I've wanted to try out the Illamasqua range for a good year or so now so I decided to bite the bullet and see if they were worth the hype.
I'm constantly on the look out for a top quality foundation that offers me the coverage and longevity I need for my combination skin. So far, I switch between Vichy Dermablend liquid foundation and Estee Lauder doublewear, maximum cover - both cover my mild scarring (former severe acne sufferer) and last for at least one working day without my skin looking cracked and cakey. I team up my foundation with concealer and powder and I'm fond of Lasting Perfection by "Collection" and Glamoflauge by "Hard Candy." I use any mattifying powder that's affordable, as I have had bad luck with high end finishing powders and found brand/price tag doesn't seem to affect how powders work on my skin. However, with liquid foundations I just can't use any drugstore ones at all as they don't offer the coverage I require. I don't mean to sound snobbish, if anyone knows a drugstore foundation that has the high level of coverage of a high end foundation then let me know as I've yet to find one!
REVIEW 1: RICH LIQUID FOUNDATION, 120 - FOR LIGHT SKIN WITH PINK UNDERTONES
I read that Illamasqua foundations offer light to full coverage, especially the rich liquid! I was browsing their official website and noticed that they were selling one of the rich liquids for the price of £10.00 - I'm not sure why this particular shade (120) was on offer, perhaps it proved to be an unpopular shade in the range? The usual price for the rich liquid foundations are £30.00 so I couldn't resist a massive bargain and- who wouldn't want to save £20 on an Illamasqua product? I happened to notice that the foundation contains no SPF which was a bonus for me as I am fed up with how ghostly products that contain the skin protecting ingredient make my skin appear. I feel as long as you wear a moisturiser with SPF, then you don't need to worry too much about whether it's in your make-up. Besides, it's rarely sunny here in England and I am certain I'd be more tanned if there was half decent weather!
The Illamasqua site states that shade 120 for the Rich Liquid foundation is for "light skin with pink undertones." Although Illamasqua seemed great for a variety of shades, I researched 120 online and found that most beauty bloggers discovered it was a lot darker than you'd expect it to be and you can see that through their swatches. It didn't put me off because I have an olive undertone to my skin and can use my white foundation to mix foundation colours and create a matching base.
My foundation arrived the day after I ordered it which was pretty impressive! Not only that, they are consistent with emailing and even text you to inform you of who's delivering your item and the company they're with! The foundation comes in a dark navy coloured box which is cut out so you have a preview of the foundation colour - useful if you're viewing it in person at one of Illamsqua's stores. I thought the box looked fancy enough and I still haven't thrown it away, I feel like high end make-up is more of a "souvenir" and feel the need to keep everything to do with it! :')
The foundation it'self comes in a simple, clear see through packaging with a black lid at the bottom showing the Illamsqua logo on it. At the back of the packaging you'll find the ingredients and the typical information you expect to see on a makeup product such as the name of the product and its colour. I think a see through packaging is very practical as you'll be able to see when you're running out of your make-up and can plan your next purchase before you get ready one morning and are filled with disappointment over an empty product you needed.
To dispense the foundation you'll need to squeeze the product out and that's probably one of the only downsides of this product because a pump lid allows you to dispense a more even and preferred amount of product - still, I like the packaging as a whole.
SWATCH
As you can see from the swatch below, the colour is quite dark compared to my skin tone which confirmed my suspicions mentioned earlier in the post. Blended in, it's not half as bad and I can mix this foundation with a white colour to get the result I desire very easily. Unfortunately, this will be a big negative to many pale skinned customers so I would strongly suggest fair skinned beauties try this foundation in the shade 115 as it's the PALEST in the range (excluding WHITE) and is likely to match which 120 will definitely fail to do unless you have a olive complexion.
PREP
I used my Boots Time Delay primer over my Simple moisturizer prior to applying my foundation. I've discovered some awesome primers and setting products since I'd first started this review which I will talk about in a future blog post!
I applied this foundation on my face with my fingers (patting the liquid gently) as brushes tend to spread the product out on my face too much, leaving me with little to no coverage.
The coverage is pretty decent, I would say this is a medium coverage foundation and not full like many bloggers have claimed. I appreciate that someone with few to no facial flaws will see this as heavy coverage but if you're someone who isn't blessed with a flawless complexion, be mindful you'll need concealer to hide blemishes including under your eyes.
