Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra 24h Wear and My Insane Makeup Drama

I was temporarily insane and in desperate need of foundation when I bought this. Never fear. It's going back to the store, ASAP.



That's Lancome's foundation in the shade of 555 Suede C.

PROS:

• Excellent texture out of the bottle
• Matches my dark skin shade to perfection
• Lasts through the day (and even through the night, if it has to)
• Would probably last a while because a little bit covers well

CONS:

• Price is ridiculous. Outrageous. ($47 at Ulta)
• The finish is too drying when it has set
• The price would cover a weeks' worth of my groceries, including coffee and toiletries
• I had to add some oil to give my face a more natural look.
• The price, the price, the price.

For someone that can afford this (and who wants a very matte finish), this is probably a perfect foundation. I had buyer's remorse even as I got my cardholder discount (paid around $30 instead of the nearly $50 tag). 

So why did I get this in the first place? Typical dilemma. I was feeling blah on my way to a meeting about job prospects. The sun was out in full force (which, as you know, will highlight both the best and worse of your facial features), and I was almost out of my favorite foundation. Oh, and, I have to add this: my favorite and most perfect (and most affordable ever) foundation is no longer available anywhere except for on Ebay. Ugh.

This right here is what I have been wearing for around 5 or more years:

It matches my skin tone (and even has the slight read under shading I love). And it's only ever cost me $10 at the most. Sometimes, I've gotten it for $8.99 online. One tube would last me 6 months, even if I was using it every day (which I don't usually do). ~sigh~

I tried using a similar product from the same Black Radiance brand. 

The shade is also "Ebony", but I don't know why the two shades are so completely different. This is about a shade and a half darker than the other "Ebony". The texture is also much thicker (and heavier). I guess it's supposed to be for heavier coverage. Whatever the reason, it doesn't work for me. 

I'm not knocking Lancome. Matter of fact, I'm happy that a major brand bothered to have a shade in a darker color. Real happy. I just wish I didn't have to see that price tag! LOL

If  you compare all three, subtle differences are enough

Before I even headed into Ulta, I tracked down every other possibility of shades and brands online. Imagine my shock when I realized SheaMoisture offers a foundation in shades a lot of women could love...

I see you down there, Madidi Mocha

I've badmouthed SheaMoisture before for their over-hyped/over-priced hair products. Never thought I'd even consider buying anything again from that brand. That makeup is the bombtastic diggity though. Unfortunately, the Anchorage Ulta doesn't carry it. I could order it online and return it to my local Ulta (which is what I am considering when I return the Lancome, pronto), but buying a foundation online is tricky when you've never used it before. 

My niece turned me on to another online brand that looks promising. It's called BH Cosmetics. Looks very interesting (especially those prices!).

Right now, the BH foundation is $4.50 (reg $9.00).

Once again, there's that problem of trying to get the right shade... This brings me to another issue with makeup companies:

Why on earth don't these brands offer realistic shade charts? I'm sure that women of every shade and hue gets frustrated by trying to match one brand to another. I did find this one site called Foundation Matrix that helps with that. 

Isn't that a beautiful thing?
I need that shade 4th from the left

The only thing is, because there are so many brands and shades, you might not find yours in the mix. I give them big props for even attempting to keep their database current.

Bottom line, it is just getting too hard to obtain decent basic makeup at affordable prices. My next step is going to be learning how to make my own. Pinterest has some interesting information on that.

                        

(You can get almost everything you need from Making Cosmetics.)

In the meantime, the hunt is still on for a foundation that I don't have to trek back to the store with for my refund :-(

Peace

--Free

UPDATE: Just a couple hours after writing this post, I made up my mind to get back to Ulta for my refund (as soon as this snow lets up). With the $30-something that I will be getting credited back to my bank, I found all this on BH Cosmetics for about the same price. That's FIVE products (2 foundations) for less than the price of a single high brand - including the shipping to Alaska. Take that, you other brands...

Product Description	Quantity	Ext. Price
BH Liquid Foundation: Deep Espresso	1	$4.50
Studio Pro Perfecting Concealer: Dark	1	$5.50
BH Liquid Eyeliner: Black	1	$4.00
Forever Nude Aqua Gloss: Chai Latte	1	$5.50
BH Liquid Foundation: Deep Ebony	1	$4.50
Subtotal:		$24.00

Notice that I got TWO of the foundations (to be sure of shades). Even if I have to return this stuff, it's going to be worth it to find what works for me. I will surely be back to do reviews on the products once they get here.

**REVIEW** Lancome DreamTone (Final Update?)

Just a quick post about the results my sister is having after about 2 weeks use:

Her skin is loving the DreamTone. She had some dry, rough patches that were soothed and smoothed almost immediately.

