REVIEW: Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation

Thursday 10 July 2014


Occasionally I have to eat my words and concede I may have jumped the gun with my impressions of some products; Illamasqua Skin Base is definitely one of them.

I originally purchased this foundation when it was first released, as I don't live anywhere near an Illamasqua counter I had to rely on their foundation matcher online which just gave the mac equivalent for each shade, my NC20 skin was matched to their shade 5. I looked like casper the friendly ghost, casper the friendly ghost with flaky horrible skin. The formula was so chalky and clung to any dry patches I had and was impossible to blend in, I tried it multiple times hoping we'd bond but in the end I gave up and got rid.

Of course everyone else loved it and before I went on holiday I took the plunge and bought another bottle in a darker shade estimating my tan for when I returned, I've gone a whole 180 on this and love it. Although I still agree with my original thoughts that this isn't a BB cream as is marketed as there's barely any skin care ingredients and the formulation doesn't scream BB to me I just think Illamasqua were jumping on the BB bandwagon.

Coverage: I apply all foundations with my fingers and I find this to be a decent medium coverage which you can definitely build if you enjoy more of a heavy coverage. It's almost gel like in formulation and whilst some people find it hard to blend with brushes I find it effortless with my fingers and a beauty blender.
Finish: I would describe it as somewhere between a matte and dewy appearance which I love, the older I'm getting the less matte I want my skin to look and everyone asks what I have on my skin when I wear it, that has to make it a winner, right?
Longevity: I have extremely oily skin and when paired with the right primer Skin Base lasts on my skin a solid 10 hours, if you have normal skin this would see you through a work day through to after work drinks easily. Very impressive.
Price: I had a look at my original review and in 2011 it was priced at £25 these days it will set you back £32 for 30mls (Link) that is quite a price hike to me, I don't know of any other foundations that have increased by that margin in that short a time. Not cool. Regardless I will purchase another bottle in my none tanned shade as it's a pretty standard price for a high end foundation these days.

I'm really glad I gave this another shot and pretty much use it every day as it gives such a beautiful finish on my skin and isn't too heavy a coverage for my working day.



2 comments

  1. I have this foundation and do enjoy it but I do find the price hike totally ridiculous. I don't mind a £1 or so increase but a £7 increase is just not cool.
    Lovely finish on the skin though and it makes your skin look flawless :)
    Jade x
    www.jadeddaily.co.uk

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  2. I have not tried any Illamasqua products yet, although I have been keeping an eye out for the perfect summer time foundation that is a little more luxury than 'drugstore'. It looks completely flawless on you and definitely the right balance to give you a healthy glow. I'm not a huge fan of the price tag but I'll be jotting this one down for future reference :) x

    Barbie Sparkles | UK Beauty Blog

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