L’Oreal (UK) Ltd (Lancôme) said the image was taken by Mario Testino, who was well known for taking flattering photographs of his subjects. They said he used a lot of light, which was flattering, and reduced the appearance of imperfections by giving the image a soft focus and lower resolution.

Lancôme said the flawless skin in the image was also due to Julia Roberts’ naturally healthy and glowing skin, and supplied pictures of her on the red carpet to support that. They said consideration should also be given to the fact the image was in the context of an ad for foundation, a product which was designed to cover skin flaws and imperfections.

Lancôme said the product’s main selling point was its ability to illuminate skin and make it appear glowing. They said the ad therefore focused on luminosity and glowing skin, and was an aspirational picture of beautiful radiant skin. They said the product was developed after 10 years of research on the optical properties of the skin, and provided details of how the product could reinforce the skin’s radiance and improve its ability to reflect light. They also provided a table of consumer testing scores for the product, including the finding that the consumers tested felt the product made their complexion look more radiant and luminous.

Lancôme provided detail of the post production techniques used in the ad, but said they did not consider those changes related to characteristics directly relevant to the performance of the product, and maintained the ad provided an aspirational picture of what could be achieved by using the product. They provided before and after laboratory pictures of testers wearing the product, saying the pictures showed the product provided efficient coverage and created a glow on the wearer’s face.