SUNDAY SAMPLE -- Maestro 02 Foundation by Giorgio Armani review

I received a small sample of the Maestro 02 Foundation by Giorgio Armani a while ago and after reading the reviews online, I wondered what I was missing out on. From the reviews that I've read everyone seems to sing the praises of Giorgio Armani. Often the product has been given 5 star reviews.

There are 15 shades available and I was given the shade 02 to try. From the small dropper style bottle it looked like 02 would be a suitable match for my pale complexion. However, instead of a pale biscuit colour as I expected the foundation actually goes on white. The shade that I was given is far too light for my skin colour so if you are going to use it I would advise mixing it with a darker shade. I really disliked this foundation. I felt washed out all day as it was so pale and it was difficult to blend on the skin when applied.

Unfortunately as it was so difficult to apply it began to crack and peel and thus could not provide even coverage to the face. With the product cracking it dried out on my face and looked unsightly. As a result it was particularly difficult to apply the rest of my make up on top. It did not seem to act as a base for more make up and the foundation appeared dry and flaky. I'm not entirely sure if I'd had the product too long and caused this chain reaction or if this is the consistency of the foundation.

The areas where the product were particularly flaky and dry were fairly itchy as well so it could be that I had an allergic reaction. (Something that doesn't normally happen to me but is occurring more and more now). I have sensitive and combination skin so it's possible that by trying new products out I've upset the Ph balance of my skin. I tried the product with an open mind but honestly I don't see what all the hype is about. The foundation retails at £35.55-£40 depending on the retailer but I don't think it's worth it.

The Maestro Foundation by Giorgio Armani has SPF 15 in the formula but for a small bottle of 30ml, the price is quite high for an SPF foundation. I liked the unusual design of the bottle which was cute with the squeezy dropper in the lid. It was however an impractical design as it doesn't squirt a lot of liquid onto the foundation brush. As a result it takes a while to apply to a brush which is time consuming.

I still wonder if I'm doing something wrong as I just do not see what all the fuss is about for this foundation. It won't replace my AVON foundation and unfortunately went straight in the bin after I used it.