Giorgio Armani Power Fabric Foundation Review

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Giorgio Armani has released a new foundation. I think many beauty lovers will agree that Armani makes some of the loveliest foundations on the market, so when they release a new formula it is certainly something to get excited about. The new Giorgio Armani Power Fabric Longwear High Cover Foundation ($64 US) is a liquid formula that is formulated to provide full coverage with a velvet matte, skin like finish. It is supposed to be suitable for all skin types.

The foundation does offer broad spectrum SPF 25 protection. This is nice to have for days I don’t plan on being outdoors much but I always recommend using a proper sunscreen under foundation, as you would never apply enough product to your face to offer adequate sun protection from a foundation alone. The formula includes Armani Beauty’s Micro-fi Technology which is ultra fine pigments that offer high coverage with a thin, light texture. This foundation does indeed have a nice light, fluid texture that applies beautifully to the skin. A little goes quite a long way. As far as coverage goes I don’t think this is truly full coverage. More medium-full level coverage. My skin does look pretty darn flawless with this foundation but you can still detect my sunspots, some of my freckles, and a little bit of redness peeking through. It is just the right amount though to keep it from looking like you are wearing a mask while still giving you a perfected look. You could easily cover any of these areas with a bit of concealer, or another layer of foundation, but I prefer to leave as is.

The foundation is packaged in a luxe glass bottle with a pump.

Here is a before and after with the foundation in shade 3.5 which is described as being for fair skin with neutral undertones. This shade is a little dark but should be perfect in the summer. Amazingly it seemed like it almost adjusted to my skin. Actually lightening up after application rather than oxidizing. You can see the lovely soft matte finish. It doesn’t look flat but very skin like. I am wearing only the foundation. No powder or concealer. You can see it did a great job of covering up my redness and evening out my complexion. I think my skin looks pretty darn amazing!

My preferred method of application is a Beauty Blender. I find this is the best tool for applying the majority of foundations to dry skin as the patting motion doesn’t stir up and exacerbate flakiness the way a brush can. 

Now here is where the real test lies. Can this long wearing, velvet matte finish foundation work with my dry skin? Heck I have a hard time getting supposedly radiant looking foundations to look flattering on my dry areas. Well this is hands down the best performing long wear, matte finish foundation on my skin. While it is not perfect for my dry skin, it is leagues above similar formulas I have tried that leave me looking like a dried out leather shoe. On the majority of my face this foundation looks absolutely incredible all day long. My cheeks, my forehead, beautiful. I am dry in these areas but I don’t have any textural concerns. On my trouble areas, my nose and my chin, I experience some of the same issues I do with most foundations but to a much, much lessor extent. I saw a bit of breaking up of the foundation on my nose, but it held up, even with my blowing my nose several times throughout the day, much better than usual. On my chin, where my skin likes to eat makeup and dry areas are usually accentuated, I only saw a small amount of the foundation fading through the day. It didn’t exaggerate any dryness and the texture was only minimally accentuated if at all. A always struggle with foundations migrating into my marionette lines and around my nose but the Power Fabric only did the teeniest, tiniest amount. Closeups below. Sorry for the visual assault!

I think for dry skin this is likely best for warmer months. While I didn’t find the foundation drying, nor did it overtly accentuate dryness with normal wear, what I did find was that on a day I was outside a lot in harsh, cold weather my skin did end up looking quite parched over time.

Power Fabric is said to wear for up to 16 hours and that actually isn’t a reach. My skin still looked amazing after a full day and I wouldn’t feel any need to reapply my makeup at the end of a long day if I wanted to go out in the evening. It is available in an impressive 20 shades to suit all skin tones. My best match would probably be shade 2 or 3 but I think shade 3.5 will be perfection. Even now it works really well to merge my freckles with my complexion as long as I’m careful to blend it down the neck.

I think this really is a must try foundation unless you have incredibly dry skin. I consider my skin very dry and I still love this formula enough to keep it on regular rotation. I can’t wait to see how my love for it will deepen during the warmer months.

Are you excited to try this foundation? Do you have any favorite full coverage, or long wearing foundations for dry skin?

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