It has been over a year since my last Foundation Face-Off, and I hope you will enjoy this long overdue addition. Today I am taking you through two spring/summer 2009 releases: Dior’s Snow Whitening UV Compact (White Reveal UV Shield Makeup) and Beauté de Kosé Esprique Precious’ Dramatical Stay Pact UV EX. The two trial samples are from the April and May 2009 issues of Biteki.
(I have oily skin that is prone to slight redness. I prefer powder foundations that control shine well, offer at least medium coverage and have decent pore coverage. I don’t usually wear a primer or a concealer. I have a light-to-medium complexion and ZA Two-Way Foundation in 22 is one of my ideal shades. (I haven’t used MAC foundations for a very long time so I don’t know which shade is currently the closest to my complexion.))
Basics
– Dior Snow Whitening UV Compact (White Reveal UV Shield Makeup): SPF 30, PA +++, 6 shades (shade tested: 020)
– Beauté de Kosé Esprique Precious Dramatical Stay Pact UV EX: SPF 25, PA ++, 7 shades (shade tested: OC-410)
Both shades are lighter than ZA Two-Way Foundation in 22.
Finish
The two differ quite a lot in finish. Dior has a luminous and glowy finish, while Esprique Precious has a soft matte finish which is only very subtly luminous. Neither has visible shimmer.
Texture
Dior has a soft velvety texture, while EP has a slightly drier feel (which is far from chalky). Both go on evenly and smoothly.
Coverage
Both have a light-to-medium coverage, but Dior has marginally more coverage. With Dior, I feel that the coverage is more based on the luminous semi-transparent light-reflective powder than on opaque pigment. One thing I don’t like about this is that, as I have applied the powder evenly and then look straight at the mirror, the coverage looks sufficient on the forehead, chin and top of the cheeks (wherever the light hits straight on and creates the coverage) but the sides of my nose and the sides of my face (where the light bounces off sideways from where I can see) seem to get almost no coverage.
Even though this type of coverage creates more dimension for the face and should please some people (as the powder emulates a shading effect), I prefer EP’s soft-focus and even-looking coverage.
Pore Coverage
Dior’s luminous and glowy powder can exaggerate the look of pores. On the other hand, EP has a decent pore coverage.
Shine Control
Again, Dior’s glowy finish can make shine more pronounced overtime. EP has a fairly good shine control.
Staying Power
Dior does have a reasonably good staying power (with all the blotting), but I am more impressed with EP’s lasting ability. It can be a little hard to tell how the coverage and finish last since they are on the natural side, but, after a whole day, there is no patchiness and my skin tone still looks very even.
Overall, Dior reminds me of Primavista’s Powder Foundation Moist Touch and Esprique Precious reminds me of Coffret D’Or’s Beauty Lasting Pact UV. (Coffret D’Or has slightly better shine control). For me, between Dior and Esprique Precious, Esprique Precious is the obvious winner. If it had more coverage, it would definitely be a product I’d consider buying.
You can read my friend Betsy’s review of Esprique Precious Dramatical Stay Pact UV EX on Autumn Masquerade.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks a lot for the reviews! I was considering the Dior foundation but since I've oily skin and larger pores, I guess I'll pass. I'm currently using Coffret D'Or and it's working out rather well~
Hi Xy,
You are very welcome! I am glad that this post is helpful to you. :)
For me, Coffret D'Or's Beauty Lasting Pact UV (I am not sure if this is the one you are using) is one of the best powder foundations I have tried. It really suits my oily skin type and I like everything about it except the somewhat low coverage.
Thank you for your comment again! :)