The finish on my combination skin is slightly disappointing because I've noticed this foundation leaves me with an oil slick, caked (patchy oily appearance) skin halfway through the day and I certainly don't want to look that way, especially at work when I'm supposed to represent the company! :') I can imagine this foundation would work great on those who DON'T suffer from both dry and oily skins yet want to cover a few mild to moderate blemishes such as pores or that one BIG pimple that always appears at an inconvenient time. I don't recommend this for a natural finish, PURELY based on the fact this is RICH liquid, therefore the ingredients are stronger and the colour is more pigmented than a lighter coverage product and you can try Illamasqua's minimum coverage foundation here!
Overall Ratings:
Coverage: 7/10
Longevity: 5/10
Price: I paid a small amount purely out of luck but I certainly wouldn't pay £30.00 for it.
Would I repurchase? It's a no from me. If you want a medium and build-able coverage foundation, save your money and invest in the likes of Revlon Colorstay or Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid - the coverage is the same at a much lower price.
Please note that you are likely to have a different experience to me with any product as no two persons skin is the same. If you have combination skin it's wise to take my opinions into consideration but with any product, you never know until you try!
REVIEW 2: SKIN BASE FOUNDATION, SB02
After the disappointment of my experience with the Rich Liquid foundation, I was eager to try the Skin Base product! The skin base foundation is another liquid product, designed to act as a "second" skin to improve the overall appearance and eliminate imperfections. I bought this for £21.00 on eBay so I saved £11 in total - not bad at all for a high end product. The Illamasqua official website states the following:
"Inspired by the cult Asian market Beauty Balm creams, Skin Base Foundation is a brand new, refined formula unlike anything on the UK market. Easily blendable, it effortlessly creates a perfect complexion, and like the entire Illamasqua foundation range, is undetectable in a professional HD environment. Suitable for all skin types, it smoothes, softens and conditions your skin whilst providing natural, buildable coverage."
I chose the lightest colour (excluding the 01 white shade) due to my experience with the colour of my Rich Liquid purchase - I figured that any colour 2 shades from pure white was going to be too dark and didn't want to take the risk! Illamasqua claim SB02 is for "pink undertones with yellow." I must admit it doesn't apply to my skin but since it appeared so light and claims to be "natural" I figured it may be lightweight enough to blend well enough into my skin!
I didn't receive a luxury navy box since the eBay seller I bought this from had already taken a swatch, it turned out this was too light for her skin tone. I do love the packaging for Skin Base foundation. The bottle is tiny yet you can see (clear see through packaging) how much product you get which I feel is a decent amount since you only need to use a small amount for optimum results!
Yeah, I do like this foundation better than the Rich Liquid and as you can see from the swatch below, the colour is pale but a lot better and easily blend-able. The coverage is light to medium but much more build-able - in fact it's the only foundation I feel I can actually build coverage with at all as it doesn't feel thick and cakey.
SWATCH
I enjoy applying it (with my fingers, gently patting the product onto areas I feel need attention) and it feels SO light - it's almost like I'm not wearing anything at all.
The foundation contains no SPF (same as Rich Liquid) so I find this is a wonderful foundation for evenings/nights out, since you don't need to worry about sun protection indoors and the lack of SPF is good news for selfie lovers or those who enjoy capturing moments of joy without looking ridiculously pale.
Although the coverage is build-able, I still use a small amount of concealer and a separate under eye cover product for my dark circles. The foundation is great for greasy oil slick skin sufferers as it's very mattifying yet creates a healthy finishing glow which can always be eliminated with a setting powder. I don't think those with dry skin would benefit from this foundation unless they have a strict skincare routine including ex-foliating dry patches before applying make-up and using rich liquid moisturizers to keep skin hydrated.
Although I love the initial finish of this foundation, it doesn't look too good at the end of my working day, dry patches seem overly emphasized and it looks like I have applied it poorly which is odd because I have a good daily skincare regime and use a small amount of product, distributing the liquid over my skin exactly where I need it. It's a bit of a let down, however I haven't yet tried this with my new setting spray so I won't make an overall judgement on it's lasting power just yet, as some products rely on a little prompt. ;)
Overall Ratings:
Coverage: 7.5/10
Price: 5/10 - I would not want to pay the full £32.00 for this!
Would I repurchase? I probably wouldn't based on the fact it's too pricey and I simply didn't love it enough.
Unfortunately, I have not been converted to Illamasqua's foundations but I can see why a lot of people would love the Skin Base as (for me) it initially felt so natural and lightweight!
Has anyone who's read this post tried this foundation? What shade did you use and what did you think? Did the product last well for at least 8 hours? Let me know by commenting below! :D
Thanks to anyone who's reading and apologies this took so long to do!
