YSL All Hours Foundation review: we trial the long-wearing matte base

As a legendary French fashion house, YSL is a trusted name that we’ve come to expect big things from. And while Touché Eclat is its most famous product, today I’m turning my attention to a newer base product for this YSL All Hours Foundation review.

After a makeover in 2022, this matte foundation has a far more hydrating, skincare-led base and is even more long-wearing – now promising up to 24 hours of wear. All this sounds like a strong contender for one of the best foundation buys on the market, so how well does it perform? I put it through its paces to bring you this detailed YSL All Hours Foundation review. 

Our beauty editor’s YSL All Hours Foundation review

The packaging

With YSL All Hours, we’re dealing with your classic chic French designer brand packaging: Frosted rectangular bottle, a black lid emblazoned with the label’s logo, which is in gold wrapped around two sides of the lid. Dispensation is via a pump, which is very hygienic but means you may have to shake out the very end of the contents. There’s nothing particularly snazzy about the packaging, but how many foundations do you know whose best feature is the bottle and not what’s inside? 

YSL All Hours Foundation formula

Before you get your hands on this formula, everything in the product description suggests it’s tailored toward oilier skin types. Available in 40 different shades, it’s oil-free and has a matte finish, thanks to the inclusion of neo-skin powder. The new-and-improved skincare-led formula is also infused with hyaluronic acid, the hydrating skincare ingredient that can famously hold up to 1,000 times its own weight in water, and claims to provide the skin with all-day hydration.

There is also the inclusion of SPF 20, but this isn’t that high at the best of times, let alone in the summer months. We also don’t apply nearly as much foundation as we do our best facial sunscreens – around half a teaspoon’s worth covers the face and neck sufficiently – which is imperative to get the level of protection stipulated on the bottle. So, it’s a nice bonus, but not enough to rely on alone. 

How does it look and feel on the skin?

Although billed as having a matte finish, this is not so matte that it makes skin look chalky or flat and it doesn’t cling to any drier patches. It’s very comfortable to wear as promised and doesn’t feel thick and heavy on the skin as even some of the best full coverage foundations do. I also noticed my skin didn’t develop its mid-afternoon shine (one of its signature moves) and become oily with wear, earning All Hours several points. 

In the interest of transparency, I will note that the shade I tested for the piece, LW7, wasn’t a great match as it was slightly darker than my skin at this time of year (my ideal match wasn’t available) and I have a neutral undertone. But it wasn’t so off that I couldn't blend it in sufficiently with a good bit of buffing, and this didn’t skew my opinion of it. As I said, this comes in 40 shades, so as long as you know how to find your foundation shade properly you won't have a similar issue. 

How about after a day of wear?

I can’t say I’ve stayed up for as long as 24 hours wearing foundation in quite some time, I so can’t truly report back on that claim. But, I went in with faith in YSL All Hours' staying power and it certainly delivered on that front. My skin didn’t feel at all oily to the touch by the end of the day – a mid-afternoon habit for foundations with less staying power – so its matte finish certainly does stick around. I didn’t notice any transferring either. 

Because the shade match wasn’t perfect it was a little more difficult to assess if the formula changed color as the day went on, but as far as I could tell it didn’t do so. 

YSL All Hours Foundation review: My verdict

All in all, I do like this foundation. Anything that stays in place on my grease-prone T-zone wins several points in my own personal best foundation for oily skin contest, and it sits smoothly on the skin while evening out tone with its full coverage and blurring the look of pores. There’s very little I can say about it that’s negative, but I’m really splitting hairs, I’d point out that its price tag of $56 – a bit less in the UK at £36, but still pricey – tips it toward the higher end of the foundation cost scale. There are matte foundations that I like just as much, if not more, that cost less (Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Foundation is one).

That very much comes down to personal preference, though, so if long wear and a matte finish are two of your top priorities when makeup base shopping, I recommend checking this out. It certainly goes the distance!