Giorgio Armani Maestro Fusion foundation

Giorgio Armani recently released a new foundation – Maestro Fusion Makeup. Maestro Fusion is very different from any other foundation I have tried, from packaging to technology to performance.

First, the packaging – Maestro Fusion is a standard 1oz, packaged in a matte glass bottle. It is unusual in that instead of a pump dispenser, it has an eyedropper dispenser, as shown above.  It seems fitting for a technologically advanced foundation like this one, and also works well with the thin/liquid texture of the foundation.

I’ve heard the texture of this foundation described as as similar to a dry oil.  I’m not really familiar with dry oils, so I can’t comment on that, but I find the texture incredibly smooth and truly weightless.  It’s comfortable and easy to apply, very thin and fluid, and I cannot feel it at all once I have applied it.

In the following swatch, you can see how liquid it is in the left unblended swatch:

Armani Maestro shade 5: unblended / slightly blended

If I blended it completely, you would not be able to see it at all.  It completely disappears on the skin – the finish is very natural – but still manages to cover.  It does mattify slightly. I would describe the finish as a slightly more matte version of my natural skin.

In the following photos, I have no makeup on the left. On the right, I am wearing Maestro. I have also filled in my eyebrows, put on mascara, and added just a touch of blush.

I also have a close-up of my skin with Maestro on it so you can see the finish:

Armani Maestro close-up

As you can tell, Shade 5 is a perfect match for my skin.  This foundation is supposed to self-adjust to the wearer’s skintone, getting darker or lighter as needed. It’s hard for me to personally evaluate that claim, because  5 is already a very good match straight out of the bottle.  However, blogger Drivel About Frivol tried out a shade that was too dark for her, and it did adjust to her skintone in about 10 minutes.  It’s magic / science!

I’ve only worn this twice so far, but it seems to last very well on me; about 8-10 hours, and I haven’t been setting it with powder due to the matte finish.

Overall, I love this foundation. It’s my new foundation crush; a perfect match, and a natural finish – the two things I want most in a foundation. It is pricey; $62 – but, base products are one area where I’m willing to splurge.

I bought Maestro, an Eyes to Kill eyeshadow, and a Rouge d’Armani lipstick together, and got an Armani GWP that included the Eyes to Kill mascara (which I am loving), so there will be several Armani reviews over the next week or two – you can find all my Armani reviews here.