Giorgio Armani Neo Nude foundation review

In recent months I have been buying quite some foundations and skin tints to try out for the blog. Not only do I enjoy trying them, I love reviewing those products as my fair skin that is dry/ dehydrated and a bit sensitive makes for a interesting test case. In the case of the Giorgio Armani Neo Nude foundation, I can tell you that the brand is not doing that great when it comes to shade selection for this foundation, even though the product itself is lovely. So let’s have a closer look at what this foundation has to offer.

Review: Giorgio Armani Neo Nude True-to-Skin Natural Glow foundation 1.5

Let’s kick us off with a bit of a story of how I ended up buying and choosing this foundation. I had heard rave reviews and so wanted to try it. I went to my local Douglas counter, but the foundation didn’t go lighter than shade 2 in store, so I was hoping to be able to buy it online. Sadly, for some reason, either the brand or Douglas Netherlands has decided not to offer the two lightest shade in my country. So I ended up purchasing this on Look Fantastic. They had a coupon code as well and instead of €39.95, I ended up paying just over €30 for this. So that is great.

What wasn’t great is the fact that a) I couldn’t shade match as there were no testers available and b) the swatches I could find online showed me that 0 and 1.5 (the two lightest shades available) are miles apart in terms of depth and undertone. I decided to go for 1.5 as I was afraid 0 might be too light and since this is supposed to be a natural look, I know I can usually get away with a shade that is perhaps a hair too dark for me. So a bit of a bummer when it comes to the shades on offer where I live (in the deeper shades it’s even worse with only three of the darkest shades on the market available for purchase). Not great Armani, not great. You can easily find that the shades are for sale, just not where I live. As if there are no super pale or super dark people in The Netherlands…

What does this foundation have to offer?

But still, I really wanted to try this product as I love a natural looking foundation and I had heard so many rave reviews. This is a foundation that boasts having some skincare properties as well and promises to hydrate the skin all day. It is lightweight, but the coverage is still okay for such a dewy product. I would say this is a light to medium coverage foundation. Definitely more coverage than a skin tint or a tinted moisturizer, but not as much as most traditional foundations.

Why did I choose to buy this foundation?

But I didn’t just buy this for the hype. I really wanted to start trying Armani makeup as I have been hearing good things about the brand for years, but it took a while for them to be sold here. Also, because this is quite a luxury brand, the price tag is quite high and therefore I didn’t feel like just ordering this online. And then what happens all the time with me, is when I find a brand like this in store and start swatching, I become overwhelmed and don’t know what to pick. However, when this foundation released and I spotted it in store, I swatched it and fell in love. I couldn’t find my shade, but the texture and the formula made me want to put it on my face straight away.

How does this foundation swatch?

When I got the foundation in I was excited, but nervous. The swatches online made 1.5 look very light and perfect for my pale skin. It will come as no surprise that when I swatched it for the first time I felt very disappointed. The shade looked about 5 shades too dark and super orange in a full on swatched when I first squeezed it out of the tube. When I started blending it, it didn’t look any less orange and I think the range simply pulls quite warm. So sad to see, that there are no cool or more neutral undertoned shades in the range. Because let me tell you: shade 2, the one I swatched in store was even worse than this one. Once the foundation is blended in fully, it does look nice and glowy on the skin and so I was apprehensive, but still curious to see what this would look like on my face.

What is the shade match like?

I bought this foundation in the winter time, which is also when I took these pictures. In the winter, I am at my palest and so foundation shade matches are interesting to say the least. Here you can see that the foundation doesn’t quite match my neck as my neck is far more pink toned and about 2 shades lighter. However, the foundation is lightweight enough that if I were to blend this down my neck (which is what I usually do, just not for pictures such as these) and I add a bit of bronzer, I can definitely get away with it. Added bonus? the fact that this isn’t as orange as it looks when swatched and it is not that stark as to turn me into a ghost either. It has just enough oomph to make it look natural.

How does this foundation apply to the skin?

I have been using this foundation for the past 2 weeks or so and have found that the best way to apply it is with a sponge (I have also tried a brush and fingers). The coverage is just the way I liked it: it evens out my skin tone, but without it looking too much or cakey and it doesn’t accentuate any dry patches. It blends in beautifully and even more importantly: it lasts all day. Where some dewy foundation can be a bit slippy, especially when the weather warms up, this one wowed me with how well it lasted. Even on a hot day this lasts me a full day without it looking weird or cakey. It rubbed off in places where my mask touched my face such as my nose and chin, but the rest of my face remained looking flawless. It never felt greasy either and overall this is just a great foundation for the warmer weather.

My final thoughts

In the end I feel the Giorgio Armani Neo Nude foundation ticks all if not very many boxes for me. It is lightweight, it is natural and the shade match (even though a challenge to get right) ended up working really well for me. I do have to say that the squeezy tube combined with a rather thick formula does make it very easy to be generous with the amount that comes out and therefore I have found myself with some excess product from time to time. So I am not sure how long this would last me for if I committed to using it all up one day. I think it may be one that runs out quickly.

Would I recommend the Giorgio Armani Neo Nude foundation?

Yes! If you can find your shade match that is. Depending on where you live, not all the shades may be available and that is a definite downside. Without swatching I found it really difficult to tell with this one if it could work for me and with no testers around it becomes an even great challenge to shade match. In 2021, I feel this wouldn’t have to be necessary. But then again, The Netherlands isn’t exactly a country where shade inclusivity is a thing just yet. Let’s hope the brand releases some more shades soon and make them more widely available.

What foundation is your favorite summer foundation?