Dear readers, it finally happened. After months – or possibly years – of saying “I really need to stop being such a tramp and buy myself a decent foundation”, I finally did it. Despite my bank balance looking uber depressing, I read some reviews, made my decision, and then took myself off to Boots to pick up the Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24 Hour foundation.

After a bit of umming and ahhing and dibbing and dabbing with the counter woman, we eventually decided my best match was the shade 01 Beige Albatre. 010 Beige Porcelain was also a good match for me, but as I was having a pale day and usually am more orange tanned we opted for the slightly darker of the 2. There are an impressive 18 shades to choose from, so I think everyone should be able to find the perfect match.

I steadied my nerves as I handed over my £28.50, trying not to think about how many cocktails that could buy me during happy hour (answer: 8, with £4.50 left over for my taxi home) and instead focused on how pretty the packaging was and how super fancy I felt.

Now, onto the review! So as I said the packaging is pretty beaut, with a frosted glass bottle, sturdy lid and pump  (which I was happy to see, as I am not tolerating that MAC crap where they make you fork out extra for the pump) so you know you’re dealing with a higher end product from the off. Once poured out, the consistency is creamy and quite thick, in keeping with the foundation’s claims of being super long-lasting.

According to Lancome, “Teint Idole Ultra 24H remains retouch-free, providing a flawless looking, even complexion with a velvety-smooth, shine-free finish.” As I’m a working bird, longevity is one of the main things I look for in all of my makeup – and of course looking flawless (for the first time ever) wouldn’t be too bad either. I first applied the foundation before a night out and I have to confess that as I first started to buff it in I thought ‘oh…is this it?’ I think in my head I had the assumption that paying nearly £30 for something would mean the foundation would do everything for me – act as a base, conceal all blemishes, cure world hunger… you know, the usual.

I admit now this might have been slightly ambitious of me, and to be honest there was nothing wrong with the coverage or feel of the product. It’s generally regarded as a full coverage foundation, but I would say it’s more medium if you go for just one layer. However, it’s really easily buildable and so once I blended a bit more in around my t-zone it definitely took a fuller coverage effect.

Before / After

As you can see from the above photo that was taken without concealer, powder or any other type of wizardry, it completely evened out my skin tone and gave a lovely matte finish. But where the foundation REALLY impressed me was indeed it’s staying power. As I was getting ready for said night out, my room was an utter sweatbox and after I had put my heated rollers in I thought to myself what an utter boob I had been applying my makeup first, and that I was deffo going to have a to re-apply.

And then. I looked in the mirror. And I gasped. My base was still perfect. It had not budged. I was not shiny. I did not look like the complete sweaty pig-mess that I felt. I wanted to run around my room doing a lap of victory, having finally found a makeup product that delivers on its promises.

I’ve now been using the foundation for over a week, and can honestly say that it hasn’t disappointed me at all. It holds up unbelievably well during the working day, and I can even get away without powdering my nose, never mind having to reapply any foundation or concealer. I’ve heard other people say that they find the finish to be quite dewy, but for me it definitely delivers on its matte promise – this is probably down to different skin types, so it might be worth you trying out a sample first if you can. Overall though, this foundation fully delivers on all of its claims for me, and I am really impressed.

For dragging me from the slums and finally making me a convert to high-end foundation, Lancome, I salute you.

Have any of you tried this foundation? What did you think?!