Armani Beauty reformulated its iconic Luminous Silk Foundation, but is it better than the original? We found out

There are a handful of beauty products that are so universally adored that people can reel off the name with just a quick glance at the packaging. One of these is Giorgio Armani’s Luminous Silk Foundation. Originally launched in 2000 and developed alongside make-up legend Pat McGrath, the foundation quickly garnered a legion of loyal fans for its ability to make skin look fresh and glowy while delivering a dose of medium coverage. 

It has become a beauty editor, celebrity and on-camera favourite – if, like me, you couldn’t get through Bridgerton seasons three and four without thinking about how incredible Hannah Dodd’s (Francesca Bridgerton) skin looked, you might be interested to know it was Armani’s Luminous Silk. It went on to win multiple industry awards and sits in the proverbial beauty hall of fame. So, when the brand announced it was launching a reformulated version after 26 years, it’s fair to say the decision raised a few eyebrows.

I was invited to a briefing session about the new foundation, and I went along – admittedly sceptically – to hear about the changes they’d made. Luminous Silk Foundation has a special place in my heart – as with certain perfumes, it’s a part of my make-up bag that is connected with so many wonderful memories, from family weddings to museum trip outings with my nephews when they were little.

After the session, I felt relieved. Armani hasn’t taken apart its original Luminous Silk Foundation; instead, the brand has made highly considered changes that work to improve the formula. Somehow, they’ve made it better.

The first thing to note is that the brand has added skincare ingredients to the formula. Super-boosted foundations were a huge trend last year, and this is set to continue in 2026, in a bid to make sure our foundations are working as hard as possible for us. For Luminous Silk, ingredients like niacinamide, Mediterranean lily and white lupine extract have been added into the formula, all of which play a part in keeping skin hydrated and help improve skin texture. While I can’t attest to the latter, I’ve noticed that the foundation doesn’t settle into lines on my face by 4pm, which the older formula did.

Another big change – the most important, in my opinion – is what the brand is calling new ‘pigment precision’ technology. Armani analysed all the existing shades in the original Luminous Silk line-up and assessed any gaps, paying particular attention to missing undertones. This has led to a new collection of 44 shades, 18 of which are new. Among the new shades, the brand added ultramarine pigments for deeper skin tones and green pigments for medium, neutral and warm shades that work to illuminate olive skin tones. The news was music to my ears. Even though the industry is taking greater strides to make foundation shades more inclusive, finding the perfect match for my South Asian skin tone is still difficult across some brands and formulas. For this, though, I now have my perfect match (7.6, in case you wondered), with options to go deeper in the summer.

Now, I know there’s one thing you’re probably wondering about: the finish. As hinted in the name, the original Luminous Silk Foundation was known for its illuminating, radiant finish, and I’m pleased to report that the new foundation achieves the same healthy-looking effect. However, the new iteration feels lighter on skin and, thanks to its work on pigments, it looks a lot more seamless too, thanks to a better shade match.

To apply, I found the best way was roughly blending it onto my cheeks, nose, forehead, chin and down my neck with a densely-packed foundation brush before blending it out with a sponge. Once it dried down, my skin had the lit-from-within glow I’ve come to love from Luminous Silk and, better still, there was zero oxidation or need for touch-ups throughout the day.

While I’m usually a big believer in ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, I’m glad that Armani decided to give its Luminous Silk Foundation a bit of a boost.

Images: Hanna Ibraheem/Stylist; courtesy of brand