Rave: The Anastasia Luminous Foundation is the perfect base for healthy skin
I’ve long been a fan of a lot of Anastasia Beverly Hills products, from their Dipbrow Pomade and Powders, to the iconic Modern Renaissance eyeshadow palettes and celestial highlighters. Pure Hollywood, a nude liquid lipstick, was one of my first ever lip purchases back in the day! The brand carries a lot of cosmetics that seem to always be in line with the zeitgeist while maintaining high quality at par with the top brands in the world.
ABH is not exactly a luxury brand but the products cost a pretty penny, so I set my expectations high. I recently got to try the Luminous Foundation (P2,800 at Beauty Bar and Sephora PH), which is billed as a medium coverage foundation with a luminous finish.
We talk a lot about full coverage and light coverage foundations, but I think there’s space for lovely mediums (like the Guerlain L’Essentiel I previously reviewed) that give you the best of both worlds. Let’s see how the Luminous Foundation fared!
Form
30mL of the Luminous Foundation is housed in a rectangular glass bottle with a pump. The liquid isn’t too runny for something that’s billed as ‘luminous’ (Becca’s Aqua Luminous, MAC’s and MUFE’s Face and Body, and similar options feel almost like water compared to this) but isn’t too dense either. It’s close to the L’Oreal Infallible Glow or Fresh Wear in terms of consistency.
There are a total of 50 shades in five shade categories (Fair, Light, Medium, Tan, Deep) and three undertones (Cool, Warm, Neutral), from 100N to 590C. Sephora PH has all 50 shades while Beauty Bar has 21 that you can swatch. I matched well with 332C, which is Medium skin with a cool golden undertone. This is kind of confusing since ‘cool’ and ‘gold’ aren’t two descriptions that go together. I suppose they mean it’s cool, leaning warm without it totally being neutral. In any case, it disappears almost totally when blended on my medium skin.
Function
Generally, the foundation spreads and blends easily; works well with any tool, be it fingers, brushes, or sponges; and over multiple bases, from mattifying to luminous primers. What I love about the Luminous Foundation is how it creates a smooth look even without a primer — you just look healthy and “perfected” without looking greasy, with and without powder. This sort of formulation, medium coverage and texture-improving, is what I prefer over skin-like formulas that don’t offer improvements. The coverage is buildable but correctly dubbed medium, perfect for those of us who don’t want a full mask of foundation.
Worn Alone: The Luminous Foundation in shade 332C disappears into my medium skin. You can still see the luminosity and some dark spots.
Wear Test: On its own
The Anastasia website says that there’s no need to set the foundation with powder, so I tried it for a lazy day routine. Unfortunately, not setting doesn’t work for me as I oiled up by the 3-hour mark. Other foundations such as the Marc Jacobs Shameless or Glossier Skin Tint work better in this regard. It does get brownie points for making me look good without any other color cosmetics needed, though! It also has less slip than other luminous foundations, and this produces more of a healthy sheen than actual luminosity.
Wear Test: As a daily driver
This foundation is perfect for everyday makeup. One pump is enough for my whole face, and it’s never overwhelming, heavy, or cakey - great for the office, especially when you set it with powder. Of course the coverage is buildable, but I found that there wasn’t a need to do so with what I had and for this purpose.
The resulting texture is a healthy and smooth-looking face, so I would wear this when I need to make a good first impression, have an important meeting, or maybe need a confidence boost. I did feel a slight tackiness on the less-powdered areas like the jaw, but it didn’t come off nor stain my light-colored clothing. You can always set these areas with more powder and it wouldn’t look cakey. Powder and cream products work perfectly fine over the foundation as well, so you won’t have a hard time trying to do your daily face. It can last from 8 to 12 hours, depending on how you set it.
After 8 hours, definitely faded but never cakey. You can now really see the oils shine through.
Wear Test: As a party pal
For parties and nights out, this works well because it’s buildable. I love how my skin looks perfect without becoming mask-like, as some fuller coverage foundations are wont to do. I’ll admit to feeling myself after putting on a full face. Considering all the activity that happens at a party (drinking, eating, making beso, dancing) this foundation lasts for about 6 hours before fading or slipping off.
Since I’m pretty oily these days, blotting is a necessity, but you don’t want to worry about that when you’re having fun. I’d recommend using a different formula (Fenty, Estee Lauder, MAC) for cautious oily girls. I inspected my laundry the day after the party, and found some streaks of foundation here and there. I suppose if you’re not running about town too much, this is fine.
Overall, I’m glad this foundation exists and I’d recommend it for everyday wear! Sometimes it feels like everything’s either geared towards full or minimal coverage, and the mediums are neglected. If you’d like a premium formulation but don’t want a full face of foundation, this could be it for ya!
What are your favorite medium coverage foundations? Any other foundations I should review?
Product photography by Nicole Quindara
Ingredients: Water/Aqua/Eau, Cyclopentasiloxane, Isododecane, Caprylyl Methicone, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Hexyl Laurate, Cetyl Peg/Ppg-10/1 Dimethicone, Glycerin, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Butylene Glycol, Vinyl Dimethicone/Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Sodium Chloride, Laminaria Ochroleuca Extract, Alanine, Arginine, Glycine, Isoleucine, Histidine, Phenylalanine, Proline, Threonine, Serine, Aspartic Acid, Valine, Sodium Pca, Panthenol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Allantoin, Sodium Lactate, Pca, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Simethicone, Tetrasodium Edta, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Zinc Stearate, Lauryl Peg-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Stearalkonium Hectorite, Propylene Carbonate, Phenoxyethanol, May Contain/Peut Contenir (+/-): Chromium Oxide Greens (Ci 77288), Ultramarines (Ci 77007), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499), Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891)
