It seems that no matter how many makeup products I buy, I will always be on that eternal hunt for my holy grail foundation. From high end to drugstore, mineral to liquid, sheer to heavy, BB to CC and every bloody thing else on the market these days, I still can't find that perfect base. But one does come awfully close, Giorgio Armani's gorgeous Lasting Silk.

Below are all the reasons why GA is so damn good and the one tiny issue that keeps it from being a HG for me.

The Good

The texture is lightweight and delicate, with a silk like feel due to the silicones within the formula that produces a gorgeous blurring effect over pores. Thanks to its buildable coverage (sheer to medium) its an ideal day to night foundation, perfect for work or dinner with friends. The amazing formula means I don't need to wear a primer with it as it lasts for 8+ hours with just a touch of finishing powder with a lovely melt down factor, even and totally unassuming affair.

I enjoy applying it with fingertips over moisturised skin best as it blends easily and sets quickly to a beautiful matte finish. The shades themselves have great yellow undertones that don't pull orange on my fair olive skin, with 4.5 being my favourite match.

Even with an SPF of 20, I find it doesn't give that white flash back effect with flash photography, however I have heard that you can defer to the Luminous Silk line if you're worried the SPF will be an issue.

The Bad

And now for the one, tiny issue that keeps it from being my HG foundation - it emphasises any sneaky dry flakes of skin trying to hide out on my face. Not as badly as some other foundations do (I'm looking at you NARS Luminous All Day) but enough that it bothers me. Which is a shame because everything else about it is ftw. Sigh.

The Beautiful

Here it is in action!  

First off in a comparison shot with Lasting Silk freshly applied to one half of my face while the other half is bare. Secondly, as part of a no makeup-makeup look (in which I have a touch of Chanel's poudre universelle libre powder in natural on and no concealer) shot after work which equates about 8 hours worth of wear. 

Swatches

And finally to help you compare or find the right shade, here it is next to a few other foundations  (and one concealer) swatched on the back of my hand under natural light.

As I mentioned at the top of the post, I love this stuff! I totally recommend it and until I find something that finally ticks all my HG boxes, this will continue to be a placeholder - albeit with a tiny, almost insignificant asterisk.