When Lancome originally came out with their Oscillation Mascara I laughed! I declared it ridiculous! Nonsense! No woman over 40 could use a vibrating wand with our bad eyes – it would inflict pain! Then I tried it. I was amazed and hooked. Not only does it find the teeny tiniest lashes and makes them appear in detail, it actually is harmless. I now keep one in my mascara wardrobe at all times.
When Lancome sent me their newest vibrating product to try I wondered if it would it be as sensational as the mascara. Oscillation Powerfoundation is a mineral powder foundation with SPF 21 encased in a jar with a soft sponge/powder puff tipped vibrating handle that has 7,000 micro-vibrations per minute. Does one really need a vibrating foundation?
After the hesitation of the vibrating applicator, my next hesitation was with the mineral foundation itself. I have not succombed to the mineral craze like many have. I typically do not like mineral powder foundations as they leave this weird shine on my face and they discolor after a few hours. Obviously I was concerned this would happen again.
I have to admit I had trouble learning how to use the applicator. I tend to get a splotch on the first laydown of the puff – which I go back and smooth out after most of the foundation is used up on the applicator. But after more practice and use I feel like I have the technique down. Because the applicator vibrates you don’t need to rub and rub to get it to apply evenly on your face like you need to do when using a brush. And there is virtually no mess; it all stays within the container so your countertop stays clean.
So how does the mineral foundation work? The mineral powder foundation is the only mineral powder foundation I’ve tried that doesn’t discolor on me, doesn’t give my face a weird shine, hides the redness on my face without looking like I’ve caked on foundation. My skin actually looks fabulous when I wear this – which lately has been nearly every day. I don’t know if it lasts 14 hours – but on me it lasts at least 8 hours and it gives my skin a very soft, smooth appearance.
Someone recently said to me that “women of a certain age shouldn’t use mineral foundation”. Maybe that’s true – but maybe they haven’t tried this foundation either.
I think the comment about “women of a certain age” not being good candidates for mineral foundation stems from the unnatural shininess most seem to have and the fact that they will enhance any dry patches you have. If you have oily skin like I do, the latter isn’t an issue and you only have to worry about the former. If this foundation doesn’t have the strange shininess, I’ll have to give it a go since most foundations look way too thick and mask-like for my taste, plus they frequently make me break out.
This didn’t look too thick or give me that strange shininess either – which is typical for me on mineral foundations. I also think that many women use the wrong color mineral foundation or they change colors after time on their face – which I’ve had happen many times. Again, I didn’t have this happen to me with Powerfoundation.