One of the things that I like about the Notino online shop is that they have all kinds of sample packages that you can buy and you can test products before you purchase them. You might think, oh, but samples are not something new, don’t they just give them away when you buy something from the store? Well, here in Romania we don’t get big samples when we purchase something, only those little sachets. Plus, since I don’t buy often stuff from places like Sephora or Douglas, I rarely get any samples. So, when I saw this foundation samples kit for about 6 euros, it was a good deal because you get 5 foundation tubes that contain 5 ml each, so that’s 25 ml worth of product, which is almost like and entire foundation. Granted, there are darker shades in here too, but I figured that I could mix them with the lighter ones and I could make good use of the foundation now that I get some color on my skin during the summer.

Packaging:

Since I only have samples, they all come in plastic tubes. The full size product is available in a glass bottle and it contains 30 ml.

Texture:

The foundation has a very light texture and it’s available in 30 shades, which is not perfect, but it’s also not bad considering that Lancome is not known for the wide shade range.

Ingredients:

DIMETHICONE 
● AQUA / WATER 
● ISODODECANE 
● ALCOHOL DENAT. 
● TRIMETHYLSILOXYSILICATE 
● PHENYLBENZIMIDAZOLE SULFONIC ACID 
● PROPYLENE GLYCOL 
● GLYCERIN 
● PEG/PPG-18/18 DIMETHICONE 
● SILICA 
● SYNTHETIC FLUORPHLOGOPITE 
● POLYSILICONE-11 
● ROSA GALLICA FLOWER EXTRACT 
● MORINGA OLEIFERA SEED EXTRACT 
● POLYMNIA SONCHIFOLIA ROOT JUICE 
● SORBITOL 
● MANDELIC ACID 
● PEG-10 DIMETHICONE 
● ALPHA-GLUCAN OLIGOSACCHARIDE 
● SODIUM CHLORIDE 
● SODIUM HYALURONATE 
● SODIUM HYDROXIDE 
● SILICA SILYLATE 
● CELLULOSE ACETATE BUTYRATE 
● ALUMINUM HYDROXIDE 
● AMMONIUM POLYACRYLOYLDIMETHYL TAURATE 
● DISODIUM PHOSPHATE 
● DISODIUM STEAROYL GLUTAMATE 
● HYDROXYETHYLPIPERAZINE ETHANE SULFONIC ACID 
● CAPRYLYL GLYCOL 
● CITRIC ACID 
● LACTOBACILLUS 
● MALTODEXTRIN 
● POLYPHOSPHORYLCHOLINE GLYCOL ACRYLATE 
● POLYVINYL ALCOHOL 
● BUTYLENE GLYCOL 
● TOCOPHEROL 
● PHENOXYETHANOL 
● PARFUM / FRAGRANCE 
● – 7 / 48 -LINALOOL 
● GERANIOL 
● LIMONENE 
● CITRAL 
● CITRONELLOL 
● BENZYL ALCOHOL 
● [+/- MAY CONTAIN CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499 / IRON OXIDES 
● CI 77891 / TITANIUM DIOXIDE

The key ingredients are hyaluronic acid, mandelic acid and it contains 82% serum, so it’s one of those hybrid products that’s part skin care, part makeup. And It think that that’s what makeup is supposed to be now, something that doesn’t just cover skin imperfection, but something that actually does something for the skin.

Price and accessibility:

Lancome products are widely available in Romania in beauty stores such as Douglas and Sephora, but also in several online shops and through the brand’s own online shop where it’s sold for around 57 euros. That’s a lot for a foundation, in my opinion, so that’s why I think purchasing the sample kit was a good idea.

My overall opinion:

So far I used two shades, the lighter ones from the kit and I have to say that it is a very natural looking foundation, one that I think sits well on oily skin as well as on dry skin. Plus, it has pretty good coverage and it’s buildable. Also, a plus is that it’s not coming off on clothes. Is it the best foundation ever? No, but it’s one of the good ones and I do have to say that I always notice a difference when I’m using high end foundations. I don’t know how they make the formulas, but the foundations just sit better on the skin and they look more natural. I don’t think I’m ready to spring the 57 euros for the full size product especially since I don’t have big skin issues anymore, but it is a nice foundation and I would recommend it.