RSSProduct Review : Merle Norman Luxiva Timeless Age-Defying Makeup
December 21, 2009
Like clothes from LLBean, there are purchases that make you happy every time you use them.
My search for good quality AND colour in cosmetics, laid out intelligently so women could understand how to use them, led me to MN. I don’t use the skin products because they’re not at Beautypedia, but I relax that rule for makeup. It’s hard enough to get colour right.
I care more about colour than finish or ingredients. As long as I don’t react, it’s fine.
Sunscreen doesn’t matter to me in foundation because I wear Clinique Super City Block every day anyhow. I don’t take chances with misleading labeling. The sunscreen ingredients in this product are not those I recognize to provide UVA protection.
Timeless foundation has been a happy find. I’ve sent several clients to try the product and they’ve all returned with an impressive colour match and true skin effect.
The #1 happy thing that caught my eye was that I’ve never had a better colour match (I bought Sesame). The colour range is very broad, organized by warm and cool, for very light to very dark skin.
The next pleasant surprise was that the product feels quite moist. It can be spread to create an extremely thin layer that still provides perfect real-skin coverage. I dab a little more on the sun spots because I have no time to fool around with concealer. The less makeup you put on skin, young or mature, the better the effect. Too much makeup can look like gunk all too quickly.
Happy finding #3 was that, unlike most foundations that make lines under eyes more noticeable, this foundation does not – or at least, less than any other I’ve tried. I still dab a little moisturizer over the lines at the outer corners of the eyes as the final makeup step. It softens the lines that much more.
#4: Still looks great at the end of the day.
#5: Weird but true, it seems to fluff up the hair on my face less than other products. We all have it, let’s be real here, and some makeup seems to make it stand on end. I paint downwards with the foundation brush and the powder brush, and it’s good!
They gave me a great big sample.
Age-defying? Anti-aging? Who knows? It’s not reviewed by a reliable independent source that I can find.
Light-diffusers? Blurred imperfections? Not obvious. It looks great and doesn’t sparkle. Just really, really good skin. Supposed to have these optical diffusers, and various percentages about how skin appears lifted 44%, and so on. Nobody buys that. It’s old fashioned marketing trying to sound like good science.
It would be suited for normal to dry skin. As I said, I think more about colour than finish. My skin is oily so I use powder. I don’t touch up any more than usual. I’m grateful for the moist look and feel in this dry season.
The old-fashioned plastic bottle is neither great nor awful. Packaging doesn’t matter to me as long as it doesn’t deteriorate the product and isn’t a huge inconvenience to use. Fancy packaging doesn’t sway me to buy. I’d far prefer a soft opaque plastic gravity-fed tube with a narrow opening, but I keep the bottle in its box so light doesn’t alter the colour.
With makeup, they try to distract you to keep you dropping money like a trail of breadcrumbs. The cosmetics industry must seem different and new all the time or the consumer’s attention goes elsewhere. Must be a rough racket to be in. Bottom line, I LOVE how this product makes my skin look.
Comments
6 Responses to “Product Review : Merle Norman Luxiva Timeless Age-Defying Makeup”
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Just curious. Why Clinique Super City Block over a Paula’s Choice sunscreen?
What color do you recommend for a true summer? (self-diagnosed for now till after Christmas when I receive my gift certificate for a PCA…..) It is difficult to tell online
The choice of warm or cool colors is nice — Sometimes it’s hard to tell in bad store lighting — but what about those of us who fall somewhere between cool and warm? Or those who are warm-toned but not yellow/golden? For years I thought I had pink-toned skin and wore alabasters and porcelains, but they were never quite right until I realized I have peach, rather than pink undertones. (Plus a lot of surface redness that throws everything off.)
I’ve been trying for quite a while to find a foundation that looks natural. My husband is my best critic because he’ll tell me if it shows or is the wrong color. I was beginning to think I have weird skin! After I read your email about the Merle Norman foundation I remembered it as old-fashioned – something my aunt used, but I went to the store and brought home a nice-sized sample. I think I love it! I’m afraid to jinx it by saying too much (since I’ve already tried everything from Clinique to Bobbi Brown) but it’s silky and nearly invisible! Thanks so much!!
Amy,
As much as I love Paula’s stuff, I have never really done well with the sunscreens, right from the beginning. I seem to have some issue with each of them. The Clinique just suits me so perfectly that I continue to buy it. They make a 25 and a 40, and Paula’s Choice usually have a lower SPF.
Jaycee,
There are far too many variations in skin tones to be able to answer. As long as you respect cool/warm distinctions, many Seasons could wear several colours. You’d need to try a few, in daylight as always when buying foundation.
Kathy,
No foundation line will be able to match every single skin tone. This line seems to have a good selection, but if you have to work really hard to find a match, then it might be best to look elsewhere. Store lighting is hopeless but they’ll give you a nice sample. They have several other lines of foundation too. If you have to convince yourself that a colour works, then it might not. Lots of companies are making lovely foundation in terrific colours. It sure can be a frustrating process to find the right one.
Julie,
I appreciate your cautious optimism! I felt the same way but I continue to be very very pleased with it. As I mentioned, I’m way more about colour than finish and this one delivers. The application is also outstandingly natural.
I’ve been using Clinique’s Super City Block for about a week now. I really like it. You always find the best stuff. Thanks!