At 10 years older than my 52 years, her skin is taking to the product the way it seems it was meant. To be really honest, I have pretty good skin for my age while my sister does not. She has had a lot of up and down weight gain over the years that affected her face. The DreamTone is not only improving the feel of her skin, but results in texture are visible.

Unfortunately, my sister will not let me post Before and After pics because she is such a grinch. Kidding. She is just vain and camera-shy. I get it. Who knows, in a few weeks, I might be able to convince her to let me show photos.

So, there it is for now. If your skin does not react as mine did to the product, it seems like it could be just the thing for a lot of you ladies - no matter what your age.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Lancome DreamTone (end of wk 2)

Okay. This is Day 15 of using and reviewing the Lancome's DreamTone I received (compliments of SheSpeaks). Not much has changed visually in the last week, so I won't do photos this time. What I have noticed is a little bit of difference in the way my skin feels.

(And, before I start product reveiw, let me mention for Lancome: The skin type listing should be on the front of the container. On the back, it's not easy to spot whether the product is customized for 1/Fair, 2/Medium or 3/Dark. Just a minor quibble.)

Before using DreamTone, I could go a couple hours after waking before having to apply any of my usual moisturizers: the oil I use to clean and soothe my morning skin and the Anew that I sometimes use after removing the oil with a warm, damp rag. (If I just had to, I could skip all this until around noon.)

Since I have been using DreamTone, my cleaned and moisturized skin feels nice - a little smoother to the touch, I think - but...

This is a big "but": my skin dries out a lot quicker in between moisturizing. I'm super sensitive to changes in my skin's moisture level. If my skin feels dry, I will apply a little oil or moisturizer during a nighttime bathroom run.

It's only been 15 days, so I am trying to decide if it's worth the hassle of the extra-moisturizing. This is not me being lazy, folks. This is me being broke and my skin being addicted to moisturizer that costs a little more than I like to spend in the first place. Pre-DreamTone, I was using oil to cleanse and moisturize about twice a day (morning and night). I use my Avon Anew on days when the atmosphere is drier due to extreme cold or heat - or my not drinking enough water, having a cold... Ya know. I've already dipped into my Anew way more than I'd like to this month. Also, do I want to use something that might improve the look of my skin but cause it to dry out? I mean, who wants dry skin, no matter how good it might look? That's got to be bad in the long-run, right?

I have to start getting some more visible results - and soon - to make using the DreamTone worth it. I don't want to dry my skin to make it look better, any more than I'd want to use surgery to change it. Another question is, if it works, will I need to continue using it long-term to keep any benefits gained?

This brings up a truly "First World problem": if the product does  work, I have to figure out how to afford it. The price is $98 for 1.3 fl. oz. I can score a lot of single gal groceries with five 20-dollar bills (when 6 eggs run $0.78 at Walmart). You know? But I am woman so for a miracle product I'd add it to my gift wishlists, but... for a little bit of a difference? Nope. I wouldn't want a gift that cost that kind of money. My last name is not Getty.

Here's something else I want to say:

Product reviews are great in one way (you learn if anyone had seriously horrific reactions or not), for the main thing, but you really do have to make adjustments for your individual differences. When reading (or writing) reviews, I like to think of skin products the way I do perfumes: we all have a "type" that seems to work better. My sister and I are different, so I can wear Hynotic Poison like it was made for me and, on her it reeks. (I mean, it's goat-funky!) It goes the same for skin products. I like Olay and Anew, but those don't work well for my sister. Olay makes her break out.

I suggest that when you read other reviews for DreamTone (or any product) that you check out what the reviewer likes for their skin type in general. I'm just saying.

Check SheSpeaks for reviews from other ladies. Also, here's another via YouTube from a lady in another country who had my question about long-term retention of results. Love that accent.)

Peace
--Free

(P.S.: A little sarc'ed today. Hope post is coherent enough!)

**REVIEW** Lancome DreamTone (end of wk 1)

This is my 7th day using and reviewing Lancome's DreamTone*.

I apologize right now for the poor quality pics. My webcam is either not the best or I just don't know how to adjust the thing. I can say that, for the most part, the pics are not that far off from what I saw in the mirror, just a little bit blurry.

Washed. No products applied.

One of  my guy friends says this is his favorite look for me. I can get this look with my regular serum and no moisturizer. A female friends says my skin looks a little too dry at this stage. ~shrug~

###

Moisturized & w/DreamTone applied.