Shez x
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Before you read this post, I want to apologize for the poor quality swatch images. The digital camera I use isn't the best for focus shots and my phone is no better - because of this a few extra pictures I took had to be removed from the post because they were just too awful to be uploaded!)
I'm constantly on the look out for a top quality foundation that offers me the coverage and longevity I need for my combination skin. So far, I switch between Vichy Dermablend liquid foundation and Estee Lauder doublewear, maximum cover - both cover my mild scarring (former severe acne sufferer) and last for at least one working day without my skin looking cracked and cakey. I team up my foundation with concealer and powder and I'm fond of Lasting Perfection by "Collection" and Glamoflauge by "Hard Candy." I use any mattifying powder that's affordable, as I have had bad luck with high end finishing powders and found brand/price tag doesn't seem to affect how powders work on my skin. However, with liquid foundations I just can't use any drugstore ones at all as they don't offer the coverage I require. I don't mean to sound snobbish, if anyone knows a drugstore foundation that has the high level of coverage of a high end foundation then let me know as I've yet to find one!
REVIEW 1: RICH LIQUID FOUNDATION, 120 - FOR LIGHT SKIN WITH PINK UNDERTONES
I read that Illamasqua foundations offer light to full coverage, especially the rich liquid! I was browsing their official website and noticed that they were selling one of the rich liquids for the price of £10.00 - I'm not sure why this particular shade (120) was on offer, perhaps it proved to be an unpopular shade in the range? The usual price for the rich liquid foundations are £30.00 so I couldn't resist a massive bargain and- who wouldn't want to save £20 on an Illamasqua product? I happened to notice that the foundation contains no SPF which was a bonus for me as I am fed up with how ghostly products that contain the skin protecting ingredient make my skin appear. I feel as long as you wear a moisturiser with SPF, then you don't need to worry too much about whether it's in your make-up. Besides, it's rarely sunny here in England and I am certain I'd be more tanned if there was half decent weather!
The Illamasqua site states that shade 120 for the Rich Liquid foundation is for "light skin with pink undertones." Although Illamasqua seemed great for a variety of shades, I researched 120 online and found that most beauty bloggers discovered it was a lot darker than you'd expect it to be and you can see that through their swatches. It didn't put me off because I have an olive undertone to my skin and can use my white foundation to mix foundation colours and create a matching base.
My foundation arrived the day after I ordered it which was pretty impressive! Not only that, they are consistent with emailing and even text you to inform you of who's delivering your item and the company they're with! The foundation comes in a dark navy coloured box which is cut out so you have a preview of the foundation colour - useful if you're viewing it in person at one of Illamsqua's stores. I thought the box looked fancy enough and I still haven't thrown it away, I feel like high end make-up is more of a "souvenir" and feel the need to keep everything to do with it! :')
The foundation it'self comes in a simple, clear see through packaging with a black lid at the bottom showing the Illamsqua logo on it. At the back of the packaging you'll find the ingredients and the typical information you expect to see on a makeup product such as the name of the product and its colour. I think a see through packaging is very practical as you'll be able to see when you're running out of your make-up and can plan your next purchase before you get ready one morning and are filled with disappointment over an empty product you needed.
To dispense the foundation you'll need to squeeze the product out and that's probably one of the only downsides of this product because a pump lid allows you to dispense a more even and preferred amount of product - still, I like the packaging as a whole.
SWATCH
As you can see from the swatch below, the colour is quite dark compared to my skin tone which confirmed my suspicions mentioned earlier in the post. Blended in, it's not half as bad and I can mix this foundation with a white colour to get the result I desire very easily. Unfortunately, this will be a big negative to many pale skinned customers so I would strongly suggest fair skinned beauties try this foundation in the shade 115 as it's the PALEST in the range (excluding WHITE) and is likely to match which 120 will definitely fail to do unless you have a olive complexion.
PREP
I used my Boots Time Delay primer over my Simple moisturizer prior to applying my foundation. I've discovered some awesome primers and setting products since I'd first started this review which I will talk about in a future blog post!
I applied this foundation on my face with my fingers (patting the liquid gently) as brushes tend to spread the product out on my face too much, leaving me with little to no coverage.
The coverage is pretty decent, I would say this is a medium coverage foundation and not full like many bloggers have claimed. I appreciate that someone with few to no facial flaws will see this as heavy coverage but if you're someone who isn't blessed with a flawless complexion, be mindful you'll need concealer to hide blemishes including under your eyes.
