The Big Breakthroughs

The beauty innovations that made jaws drop— and blowouts bounce—this year.

- Victoria Kirby

GIORGIO ARMANI BEAUTY POWER FABRIC HIGH COVERAGE FOUNDATION BALM

Meet the world’s first...bowdeream! What, not so catchy? Maybe not. But calling this a “compact foundation” is a misnomer. Because when you wipe it over your skin (with a sponge, brush, or your fingers), it morphs from a balm to cream to powder instantly. It all feels very cool—it’s the closest makeup gets to a magic act—but it’s not just a gimmick. Because the foundation starts out as a balm, the team at Armani was able to pack in a really high concentration of pigment (15 percent). “That’s the kind of coverage you’d normally get from a much heavier foundation—the kind that can look mask-like on the skin—but as this formula transforms to cream it becomes featherlight,” says cosmetic chemist Ni’Kita Wilson. “The way it melts into the skin as it transitions from one phase to the next is unbelievable.” When you put it on, encapsulated oils burst open and the balm becomes a cream that spreads easily for smooth, even coverage. While that’s happening, the second kind of capsule in the formula starts evaporating, releasing ultra-fine powders that settle onto the skin—they contain oil- and water-absorbing agent (mineral perlite) that repels humidity, sweat, and oil for long-wearing coverage. Our tester was grateful to find a full-coverage foundation with such a natural-looking finish, as well as a creamy foundation that works on oily skin since it dries down to a powder. If your skin is dry, however, prep with moisturizer first to avoid creasing (a good rule of thumb for dry skin in general).

DYSON AIRWRAP COLLECTION