Illamasqua Cream Foundation

Its been a while since I used a cream foundation, I had a little love affair with Max Factors Miracle Touch but I'm a liquid girl at heart. Illamasqua's Cream foundation was in the sale at a bargainous £10 & as I seem to be reaching the ends of my current favourites thought I'd give it a whirl. 

Illamasqua Cream Foundation C150

Likes

• Blend/build ability
• Consistency
• Didn't exaggerate large pores
• Shade. Much less orange than appears in pan.
• Styling of packing, good size mirror for touch ups

Dislikes

• Sponge applicator included makes it really hard work to apply & there's nowhere to store it within the casing so it's a fairly pointless addition
• Styling. Although I really love the way Illamasqua products look its a bit of a faff when riffling through your make up bag to distinguish between them
• Shininess

Illamasqua Cream Foundation C150 swatch

I was initially fairly impressed. The shade was a good match, the colour appears much less yellow once blended. This product has had mixed reviews but like all foundations one man's trash is anothers treasure. It's probably best described as medium coverage, much lighter than the Max Factor equivalent but it is buildable. It doesn't feel as greasy as I expected from the quick swatch on my hand & has plenty of slip to allow for easy blending. I found I didn't need a concealer with this foundation as I added a little dab more under eyes & on blemishes & it did the job well enough. 

I blended it out using a Real Techniques Buffing Brush after applying a thin layer using a MAC 190. I only powdered the areas I'd concealed & fixed with Urban Decay De-Slick. I found it lasted really well. Even a 2 hour power nap (woops!) failed to make too much of a dent in its lightly luminous finish. It did crease slightly under my eyes by the 14hr mark but I think that was more to do with the powder I used (Max Factor, trying to make a dent before I ditch it). Its perfect for a causal Saturday or a lunch with the girls but I'm not sure it'll be making onto my week day list as it takes a little more care to apply than a liquid. It's not transfer or climate resistant either which is an essential to me for work. 

I gave this foundation another outing before posting this review & I'm not sure my original opinion still holds. It was still comfortable to wear & lasted a good 6 hours but I looked so shiny all day. It didn't feel particularly greasy but appeared to me to be a step too far past luminous. It also transferred really badly when I blew my nose or used a napkin. Perhaps I should have powdered with a heavier hand, perhaps I used too much product but either way I wasn't overly impressed. I've not experienced foundation transferring onto things before & as I'd used my faithfully De-Slick, before & after, was amazed & alarmed. 


This product is far more natural looking than many cream foundations & the satin like finish I achieved the first time I applied it was really pretty. I think the jury is still out on this one. Perhaps it's best suited to good skin days where a feather like touch is all that is needed to even out skin tone.