Giorgio Armani Beauty - New Designer Lift Foundation

Over the weekend, I had an opportunity to attend a media breakfast at which Tim Quinn, Giorgio Armani Beauty's Celebrity Face Designer and National Director of Creative Artistry, described the new Designer Lift Foundation ($65), which is now available online and at counters. Tim happened to be holding two bottles of Designer Lift when I snapped this photo before the event.

I'm lucky. I had two weeks to wear the newest addition to Armani's world-famous stable of foundations before Tim's presentation. After my two-week test, I can report that I am thrilled with Designer Lift Foundation! It gives me the radiant Armani glow, with my skin appearing to be cloaked in light, but with a satin finish. You have to see it on the skin to understand that light, glow, sheer, and satin don't have to be contradictory.

I've chosen to call the coverage medium. Designer Lift offers a bit more coverage than Luminous Silk Foundation, Armani's award-winning foundation, but manages to do so in a way that's lightweight (I can't feel it on my skin) and virtually invisible as a foundation. I don't see foundation on my face when I'm wearing Designer Lift. I see a smooth and even skin tone in a shade (#2) that looks like me - but much better. It hides blurs and imperfections as it applies quickly and evenly. I was surprised at how it provided coverage, but still seemed to disappear into my complexion.

I know Kathy Shoreman has had the same reaction - and plenty of compliments on her skin in the last two weeks. Designer Lift makes her skin look flawless. Tim mentioned that celebrities love it because it gives their faces the perfect look for HDTV. If you want to see the new, steamy Armani campaign for Giorgio Armani Beauty, with Megan Fox channeling Elizabeth Taylor and old Hollywood glamour, click on this link.

How does Armani do it? With Armani's Micro-fil technology at the heart, the company developed "real cosmetic weaves - translucent, ethereal veils of color, layered to create the perfect aura." Mr. Armani knew exactly what he wanted and asked the formulation team to create a foundation that was much like the fine, sheer textiles he uses in his fashion designs. I think he succeeded.

The smoothing and sculpting effect was created with a duo of optical fillers, velvety powders - one satiny, the other matte - that play with reflections of light to blur imperfections, intensify radiance, and enhance natural facial contours. Designer Lift Foundation provides an instant lifting effect, achieved with a "liquid powder" that forms an ultra-fine toning network on the surface of the skin. It is said to restore up to 10 years of luminosity, firm lines up to 87%, and firm the skin by 73%, with 12 hours of lifting action.

Designer Lift has a rich, emollient formula that feels good and leaves the skin plumper and denser, reinforced by adenosine, which restructures the dermal matrix, and the antioxidant vitamin E. There's added value in the SPF 20 PA +++ for sun protection.

An unexpected blue pearlizer was included in the formula for Designer Lift. A precise, finely dosed Prussian blue makes white more luminous and enhances black, making both colors appear more pure. The black and white fillers (indispensable in any foundation formula) are less dull as a result. On the skin, it has an instant visual appeal, correcting irregularities and making the skin appear smoother, translucently luminous, fresh - as if light were emanating from within. All of the pearlizers in Designer Lift reflect as much light as they receive.

The new foundation was launched with 10 available shades, with more on the way. Designer Lift will blend seamlessly with any skin tone.

• For light tones, there's a blue-tinged pearlizer, which counteracts a yellow complexion.
• For medium shades, there's a touch of pink pearlizer for a real boost of freshness (simulating the skin's microcirculation).
  
• For dark hues, a gold pearlizer brightens the complexion and accentuates its radiance

Designer Lift was developed after a "rainbow study," an analysis of more than 2,000 women that allowed Giorgio Armani Beauty to target the needs of each skin tone. As a result, the three color families above were developed with multiple shades in each. Fair shades were developed with Asian skin in mind. Medium tones were developed for European to mixed-race skin. Dark tones were created for African skin. With such a targeted approach, all women can achieve the Armani glow.

Linda Cantello, International Makeup Artist for Giorgio Armani Cosmetics, says the feather-light texture will allow the face to glow without creating a mask-like effect or emphasizing the slightest wrinkle. She recommends dabbing it into the T-zone, particularly the nose and lip contour areas, then smoothing outwards across the face using the dedicated brush, the Designer Lift Brush.

Designer Lift is available at Giorgio Armani Beauty's Web site, Armani Fifth Avenue, and fine department stores, including Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom, and Barneys.

If you want a foundation that will hide your flaws, make your skin look smooth and free of imperfections, and add a radiance that may not come naturally, you owe it to yourself to try Designer Lift Foundation.

Designer Lift and Megan Fox photos courtesy of Giorgio Armani Beauty; photo of Tim Quinn by Best Things in Beauty