Foundation Forever #1- Illamasqua Skinbase in Shade 2

After doing my Lipstick Forever series for a while, I thought I'd start a foundation series to cover in depth about foundations! First up... the Illamasqua Skinbase.

Product: Illamasqua Skinbase
Shade: 02
Price: £25, online at the Illamasqua website or from their counters.
Finish: Semi matte, more natural.
Skin Type and Colour:  Combination (dry sensitive cheeks, oily T-zone). Very pale (N10 in Mac) neutral toned, but slightly more pink.

Packaging: I really love the packaging of Illamasqua foundations. The colours they use and the curves on the bottle make it really stand out from the plain packaging a lot of brands use. The bottle is plastic and easy to carry, and the small nozzle means it is difficult to squeeze out too much.

Colour: I picked up Shade 2, a very pale pink. If I'm honest, it is a bit too pale (even for my ghostly skin). I couldn't really go down to another shade (the other one they showed me was way too dark), although be aware the shades are by tone rather than straight from light to dark. I love Illamasqua's range, but this colour has too much white for me. You know the white cast effect from sunscreens? That's what this reminds me of when I first put it on. I can work with it, but it isn't great.

You can see it clinging a bit in these two pics.

Ghostly.

Application & Coverage: I would say the coverage is medium-high. I LOVE Illamasqua as a brand, but honest to God I've hated the application of every foundation of theirs I've tried (this is the third). This is an improvement on the others, but I still found it very hard. I found it a little cakey and liable to cling to dry patches (where I didn't think I had any). It did get better after an hour or so, it sort of melts into the skin and looks better? Very odd.

Best Way to Apply?: I didn't particularly like this with fingers or any of my brushes or primers. Fail.

Lasting Power: Admittedly not bad, it held up pretty well. I did find I was quite oily by the end of the day though so I'd take powder or oil absorbing sheets to top it up if you are oily too.

Thoughts: I love Illamasqua. I love their ethos and style. And I really wanted to like this. But I don't. At worst I really wasn't pleased with how I looked. At best, in the middle bit where it melted in... it was ok. There was never a point sadly when it blew me away. Great colour range though, and I'm aware it could be my own picky skin and rubbish skills that are letting me down as much as the foundation, and I have seen loads of good reviews and there are good points. I just can't think of any niche in my make-up bag where it's better than anything else I have.

Overall Mark: 6/10. I really really wish it was more though.

Love B xxx