The finish on my combination skin is slightly disappointing because I've noticed this foundation leaves me with an oil slick, caked (patchy oily appearance) skin halfway through the day and I certainly don't want to look that way, especially at work when I'm supposed to represent the company! :') I can imagine this foundation would work great on those who DON'T suffer from both dry and oily skins yet want to cover a few mild to moderate blemishes such as pores or that one BIG pimple that always appears at an inconvenient time. I don't recommend this for a natural finish, PURELY based on the fact this is RICH liquid, therefore the ingredients are stronger and the colour is more pigmented than a lighter coverage product and you can try Illamasqua's minimum coverage foundation here!
Overall Ratings:
Coverage: 7/10
Longevity: 5/10
Price: I paid a small amount purely out of luck but I certainly wouldn't pay £30.00 for it.
Would I repurchase? It's a no from me. If you want a medium and build-able coverage foundation, save your money and invest in the likes of Revlon Colorstay or Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid - the coverage is the same at a much lower price.
Please note that you are likely to have a different experience to me with any product as no two persons skin is the same. If you have combination skin it's wise to take my opinions into consideration but with any product, you never know until you try!
REVIEW 2: SKIN BASE FOUNDATION, SB02
After the disappointment of my experience with the Rich Liquid foundation, I was eager to try the Skin Base product! The skin base foundation is another liquid product, designed to act as a "second" skin to improve the overall appearance and eliminate imperfections. I bought this for £21.00 on eBay so I saved £11 in total - not bad at all for a high end product. The Illamasqua official website states the following:
"Inspired by the cult Asian market Beauty Balm creams, Skin Base Foundation is a brand new, refined formula unlike anything on the UK market. Easily blendable, it effortlessly creates a perfect complexion, and like the entire Illamasqua foundation range, is undetectable in a professional HD environment. Suitable for all skin types, it smoothes, softens and conditions your skin whilst providing natural, buildable coverage."
I chose the lightest colour (excluding the 01 white shade) due to my experience with the colour of my Rich Liquid purchase - I figured that any colour 2 shades from pure white was going to be too dark and didn't want to take the risk! Illamasqua claim SB02 is for "pink undertones with yellow." I must admit it doesn't apply to my skin but since it appeared so light and claims to be "natural" I figured it may be lightweight enough to blend well enough into my skin!
I didn't receive a luxury navy box since the eBay seller I bought this from had already taken a swatch, it turned out this was too light for her skin tone. I do love the packaging for Skin Base foundation. The bottle is tiny yet you can see (clear see through packaging) how much product you get which I feel is a decent amount since you only need to use a small amount for optimum results!
Yeah, I do like this foundation better than the Rich Liquid and as you can see from the swatch below, the colour is pale but a lot better and easily blend-able. The coverage is light to medium but much more build-able - in fact it's the only foundation I feel I can actually build coverage with at all as it doesn't feel thick and cakey.
SWATCH
PREP
Same skin preparation routine for Rich Liquid, using Boots Time Delay Primer over Simple moisturizer.
The foundation contains no SPF (same as Rich Liquid) so I find this is a wonderful foundation for evenings/nights out, since you don't need to worry about sun protection indoors and the lack of SPF is good news for selfie lovers or those who enjoy capturing moments of joy without looking ridiculously pale.
Although the coverage is build-able, I still use a small amount of concealer and a separate under eye cover product for my dark circles. The foundation is great for greasy oil slick skin sufferers as it's very mattifying yet creates a healthy finishing glow which can always be eliminated with a setting powder. I don't think those with dry skin would benefit from this foundation unless they have a strict skincare routine including ex-foliating dry patches before applying make-up and using rich liquid moisturizers to keep skin hydrated.
Although I love the initial finish of this foundation, it doesn't look too good at the end of my working day, dry patches seem overly emphasized and it looks like I have applied it poorly which is odd because I have a good daily skincare regime and use a small amount of product, distributing the liquid over my skin exactly where I need it. It's a bit of a let down, however I haven't yet tried this with my new setting spray so I won't make an overall judgement on it's lasting power just yet, as some products rely on a little prompt. ;)
Coverage: 7.5/10
Price: 5/10 - I would not want to pay the full £32.00 for this!
Would I repurchase? I probably wouldn't based on the fact it's too pricey and I simply didn't love it enough.
Unfortunately, I have not been converted to Illamasqua's foundations but I can see why a lot of people would love the Skin Base as (for me) it initially felt so natural and lightweight!
Has anyone who's read this post tried this foundation? What shade did you use and what did you think? Did the product last well for at least 8 hours? Let me know by commenting below! :D
Thanks to anyone who's reading and apologies this took so long to do!
Shez x
FOLLOW MY SOCIAL MEDIA:
TUMBLR
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