01 July 2009

Foundation Breakdown

Lure: Bring out the face kept hidden. The face of your bolder half. The faces that dares to take on the night...

I receive a lot of emails from international customers interested in our Foundations and asking if I can help them to pick out an accurate colour. I am of the belief that being able to actually try the product on your own face is the best way to judge if the colour is right, texture is suitable and that you like the finish that the product gives you! I hate buying a foundation and then getting home and seeing that it's all wrong...

For those of you who do like to buy foundation of the internet, I've had a chat with Katie, our Product Development Manager and composed a quicklist that will give you an insight into our foundations:

Rich Liquid Foundation


Texture: Extremely rich and thick, suitable for night-time make-up as it creates a fantastic base for colour application.
Performance: Flawless and opaque. Mixes beautifully with Satin Primer for a dewier look. Dries semi-matt.

Skin types: All
Colours:
100 - purest porcelain white
105 - our lightest 'skin' shade
110-145 - best for pale skins
205-240 - best for medium skins
320-335 - best for dark/ black skins
340-355 - blackest black - brilliant for theatrical use as opposed to a real 'skin' shade


Light Liquid Foundation

Texture: Lightweight and airy, with a very fluid consistency.
Performance: Beautifully easy to apply and very cooling. Dries to a dewy, light to medium finish.
Skin types: All
Colours:
100 - purest porcelain white
105 - our lightest 'skin' shade
110-145 - best for pale skins
205-240 - best for medium skins
320-330 - best for dark/ black skins
340-350 - blackest black - brilliant for theatrical use as opposed to a real 'skin' shade
Performance:
Skin types: All, especially combination to dry.


Cream Foundation


Texture: Cream compact that gives a rich, opaque finish but blends beautifully.
Performance: Has a mirror in the compact, so great for on-the-go touchups! Dries to a semi-matt finish with a medium-full coverage and can be used wet or dry.

Skin types: All, especially drier skin types.
Colours:
100 - purest porcelain white
110 - our lightest 'skin' shade
110-145 - best for pale skins
205-240 - best for medium skins
320-330 - best for dark/ black skins
340-350 - blackest black - brilliant for theatrical use as opposed to a real 'skin' shade


Powder Foundation

Texture: Matt finish creamy feel powder.
Performance: Can be used alone or over any of the foundations. Gives a full, matt finish. Also comes with a mirror for touching up on-the-go. To sheer it out a bit, use with a damp sponge or brush and it still dries matt.
Skin types: Especially good for combination to oily skin types.
Colours:
100 - purest porcelain white
105 - our lightest 'skin' shade
110-145 - best for pale skins
205-240 - best for medium skins
320-330 - best for dark/ black skins
340-355 - blackest black - brilliant for theatrical use as opposed to a real 'skin' shade

Thanks to Lucy, our lovely intern and Crispian, our Customer Services Manager for letting me paint their faces whilst they were trying to work! You can see how thrilled they are....!

I hope this helps! I will do similar posts for our Concealers and Powders - leave me a comment if you would like this, or any other similar info on our products.

15 comments:

  1. Is it terrible that I always ask customer service which shades are best for asian skins? That's one thing I miss about living in Asia. That and the propensity of the merchants to put liquids in a bag, slap on a rubberband and stab a straw through.

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  2. Creme foundation might be calling out to me, my skin is like the sahara desert!

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  3. When you say Rich Liquid Foundation is suitable for night-time makeup, do you mean that's all it's suitable for? Or is it good for daywear too?

    Also, how long-lasting is the cream foundation?

    Thanks lots, can't wait to try Illamasqua foundation.

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  4. @ Crotchfairy - I find it frustrating for you that some brands do not produce foundations suitable for skintones other than white/ Olive. Email askanartist@illamasqua.com if you have specific query and I will do my best to get it answered for you!

    @Belle Du Jour - try the Satin Primer too, its lovely and dewy and will sort you out!

    @Holly - The Rich is suitable for day wear if you need a lot of coverage - people who have bought the Rich will know what I am talking about! That said, it does blend very nicely and if you mixed 50% of it with a fluid based primer, such as our Satin Primer, it sheers out nicely. Does that help?

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  5. OK, so the rich liquid is OK for daytime if you need heavy coverage - does it look heavy on? Does it feel heavy on your face?

    Also, you forgot to answer about how long the cream foundation lasts.

    Also, one more question (sorry!) - which of your foundations is best for holding up against heat and sweat in this weather, without touchups?

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  6. I own all three of these foundations and I think this is a great review - I love the rich foundation for nights as it just gives a flawless look, but I'd find it too heavy for the daytime - light liquid is sheer to medium and creme (my fave) gives buildable coverage and blends well...

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  7. I would love to try out the cream foundation, but I am kinda clueless still on what color to choose. I'm between 205-240, but other than that? Will you be posting more pictures of the different skin tones?

    Thanks a million from Norway :)

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  8. @Holly - It does feel a little heavy in the day - I am used to wearing a lot of makeup at night and so you kind of get used to that heavy feeling - I would try it on at a counter, if you are near one, and see how it feels. We are all different. I have been using the Cream Foundation in this weather because it lasts well, but I would still suggest setting with Loose Powder [this is very finely milled powder and feels feather weight on your skin] - so in answer to your question, yes - it lasts a good deal of time!

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  9. @ Shamini - next week I am planning on getting all of our artists to tell me what colour they wear along with a photo of them so hopefully this will help you! Stay tuned!

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  10. In M.A.C(sorry for mentioning another brand) i'm NW45, my skin tone has very peachy undertones,if i can compare 2 a celebrity(just to help) it would be Jourdan Dunn
    i pretend to purchase a cream foundation, as i know that these kind of foundations are rich in pigment i'm afraid i choose one than will end up darker than my skin tone
    Can u help me please choosing the right nr
    I also want recommendations for lipstick, a peach one and berry

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  11. I'm in the states and trying on is not an option right now. I like a true medium coverage, so I'm concerned that the Light Liquid won't give me the proper coverage. Since I'm extremely fair, I'm considering getting the 105 in the Rich and mixing it with the 100 in Light- any opinions?

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  12. Thank you so much! Expect an order from Norway as soon as I'm more sure of what to get. I'm really anxious to try out some of your products, and I'll be sure to spread the word. :)

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  13. Does the powder or foundation clog pores and lead to breakouts?? Because I have oily skin and im really prone to acne..

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  14. I just discovered this blog and it is wonderful. I am one of those many people that wrote an email asking for a foundation match, so I am sorry about that - I didn't know that this blog existed when I wrote the email. This blog is great - so helpful-between this, and gossmakeupartist, I have a much better ideas of the colors. I guess I should just be patient. I live 30 minutes from New York City, and in less than a week, you will have your products in that store, so i will try my best to get into the city and see all of this wonderful makeup in person THANK YOU, Annette

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  15. I have bought the rich liquid foundation in 105 and love the coverage as I have redness and freckles. I have however noticed it seems to sink intoy pores once it has started to set which is somewhat disappointing as it makes my skin lookmuch drier than it is. I am using primer and moisturiser underneath to help this as well asnd have tried various ways of applying the foundation in the week I've had it. Any suggestions on how I can correct this?

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