My 2 friends and I agree that while my skin feels amazing at this point, it's a lot shinier than it needs to be. (My cam contrast creates only some of that nose shine. In the mirror it was almost as linding. I seriously could have been guiding reindeer traffic.

###

No foundation. Eyeliner and lipstick only.

(Freaking stoopid, cheap camera!) This really is not a great rep of what the mirror shows. My skin is not nearly as shiny (because I did blot with a clean face sponge) and you just cannot tell how wonderful my face feels. Now, there is not a thing I can do about my doublechin (except lay off the Ben & Jerry's), but I do love what the DreamTone Serum is doing for my face so far. I hate that you can't see the small spots without my posting this horrible photo from my phone cam:

Still not great with my phone cam, but these are the little spots I want rid of...

I don't wear foundation except for those occasions when I'm trying hard to be supercute, so you might not think I am a good judge of this product. Wrong. For one thing, my skin is over 50 years old. I can't get away with the no-foundation thing like I used to. I haven't been scaring off small animals without it, but I don't have that same natural glow that I did in my twenties and thirties.

The bottom-line so far:  After a week of the DreamTone, I don't think I'm getting a lot of visible results yet, but I can tell a huge difference in the way my skin feels with the DreamTone on. Without the DreamTone (after rinsing and in-between applications), I notice that my skin feels smoother, but gets a little drier than usual overnight. Usually, I can moisturize once in the morning and that will get me through the day. Sometimes, I don't have to use my regular products to moisturize my face before bed. The last few days, I've been making sure to moisturize pretty heavily under the DreamTone and most definitely before bed.

So far, I can say that I am pleased with the product. At this point, I would still recommend it for friends. Can't wait to see how the next few weeks go.

Peace
--Free

* Disclaimer: I received my Lancome DreamTone product from Lancome free of charge via SheSpeaks. 

**REVIEW** Lancome DreamTone. It's About to Get Pretty Around Here!

My SheSpeaks campaign for Lancome's DreamTone Customized Skin Tone Correcting Serum starts right now. I received my complimentary package of product in the mail today and I just went into the bathroom and baby-wiped my face clean to put some on.

It feels really good. It has a really faint color (and I am using the tone for "Dark" skin), no odor and a very, very creamy texture that just sort of wisps onto the skin. I can't even tell you how cool the product is packaged. There's no top to pop off and get lost. You simply twist to raise and expose the dispensing nozzle. Because I was entertained by the idea, I spent at least two minutes just twisting the bottle opened and closed. Judge me if you want.

And now... I'm taking a big breath here because I have to be brave and expose this freaking "Before" pic for you:

Maybe I will have a cute hairstyle by the 30th.

Yeah, I'm very self-conscious about being photographed. It was just me and my lonely in the bathroom mirror but I got nervous when I heard the dog whining outside the door.

Now I have to use the product for 4 weeks. I will be back here with an "After" pic and the final review on the 30th.

(I will be tweeting any reveiw updates via Twitter. Check other users talk under the #bareselfie movement and #DreamTone.)

Peace
--Free

***COMING SOON*** Review of Lancome Dream Tone!

Heads up, ladies.

The other day, I was moaning about the lack of program invites from She Speaks. Well, a big one has come up.

Lancome has this product that I am now SO anxious to try out & tell you about. It's their brand new "DreamTone Customized Skin Tone Correcting Serum." The product comes is available for "Fair," "Medium," and "Dark" tones. Guess which one HRD (Her Royal Dark-n-Lovely) will be trying. (Let's just hope that "Dark" means more Naomi Campbell and less Queen Latifah!)

In the past, I've tried (and reviewed) BB creams, but this sounds like a different type of product and it might be reaching a little higher as far as "correcting" serums. I am pretty happy with my skin, but, like almost any other woman, I can relate to the areas this product is supposed to work on: dark spots, uneven skin tone and color imperfections.

I will be blogging about the product once I've received it. I was really intrigued by the photos of the women on the product website. I've decided that, when I go get the product, I am going to take more than one "Before" pic to post here, then I will try to get a photo every week or so. That way, you will be able to get a good idea of the effects. (And you guys know how I hate having my photograph taken, so I'm going all out this time!)

You guys know that I'm pretty outspoken when it comes to reviewing products, so...

Keep watching for the product arrival. In the meantime, visit the SheSpeaks site and on Twitter. Here's Lancome on Twitter and on (ugh!) Facebook.

You can also check Twitter for folks who've tried the product by checking Twitter for the bareselfie movement for #DreamTone (or go here)

Fellow bloggers - SheSpeaks wants to hear from you. Join up (and be sure to tell them who sent you!) to start giving your opinion.

Peace
--Free