SJ Road Test: Elizabeth Arden Intervene Foundation

Monday, February 18, 2008

Elizabeth Arden Intervene Foundation
Intervene Foundation

$36.00
Available at: elizabetharden.com

I've had an odd relationship with liquid foundation over the years. It's tempting to dub it a love-hate relationship, but that would be generous. It's been more of a tolerate-hate relationship.

Generally speaking, there's nothing like a full face of foundation to age a woman. This was fine in my younger years. The insta-aging was a fabulous side-effect of the inhumanly flawless face. Just after turning 21 I realized that looking older wasn't necessarily a good thing. I shunned foundation in favor of strategically applied concealer. Life was good. Then I hit the big 3-0.

Seriously, it was like someone hit a switch. My once even toned skin was now ruddy around my nose and chin. The darkness around my eyes that once seemed like an exotic genetic gift from my Italian grandmother now just made me look tired. I needed help and I found that help in a bottle of tinted moisturizer. Sure, it wasn't a perfect solution, but it felt like a happy medium between looking like a tired 30-year-old and looking like an exceptionally well-preserved 50-year-old.

Given my sordid past with foundation, I wasn't sure I was the perfect person to review the new Intervene foundation from Elizabeth Arden. But the advertising featuring Catherine Zeta Jones reeled me in. Maybe the secret to aging gracefully is about learning a new way to look at makeup. I stepped up to the plate.

I'll admit, I was pleasantly surprised by Intervene. The foundation I remember was thick and heavy, creating a flesh-colored mask over my entire face. Not so with Intervene. Only a tiny bit thicker than my daily tinted moisturizer, Intervene slid on quite nicely and melted into my skin without creating a mask-like feel. The color was so natural that I couldn't really tell where the foundation ended and my skin began. After application, the redness around my nose and chin vanished and I needed significantly less concealer under my eyes. The best part was the finish: not matte, but not dewy either. More of a satin finish that didn't get greasy as the day wore on.

Altogether, I'm very pleased with Intervene. It lives up to its promise of creating a younger look by specifically targeting the very first signs of aging. I think it's a great choice for women who are just reaching that age where concealer and lip balm are no longer enough to create a perfect look. Had this little experiment not worked, I would never have posted before and after pictures for the entire world to see. But, the results were so dramatic I thought I'd let you check it out for yourself:



Before


After



Brighter skin; even toned complexion; bu-bye black circles. It's a home run for Intervene in my book. Click on the photo at the top left of this post to link directly to where you can purchase Intervene online. In case you are skeptical about buying foundation online, I picked out my shade by choosing from the online color swatches and ended up with the perfect shade. Don't miss any SJ Road Tests. Subscribe to Stiletto Jungle and get free updates by e-mail or RSS. Take Stiletto Jungle with you wherever you surf with the Stiletto Jungle Connect Toolbar featuring Google search.

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