[unpaid/purchase/affiliate] I definitely wasn’t going to buy the Dior Forever Hydra Nude Foundation but on Saturday morning I had to dash to Oxford Street to take some clothes back to Stradivarius before the 30 days ran out and while I was there, nip into the Grayson Perry exhibition at The Wallace Collection in Manchester Square. I was lucky all day – the trains ran on time, I got the very last on-line ticket for Grayson Perry standing in the lobby of the Wallace because I hadn’t realized that you couldn’t just wander in and buy a ticket. The ticket was for 10.45 and I bought it at 10.40. After the absolute colour drench of seeing his work (and his alter-ego, Shirley Smith), I took the ‘short cut’ through Selfridges beauty hall to the bus stop. While I was there – and honestly, if you work in beauty, it’s just not that interesting, I wandered across to the Dior counter to look at the new Dior Forever Hydra Nude Foundation. Before I knew it, I was walking away with a little Dior bag with the very last 2.5N shade inside, £50 lighter, but really quite happy. Once I got home, I discovered I had a premium bond win – £125. I said I was lucky all day!
The assistant on the Dior counter could not have been more delightful – she was surprised that I picked out my exact shade, 2N, and we tried it on but allowing for the fact that my tone will warm up as the seasons change, we decided on 2.5N (N = neutral, a mix of warm and cool). It gives the kind of finish, slightly dewy, that makes you look rested and impossibly smooth skinned. It’s interesting that the packaging doesn’t mention the word ‘foundation’ other than in several languages on the side of the box. The front of the box doesn’t give any indication, instead it calls it a 24H Natural Perfection 48H Hydration Enriched With Hyaluronic Acid. Maybe you’re just supposed to know that Forever Hydra Nude is foundation. One of the things you’ll notice on application is that it feels cool on the skin. That’s thanks to the 50% water content evaporating over time. It’s a very pleasant feeling and I’m guessing that this product is Dior’s answer to CHANEL’s Les Beiges Water Fresh Tint, one of my all-time favourite products – because where CHANEL goes, Dior surely follows.
Dior Forever Hydra Nude uses 96% natural-origin ingredients (which is a whole other feature but suffice to say that a natural origin ingredient is something derived from a natural source but may have undergone processing or modification to fit the product’s safety or efficacy). It contains hyaluronic acid and mineral pigments to create what they call a bare-skin effect but is in fact a better than bare skin effect. The fluid is so easy to blend it’s ridiculous – any foundation fearers out there, this is for you. It feels like nothing but fresh air on your skin and gives all day coverage – decreasing but there was plenty to take off at the end of the day. The 24 hour wear claim, like almost all 24 hour claims, is pointless because who wants perfect coverage for 24 hours? And, the 48 hours of hydration claim may well be true but is equally pointless as over a period of two days, you’re very likely to have used moisturizer anyway.
At £50, this feels very expensive but oh my goodness, if it doesn’t make too much of a dent in the bank balance, I’d thoroughly recommend as a summer weight, lightful and immaculate base. I strongly suggest buying from the Dior website if you want to fully immerse in the luxury experience you are paying for – complimentary samples and pretty packaging HERE. I really do have to shout out again to the sales assistant who was such a pleasure – I wish I’d taken her name, but thank you, whoever you are.
NB: Photos are a little different today because I have a new phone that (currently) won’t connect to my camera (insert angry emoji).
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