Yves Saint Laurent Youth Liberator Serum Foundation - review

YSL Youth Liberator Serum Foundation

Foundation has come a long way baby.

Back when I reached the age where I discovered makeup, my options (which were few to begin with) were limited and foundation was just foundation - all it did was cover your face (panstick, anyone?), and let's not even talk about colour matching - that was the luck of the draw!  These days, the notion that foundation is just foundation is almost alien.  Nowadays, just like you have winter and summer clothes, you can have winter and summer foundations.  Depending on what you want, you can now buy foundations that mimic, sooth, hide, blur, highlight, you name it.  The options (and price points) are endless.  The latest stage in the Evolution of Foundation is the foundation with skincare benefits.  I believe that this is the future of foundation, especially for us ladies with more mature skin.

(Today's guest post is provided by the ever-lovely MontyC, thanks as always C!)

One brand that has left many others behind in the last few years is Yves Saint Laurent.  They knocked our collective socks off with the launch of Le Teint Touche Éclat last year.  This year, make way for its Big Sister, the YSL Youth Liberator Serum Foundation.  Is it any good?  Yes it is.  It's absolutely gorgeous.

Coverage

You may be reading this thinking, well I already have Le Teint Touche Éclat, do I need this?  OK, let's get the comparison out of the way:  to be honest, they're not comparable to each other.  The former is a much lighter foundation which gives a light-to-maybe-medium coverage.  It's a foundation for the weekend, holidays, or the day you fancy wearing a light textured, light coverage foundation that looks good.  YSL's Youth Serum Foundation is an equally beautiful foundation but it gives a completely different coverage and finish, and its intended audience is a more mature skin type.

Finish

I’m trying to think of the best way to describe the finish of it - I would say it's a satin, healthy glow finish formulation - probably similar to Chanel Perfection Lumière, but that foundation didn’t work on my dry skin at all personally.

Wear

There’s a very slight tackiness to this foundation, not unlike MAC Face & Body.  It wears reasonably well (about average 6-8 hour mark) but does fade over the day.

Shades & Undertones

The seven shades available to us in Ireland

Colour wise - this is where it’s a bit of a disappointment - there are only seven shades I believe out of the ten worldwide available in Ireland.  For me, however - I’m fair skinned (editor’s note: around MAC N10-20) with very pale blonde hair and my shade, BR20, is nigh-on perfect for me.

(Editor’s note: For YSL, B shades in general are neutral-to-yellow-undertoned, BR are pink-undertoned, and BD are golden-undertoned).

Best Applied With

This is for the day when you want to look your best, or need a little help to look it.  It is a foundation that's worth spending a few extra minutes on (whether you a brush or your fingers - both work equally well).  A slightly dampened brush or sponge works wonders with this foundation.

Formulation

This is a liquid foundation but has a slightly strange texture, although it’s quite liquid, it’s got quite a thick texture which needs a bit of working-in, as I’ve mentioned.  It’s water-based with silicones and glycerin featuring heavily in the ingredients-listing.

Best Suited To

I would say that this foundation would be a good option for us more mature ladies (editor’s note: it’s meant to be anti-ageing, so I wouldn’t recommend for younger skins)  as it makes your skin look soft and beautiful.  Skin type-wise - I would say it would work for slightly dry, normal, slightly combination skin.  I have all-out dry skin and for this to look its best on me, I have my skin well moisturised beforehand and I like to use a moisturising primer as well (this is something I do with every foundation and this one is no different).

I’m not sure how this would fare on oily skin.

(Editor’s note: as this foundation contains at its base the YSL Youth Liberator Serum, and as that is alcohol-based, I can imagine it working really well on either extremely moisturised skins or slightly oilier skins.  But I haven’t used it, this is just on the basis of my own research and knowledge of ingredients contained therein.  I probably wouldn't imagine it working well on oily skins, given the level of silicones contained therein).

Flashback, SPF, Price, Skincare

Simples!  (a) Likely… because (b) Factor 20… and (c) not cheap at €42 (editor’s note: wait until you see my foundation review next week… yikes, ridiculously expensive).  For an awful lot of us, myself included, we've got to think hard before we fork out 40 quid for makeup (golden rule - always get a sample first) but believe me, this foundation works hard for the money.  Worth every penny, in my book.

(Editor’s Note: the serum at the base of this foundation categorically didn’t work for me, so I retain a healthy scepticism for this foundation - but MontyC’s post has convinced me that I should at least try a sample of it out… I shall report back (likely via Facebook) on how I get on…)

(And MontyC's reply)... The serum itself doesn't work for me either but for whatever reason, the foundation does.  But on my dry skin it does require a very well moisturised base (something I wouldn't have to think about with, for example, MAC Face & Body or Chanel Vitalumière).

Look here for more information on this foundation.