I’m a serial monogamist with foundation. Once I find a formula I love, it’s my one and only, and I recite my vows. My relationship is airtight, until it isn’t.
I was a devotee of Jones Road What the Foundation until I switched allegiances to No Makeup Makeup’s creamy compact and its perfect stubby brush. It goes on in seconds, smoothly and evenly, right before the Zoom call I forgot about that’s happening in two minutes.
I don’t particularly enjoy applying or wearing foundation and would really prefer not to. But my skin is pink and sun-mottled, so I do what’s necessary. And what is necessary for me is a light coating of something that’s relatively sheer. I don’t want full coverage or anything that claims to deliver 24-hour wear. Is it intended for raves? Burning Man? I’ve never been to either and don’t plan to start now.
I still love Jones Road WTF and No Makeup Makeup, but something fresh has won my heart. The new Hermès Plein Air, which bills itself as a “skincare foundation,” is uncommonly lightweight. The bottle also declares that it’s a “luminous matte,” which is an oxymoron—anything matte cannot also be luminous. What the people at Hermès may be trying to say is that the resulting finish is neither entirely flat nor entirely glowy.
If you look at the formula’s ingredients, you’ll see water first, followed by dimethicone, a kind of silicone that gives the formula a silky texture and protects the skin from moisture loss. From there, the list includes emulsifiers and humectants that help moisturize skin with minimal stickiness, along with ingredients that prevent the result from feeling or looking oily.
Some foundations contain titanium dioxide, a mineral that comes as a white powder. The Hermès one is free of this, which is good news if your skin is dry, like mine. Titanium dioxide is also a mineral sunscreen, and while it’s safe and effective, it isn’t especially pleasing aesthetically, especially in a foundation. When I was working on a makeup line and spent time in a cosmetics manufacturing lab in Italy, I learned that sunscreen ingredients can interfere with the color and texture of a foundation, making it powdery or heavier than you may want. Besides, most dermatologists think it’s best to apply a separate sunscreen since people generally don’t pile on enough foundation to provide adequate sun protection.
Here ends the science lesson. Class dismissed.
The Hermès of it all is evident in the bottle, a slim, handsome rectangle with a black-and-white cap and a regal gold seal on top. The angled brush designed for its application—and sold separately for $122—is one of the prettiest things in my makeup bag. The Hermès storytellers say the brush is intended to look like a horse’s hoof, and I can see it. It has a long handle in lacquered black, white, and brick red. I love it now, and maybe even forever.
Linda Wells is the Editor of AIR MAIL LOOK