in1 Compact Foundation joins the existing true match family, and whilst I don’t want to detract attention from the newest member, I was also sent the powder blusher in the Rosewood shade which is absolutely gorgeous! There are so many products in the True Match line (whatever happened to that compact with the roller applicator? That was awesome!) and above you can see a couple of the True Match Foundations, the True Match Powder, and the aforementioned True Match Blusher.
As the name implies, the L’Oreal True Match Genius 4in1 Compact Foundation is a bit of a multi-tasker, as it’s a primer, foundation, concealer and powder in one. I can kind of see that, as it’s certainly a very good foundation that can be built up for concealer-like coverage, the velvet finish performs the task of a powder (no blotting was needed on the days I trialled this) and I’d say this is one of the longest lasting foundations I’ve tried in a while, as usually the redness on my chin and cheeks starts breaking through after a few hours, but this didn’t happen with this, so clearly the primer element is keeping everything stuck in place!
The current line-up of the six shades are, from left to right, Linen (1.5N), Rose Vanilla (lost the label so not sure of the tone-leaning, sorry!), Beige Rose (3C), Golden Beige (3W), Beige (4N) and Sand (5N). As I mentioned earlier, these are shades mostly suited to medium skin tones, with the exception of Linen which probably sits around the Mac N20 mark. As someone who’s around a Mac N17, the colour is almost there! I hope they add some more shades soon, ideally plenty of darker shades and one or two paler ones too.
The formula is lovely and I think would suit most skin types other than the very dry. For me, after a few hours it did start feeling a little on the dry side, but nothing that a facial spray can’t take care of. I really like the fact that it’s so buildable, and as you can see from the before and after pictures, the coverage is very good. A light layer evens skin tone, a little more tackles tricky redness and blemishes and a heavier hand deals with major marks and spots. The packaging is good too; very transportable (although possibly a little weak, so it might break) with an included mirror and sponge. All-in-all, a great product from L’Oreal that does as it promises. It’s £12.99 here – link.
*PR Samples
I just bought it today, can’t wait to try it, it sounds promising! x
Mummy’s Beauty Corner
Hi Sascha, did you apply this with the sponge it came with or a brush, and if it was a brush which did you use?
Thanks for the post, and glad you and Teddy are OK after the fire! xx
Hi Kate,
Actually the sponge is quite handy for application (especially on-the-go) but in these pictures I used a brush (the Nanshy Flawless Foundation one from this set here) to apply the product, and used a buffing brush to make sure it was blended – hope that helps!
Thank you so much! It was scary at the time but we’re both fine xx