Can one foundation survive Paris Fashion Week? We put it to the test

There is a particular kind of light in Paris that is cinematic glow you might expect, but something more diffused, almost withholding—a sense that the sun exists, but held behind a sheet of cloud. It is, as Gregoris Pyrpylis, Creative Director of Hermès Beauty, describes it to me, “a kind of light that you never see...with a diffusion that shows every imperfection.” Perfect, I think to myself, as our interview begins at the Hermès HQ in Paris. That’s precisely the kind of light that exposes a foundation for what it is—the ideal environment for me to test run Hermès’ latest launch.

And so it begins. I’m in Paris for fashion week so I wear the foundation across a day that moves fast and excruciatingly. From early morning shows to speedy coffee breaks, more shows, and then long stretches of walking. Make-up, here, is the only thing keeping it looking like somehow everything is magically held together.

The idea for the testing is simple (if slightly unforgiving even): to observe how it behaves when not used in its controlled conditions, but rather in motion—on Indian skin, across changing light, over hours that tend to unravel even the most well-intentioned formulations.

“Hermès is a house of restraint and luxury is not in the excess...it’s about the essence.”

Plein Air, as Pyrpylis explains, is named after a philosophy rooted in Impressionism—when masters like Claude Monet stepped out of the studio to capture the light around them. “Plein Air, quite literally, means open air,” he explains. “It evokes this kind of synergy, love, an respect that Hermès has with nature, with being outdoors,” he says. Within Hermès Beauty, this translates to a complexion that is “elevated by natural light,”—an idea that becomes increasingly tangible as my day unfolds.

Similar to the Plein Air complexion balm that launched in 2022, the foundation stretches the formulation further. While the balm was about the lightest touch, this is, in Pyrpylis’ words, “a pigmented fluid with medium adjustable coverage, that you can sheer out or build up. Yet it always looks and feels like second skin.” It is designed, above all, to adapt. In this case, to my day, and the hours spent in between fashion, and (elusive) rest. Applied in the morning—somewhat hastily—the foundation feels disarmingly light. It covers the skin like a light veil, and there’s a moment where you wonder if you’ve actually put anything on at all. “The best fit for a foundation is the one that you forget that you wear,” says Pyrpylis.

There comes a point, when foundation starts to feel like something you’re ready to remove. Typically, it’s the end of the day, and your skin starts to feel dry, sprawled like cling film. It’s the moment you know it’s time to take the day off. The moment to return to yourself.

After a day of Schiaparelli and new designer showrooms, and a cheeky Aperol Spritz (or two), when I swipe the cotton pad across my face at night, my skin underneath feels unexpectedly...fine? Better than fine, actually. “You won’t have the same experience,” I remember Pyrpylis’ words. “Your skin is going to feel very soft, supple, hydrated.” Of course, I’d mentally filed the words under cautious optimism.

How can a vial of make-up, especially foundation, be something that is good for you?

It comes back to how Hermès approaches beauty. A large part of this good-for-you effect lies in the formulation of the foundation itself, which leans heavily into skincare. “Eighty-two percent of the base formula is skincare,” Pyrpylis notes, emphasising that the intention is not simply to embellish but to improve. “Hermès is a house of restraint and luxury is not in the excess...it’s about the essence,” he further explains. In the context of foundation, this translates to a product that does not seek to obscure or correct aggressively, but to align with the skin as it is.

The thought has been evident in the way the brand has approached lipstick, eye shadow, the balm, and even blotting paper. If it exists, it must have a purpose.

The same can be said about the application kit within which the world of Hermès Plein Air foundation lives. Typically, foundation is a step in a series of lotions and potions applied to make your skin look undulating and even. Here, it’s positioned as something closer to a ‘gesture’—the wonderful French word that means the act, the art, the ritual, of doing absolutely mundane things.

“It’s part of a ritual, not a routine,” Pyrpylis says, describing a system of application that includes a primer (if you want a longer lasting and matte look), a beautiful weight-y bronze palette (that has the H libris embossed), a silicone-tipped spatula (for those who prefer to use a tool rather than their fingers to mop up product from palette).

The loveliest feature though, is a brush shaped like a horse’s hoof. Designed by Creative Director of shoes and jewellery for the House Pierre Hardy, it is the perfect anatomy of a make-up brush, made to ensure zero product waste.

It all sounds quite elaborate, I know. But in practice it’s less about adding time and more about shifting how you use make-up. “It just makes that moment more precious... a moment where you reconnect with yourself,” Pyrpylis explains. And this much is true. I didn’t find myself feeling rushed, but rather, more present. And although, over the next couple of days, I found it easier to want to skip the extra tools, I reached for the beautiful objects of brush and palette, bottle and spatula, almost like a grounding ritual ahead of a rushed day.

As the hours slipped between Schiaparelli and showrooms visits, sips of wine and meetings, I’d given my skin the harshest tests. And yet, my skin always came out on top. Outside a show venue, in the late-morning Paris light, my Hermès Plein Air skin read as skin. Later, in the inner caverns of a Parisian bar, no harsh shadows and visible layers of product covering my skin showed. At the end of the day, in front of the mirror’s harsh lighting that tends to magnify every pore, my make-up, magically, still held together.

“I wanted to create something that can look perfect under the hot, raw sun of Athens, the humidity of Singapore, and the drier winter of Paris.”

Hermès calls the finish “luminous matte”, which sounds like the kind of contradiction beauty marketing loves—but somehow, it lands. “It’s an interplay of texture and light. Finding this perfect harmony between radiance and the matte finish,” Pyrpylis explains. It doesn’t glow in the obvious sense, nor does it matte in the way that drains life from the face. It kind of sits somewhere in between catching light and absorbing it.

Pyrpylis describes the foundation’s ambitions succinctly: “I wanted to create something that can look perfect under the hot, raw sun of Athens, the humidity of Singapore, and the drier winter of Paris. A foundation that adapts to you.” Mission accomplished. Hermès Plein Air is the kind of product that will accompany you across climates, hours, and conditions that range from the unforgiving to the unexpectedly kind. And all we can do then, is look up to the sky and let the light in.

Image credit: Courtesy the brand

Artwork: Trushieta Naringrekar

Photo credit for brand image): Tim el Kaim

Photo credit (for Akanksha Kamath’s portraits): Shubhie Agarwal

Edited by Pauline Gayat

This article first appeared in the April 2026 issue of Harper's Bazaar India  

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