Dollface Reviews: Lancome Rénergie Lift Makeup in Lifting Porcelain

I’ve been promising a review of Lancome’s Rénergie Lift Makeup ever since I bought it, way back in June, so I figured it was time I actually got around to it.

This foundation was a bit of an impulse buy. I spotted it in the duty free section of Sanford airport on my way back from Florida this summer, and was drawn in by two things:

1. The colour. I got the lightest shade available, which is number 10, ‘Lifting Porcelain’. I could tell right away that it would be a good match for my skin, and because it’s so unusual to find foundation pale enough for me, it was worth buying for that reason alone.

2. The ‘lifting’ bit. This claims to not only even out your skin and cover imperfections, just like every other foundation on the market, but to also “to visibly lift slackening skin and blur lines and wrinkles for 12 hours”.

Well, that was all I needed to convince me: I bought it with the last of my dollars, and for the past two months, I’ve been alternating it with my Revlon ColorStay, using Revlon on the days when only the thickest coverage will do, and this when I feel I can get away with something a little lighter.

Rénergie offers mid-level coverage, although it layers up quite nicely in areas where you feel you need a little extra. It’s a lightweight texture, which goes on smoothly and evenly, and is just really nice to apply. I posted a swatch on my post about foundation for pale skin, but just in case you missed it, here it is again:

To be honest, this photo doesn’t do it it justice: I have pale, pink-toned skin, and I find this to be a pretty good match – in fact, it’s one of the best foundations I’ve used in terms of colour. As for the coverage, well, this is very different from the Revlon foundation I’ve been alternating it with, as it’s lighter, easier to work with, and has a much dewier finish, which gives the skin a bit of a glow. The formula contains satin pigments and micro-pearls to “boost radiance”, and while I normally read these “radiance boosting” claims and think “yeah, right”, I do actually see a difference in my skin when I use this – it creates a healthy kind of glow, which, admittedly, can sometimes be a little too much of a glow: it looks great on the cheeks and around the eyes, but can look a little oily on the forehead, thanks to my already-shiny t-zone. I normally have to use powder on that area to get rid the excess shine, but I do love the way it looks on the rest of my face.

What about that lifting and wrinkle-busting I was promised, though? Sadly, this is one area where this product totally failed for me, and I can’t see any difference in terms of “lifting” or blurring of wrinkles: in that respect, my face looks exactly the same as it always does, which didn’t really surprise me: I’d have been amazed to find a foundation that actually lifted my face, and the fact that it doesn’t do that wouldn’t put me off buying it again, because I do like almost everything else about it.

This is $42 direct from Lancome (click here to buy); in the UK, meanwhile, it’s sold as Teint Rénergie Lift R.A.R.E and is £34.50 (click here to buy).

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COMMENTS
  • Issie

    REPLY

    Why do all the good foundations for pale skin have to be expensive? or at least expensive when you’re a student.

    September 2, 2010
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