Sample Series #12: La Mer Soft Fluid Foundation in Neutral 22

I was curious to try La Mer's Soft Fluid Long Wearing Foundation, so when it was a sample selection from Nordstrom I put it in my basket. At $110 for a 1 oz. bottle, it's definitely pricey but most of the reviews I've seen having been positive.

The selling points for the foundation are that it also includes the skin care goodies that La Mer is known for, called "Miracle Broth". What might that be, you ask? Well, it involves "vital nutrients" that have been fermented and are supposed to hydrate, sooth, and repair skin, including fermented algae sourced from the coast of of Brittany. As you can see, it does have a long list of ingredients, as well as a SPF of 20.

Available in 15 shades, Neutral 22 turned out to be a good match for my skin.  I was able to get a week's worth of wear from the packet, which is not enough to form an opinion on the skin care benefits, but plenty to decide if I like it as a foundation. And I do! Enough to spend $110 on a bottle.....probably not. I've got a favorite foundation I like even more that I'm about to repurchase (more on that below).

La Mer's Soft Fluid foundation is medium coverage with a natural looking finish, and it is easy to work with. I used both an oval brush and a Beauty Blender sponge to apply, and I thought it worked better with the Beauty Blender. Another claim of the Soft Fluid foundation is that it holds up in humid climates, which is high on the list of selling points for me. Mobile, AL is uber humid, although we were in a 41 day drought during the time I wore this, so it wasn't exactly the usual swampy conditions. Regardless, Soft Fluid wore well on my oily skin for a good 7-8 hours before I noticed the inevitable breakdown inherent with my skin type. I experienced no skin irritation or breakouts, which would have shown up after repeated wear for a week if the formula disagreed with me.

The price is definitely the kicker for me. I rely on my skincare items for skincare, and it's not like I'm going to replace that with a foundation. I do want my foundation to have skincare benefits, but I've narrowed done my favorite foundation to....drum roll....Lauren Brooke Cosmetic's Creme Foundation, which contains skin enhancing ingredients with a SPF of 28 and is 100% natural, 97.5 organically based, and $29.50 a jar.

Lauren Brooke Cosmetiques will be having a 30% off sale on Nov. 25-28, which is when I'll be picking up a new jar. I've been wearing Cool 30, although I consider myself more neutral to warm in skin tone. Fortunately, you can order samples ($10 for 3) to try out before committing to a full jar, and I ordered the Cool 30/Neutral 30/Warm 30 samples to see if I really am best suited to Cool 30. I'll be posting another review once those samples arrive, but the Creme Foundation is truly the best foundation formula I've discovered in the almost 4 years I've been blogging, and I've tried a lot!