Illamasqua Skin Base 02 and 3.5

(spot is for demonstration purposes)

I've had Illamasqua Skin Base foundation for quite a while now. I tried it for my wedding foundation in the Summer last year. Initially I really loved it, I thought it blended lovely and gave a good amount of coverage without looking heavy. However, after wearing this for a while before my wedding I just went off it. It began to melt off my face and oxidise, so yeah I didn't use it on my wedding day. It really is a bit of a love/hate with this foundation. I love it when my skin's 'normal' otherwise I don't particularly like it.


"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.

The Ultimate 'Skin Realism' Foundation."

Illamasqua claim that this is suitable for all skin types. I don't think it is. It clings and highlights dry patches. It exacerbates oiliness and melts of within a few hours, even with powder to set. If you have 'normal' skin this foundation will probably be a dream. The coverage is great and leaves the skin looking fresh and glowing. 

The texture of Skin Base is super thick, almost like a concealer. In the photo above I'm only wearing Skin Base foundation over the spot, and it really is a belter of a spot so you can see just how well this covers. It's definitely a full coverage foundation but you can sheer it out to give a lighter coverage if you wanted. It blends into the skin pretty well considering the thickness of this and provides a nice even coverage. That's if you don't have any dry patches. 

The colour selection is impressive but again I have a bit of a problem here. The lightest colours just aren't quite right for my skin tone. I'm pretty pale with pink undertones. 2.0 is just a bit too light, then the next colour up 3 is described as 'olive with yellow undertones' which is just all wrong for me. 3.5 is a bit closer, described as pink with yellow, so to get the right colour I mix 2.0 with 3.5 ( I got these in sale btw) but it takes a bit of faffing about to get it right *sigh*. Oh and it oxidises on my skin. That's too much work so I really suggest if you're thinking about this foundation get a sample and try it out for a bit to see how it works on your skin. It might be perfect for you, unfortunately it just doesn't work for me.

Illamasqua Skin Base from Debenhams and ASOS. 

Follow Me on Bloglovin', Twitter, Instagram