Revitalised and rebooted to suit a wider range of skin tones than before, I put YSL’s new Touche Éclat Le Teint Foundation to the test to see if it could help me get my glow back and prove the perfect match for my dry skin...
“Wide awake”, “luminous”, “radiant”: these are not words I would readily use to describe my skin at the moment. Stuck in hibernation mode, I’ve had to give my usual skincare routine a rejig from the inside out (cue the return of my supersized water bottle, nightly hydrating serum, a weekly face mask...), to include also the perfect ‘New Year, new skin’ foundation. So it seems fantastic timing that YSL release the new incarnation of its illuminating Touche Éclat Le Teint Foundation, and guess what? I was there waiting with open arms, ready to slather my face in the stuff.
How does it differ from the original?
With the original proving a favourite among makeup fans and makeup artists alike for its light reflective dexterity, what could possibly be improved? While one of the best for feigning an all over dewy glow, devotees wanted a greater degree of coverage and longevity. The new formula seeks to cover those bases and then some though, to provide shine-free luminosity and fatigue-fighting skincare goodies in the process too.
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The key component that caught my eye though was the extension of its shade range. Now available in 22 tones organised into families of beiges, goldens and rosey beiges, its appeal looks to become more universal than ever. The SPF has also been bumped up from SPF 19 to SPF22 for an added dose of extra sun protection too ( albeit not to act as a substitute for a separate sunscreen ).
How does it match up?
Extremely well indeed. Providing both full coverage and durability in equal measure while still maintaining the lightweight texture and radiance-enhancing qualities of the original, my skin looked instantly more even, brighter and healthier-looking. According to Lloyd Simmonds, Creative Director of Makeup YSL Beauté, the secret’s in its make up. “The transparent pigments in this formula create a ‘barely-there’ impression on the skin,” he says and this essentially is why I liked it so much. A mask, this was not, the finish was as natural as can be: my skin just, well, better.
Ideal for dry, combination and oily skin types (with the latter two requiring a light dusting of translucent powder down the nose for extra shine-free stamina), the shade range proved mightily impressive - it caters for both light and extremely deep skin tones (B90 Warm Amber being the darkest). The undertone families are slightly more comprehensive on the lighter end of the spectrum, however that being said, most skin tones (apart from the very deepest of colourings) would stand a good chance of finding a corresponding shade in my opinion should you book in at a YSL counter to get colour-matched.
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So will I be using it again? Most definitely. I loved its silky formula and seamless finish with B70 proving to be a great colour match for my skin tone. As for my missing aforementioned glow, I can happily report that it’s back and hopefully here to stay with this reinvention of a classic taking pride of place in my makeup bag. It appears my skin has received the wake-up-call it so evidently needed.
YSL Touche Éclat Le Teint Foundation, £32.50, is available to buy online here .
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