Illamasqua Skin Base

 Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation - £27

I cannot believe I have just put a picture of my naked, pre-foundation skin on the internet for anyone to see. I've always been self-conscious of my skin, it's never been perfect and I doubt it ever will be. For that reason, I'm always searching for the perfect base which makes me feel more confident about my skin. I think I've found a winner with Illamasqua Skin Base...

I bought this in a blog sale in shade 2.0, which is one shade down from pure white. It's slightly paler than what I'd usually go for, but once dressed up with blusher it's far less ghostly. I'd describe this foundation as medium to full coverage but I do find it a little hard to work with. It's very thick in consistency and I find I have to work it in to my skin quickly, which does take a little getting used to. It also has a tendency to cling to any dry patches which I often get around my nose, so a good exfoliation session and lots of moisturizing is necessary! But the positives really do outweigh the negatives for me. It looks natural, stays on all day and doesn't turn my face into an oil slick by lunch time.

You can see in the before/after image that I suffer from red areas and have lots of scarring on my chin, but Skin Base does an amazing job of evening everything out and providing a fresh, blank canvas for the rest of my make-up. I threw in a picture of my full face of make-up at the end to show you how it looks with everything else. This definitely isn't my base of choice on an everyday basis because I do find it a little too heavy for daytime, but I often use it alongside my current daytime base of choice (Dr Jart Water Fuse BB Cream) to give a little extra coverage where I need it - chin and cheeks! I've worn this on nights out and it hasn't budged, or given me the dreaded ghost-face in photos.

For reference, I have sensitive, combination skin which is prone to redness. My skin is generally dry in the morning, but gets oily throughout the day. I wouldn't recommend Skin Base to anyone who suffers from dry skin, but if you're after a natural looking, medium to full coverage foundation then this one's worth a try! The great thing about Illamasqua foundation is that the shade range is phenomenal - you're almost guaranteed to find your perfect match.

PS: Did you know you can follow me on Bloglovin? I've also just joined Baobella so feel free to link your profiles below so I can follow you!

Monday Wishlist #3

My camera is still broken - if anyone has experienced an error whilst trying to connect a digital camera to their laptop via USB, please get in touch! It's so frustrating because I have so many photos on there ready for blog posts, but I just can't get them transferred over. I also managed to find a flat and am currently in the process of moving out today and tomorrow, so things have been pretty stressful with that and working a lot.

Just a small wishlist post today, as I've barely even had the time to lust after products recently!

1. Origins Zero Oil Deep Pore Cleanser - RRP £17.00 - I'm in desperate need of a new cleanser, I'm currently rotating about 4 different sample size ones due to sheer lack of funds to buy a full-size one. When pay day rolls around, I think I'll be investing in this!

2. Topshop Lace Peter Pan Dress - RRP £48.00 - It's my 20th birthday this month, so I'm on the hunt for the perfect dress for my night out. I have hardly any "dressy" clothes since I rarely go out to clubs, but I can picture this looking great with opaque tights and some big black heels.

3. Marc Jacobs Dot EDP - RRP £37.00/30ml - I literally just smelled a sample of this in a magazine, and it's lush! The perfect mix of fruity and floral scents, and I just love it.

4. Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation - RRP £25.00 - I've heard great things about this foundation, and I know that Illamasqua have shades for us super pale folk! I did get their Rich Liquid foundation in the sale, but I guessed my shade and it's far too dark, so I'd really like to try this one in the right shade!

That's my wishlist for the week, I did try not to go overboard because I know that in my current financial situation, any unnecessary beauty items are definitely a luxury and probably not going to be affordable anytime before Christmas for me! But I do believe in treating yourself every now and then, so if I do then I'll definitely be going for one of these products.

Again, please let me know if you've experienced the camera issue because I need desperate help with it! Hopefully I'll be able to get back to regular blogging once I've settled in the flat and everything's a bit more calm, because right now things are just manic!

Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss in Mistress

I bought this lipgloss last week on a complete whim. I'm really not a lipgloss fan, I always find it too sticky and SO irritating when my hair gets glued to my mouth. But I was browsing the Debenhams sale section online and saw this, and since I'm not one to refuse a bargain, I just had to get it. I've never tried anything from Illamasqua before, so I was quite excited!

The lipgloss is usually £13 but is currently selling at £5.99 on Debenhams, and you get free delivery if you have a beauty card! I went for the shade Mistress as from the pictures online, it looked like a nice orange/coral. When I opened the package, I was gutted because it looked a bright red colour in the tube! However, once it's applied it does tone down a bit and it is more of a sheer coral on the lips. I really like it!

The thing that surprised me most about this lipgloss was the lack of stickiness! It's a really great consistency which gives good colour pay-off and high shine, but it doesn't feel like I've smeared syrup on my lips - yay! I really didn't like the applicator, it made it really awkward to apply the colour so I've been squeezing it out on my hand and then applying it.

I'm really tempted to pick up a few more shades whilst they're at this price!

Have you found any great bargains in the sales? Have you tried Illamasqua's lipgloss?