Very rarely do I reach for liquid foundation these days, but when I heard Patrick Ta speak so passionately about his new formula, I had to try it myself. Then I saw Golloria give it rave reviews, which doesn’t happen that often. Turns out, the celebrity makeup artist’s Major Skin Hydra-Luxe Luminous Skin Perfecting Foundation deserves the praise it’s getting. I’m sure his dozens of A-list clients—Jessica Alba, Ariana Grande and Kendall Jenner to name a few—love it, too. Here’s my honest review.
What I Love About This Luminous Foundation
“I wanted to give you hydration and glow in a bottle,” Ta says. “I wanted to give you red-carpet skin in a bottle. It truly looks like your skin, but so enhanced.” He hit the nail on the head with this statement. This medium-coverage foundation is lightweight and comfortable, and gives you a lit-from-within-glow. It doesn’t make you look like your face is caked in makeup, yet it’s very buildable if there are areas where you need more coverage. “All of the glow you are going to see from this foundation is truly from the ingredients,” Ta explains. “There’s no mica or pearl.”
Speaking of ingredients, this formula contains skin-care actives that give a burst of hydration to the skin. “I am not a chemist, but I know what products look good on my skin and what products look good on my client’s skin,” says Ta. “Hyaluronic acid has always been something I applied before applying my makeup for a glass skin effect. There are three types of hyaluronic acid in here, as well as squalane. I wanted you to get compliments on your skin and not your makeup.”
If you have oily or combination skin, you may even be able to forgo your normal skin prep (minus sunscreen of course) because this foundation will make your skin feel hydrated on its own. In fact, the formula is clinically proven to hydrate the skin for more than eight hours. I tried the foundation on bare skin (without any skin care) and it felt like I was applying a skin-care cream—it was that moisturizing. I love the way it feels on my skin—rich, but not heavy—and the way it blends in seamlessly. It also does a nice job at covering any redness on my cheeks.
It also comes in 30 shades from fair to deep with a variety of different undertones. I have light skin and I use shade 5. This video shows you every shade swatched, and how it looks under bright lighting. If you have olive skin, this video helps you find your perfect shade. And, as I mentioned in the intro, Golloria tested the darkest shade and gave it her stamp of approval.
How to Use It
You can apply the foundation with a brush or a sponge. I prefer a brush, which I can continue to blend outward from the center of my face until I get the level of coverage I want. Ta also prefers using a brush when he applies it on himself. “When applying it with a brush, you’re able to get a really nice, natural sheer finish,” he says. “But when I’m using it on my clients, it’s usually for red-carpet makeup, so I typically use a beautyblender for more coverage.”
You also want a good setting powder on hand when using this product. “Because this is a really luminous foundation, it’s really important to set certain areas of the face,” Ta says. “This gives longevity, but also dimension to the face. I always like to set the T-zone and around the smile lines.”
