Permalink
Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation Review
—-
Illamasqua’s Description:
Providing full coverage with one application, Rich Liquid Foundation can be used all over the face or just in areas needing more attention. It can be used as a concealer and as a tattoo cover-up. Use a highlighter brush and buff into the skin for a more natural finish or use a foundation brush for a full coverage. When using it as a concealer, apply with a small blending brush. Always set with pressed or loose powder.
£21.50
—-
Summary/Verdict: (if you don’t want to read the whole post)
Great fornormal and combination-oily/dry skins needing a lot of color-correction (veins, hyper-pigmentation, redness, etc). Especially good if you want coverage but not a fully-matte texture.
NOT good for super-oily or super-dry skins with lots of flaky bits due to dehydration or acne medication and healing blemishes.
Great if you want a very versatile product that is reasonably-priced and can go a long way as a concealer and corrector, but you need to learn to work with the texture and adjust it accordingly for different skin areas.
As with all full-coverage products, it’s only as good as you are able to match your skin tone, so do check around for swatches before buying.
—-
Presentation:
The foundations come in 30ml clear squeezable-tubes which is helpful for checking on the color and level of product within.
They are also quite compact and easy to slip into your bag, which is nice if you’re like me and actually use this as a concealer.
—-
The shades:
If you’re NC25 you are out of lucky because the closest matches are RF140 (which is slightly yellower and lighter, hence closer to a MAC C2, NC20) and RF210 (which matches somewhere between NW20-NW25 but is slightly deeper and redder than my skin)
So I got both to mix. Ouch. But this gives me a pretty perfect match, and I’m not really wasting any product in the long run.
I also got RF100, which is a stark white. I was curious about that since I recently bought the very cheap Stargazer white foundation, which is really sheer and better suited for mixing with other foundations than to give you a white base for dramatic makeup.
—-
Texture/Feel:
This looks and feels like sugar-frosting before it dries. It’s sticky and thick, but slightly “fluffy” at the same time if that makes any sense. If you’ve ever used Amazing Cosmetics Concealer, this is like that in opacity and feel, but slightly less runny.
Just to show how thick it is, I placed a small drop on my finger and held it vertically, horizontally, sideways, etc. It kept its shape.
This feels more like a concealer than a foundation and is less runny than Colorstay, but not a mousse-like as Estee Lauder Maximum Cover. You have a bit of time to blend and work with it before it sets, if your skin is not extremely dry.
—-
Coverage/Finish:
This goes on with a slight sheen and sets to a satin-matte finish which I actually like because it mimics “real skin” rather than giving you that matte, obviously made-up look. Many fuller finish foundations are described as “medium-buildable”, meaning you start medium and can build it up to full coverage.
I’d call Rich Liquid “Full-sheerable”, similar to thick cream foundations like MAC Full Coverage Foundation. The coverage goes on opaque, and then you slowly sheer and spread it out as needed.
—-
Scent:
Light vanillin scent. If you love vanilla, you’ll love this. If you don’t, it’s not that offensive and dissipates after blending.
—-
Extra Things to Note:
This product has no SPF, so it’s good for photography. But for the best effect in photographs (if you are wearing it opaque), you might want to use 2 shades rather than one, as it’s so opaque that your face might look a little “flat” and unnatural if you use just one color all over.
Also, this product IS oil-based. Don’t get confused by the conflicting claims online. It does not contain common mineral or organic oils, but the main base ingredient is a synthetic oil (HYDROGENATED POLYISOBUTENE), so it performs like an oil-based product. Be aware that if you want something that looks and feels completely oil-free, you might want to try a formula like Make Up For Ever HD or Revlon Colorstay.
—-
Cons:
1. Bad shade numbering system. This is not as intuitive as MAC’s alpha-numeric system where 1 is lightest and 9 is darkest, and you can tell if something is “C - Cool/Yellow”, “N - Neutral”, “W - Warm/Pink”, or “NC - Neutral cool” and “NW - Neutral warm”.
Illamasqua’s ordering is numbered but RF120 is deeper and pinker than RF135, so you cannot tell just from that alone. Also, the shade range is wide, but not comprehensive. If you are very pale, you will need to get RF100 or RF105 to mix with the next-lightest shades in order to get a match. Likewise if you are caramel or dark-skinned. Illamasqua does not cover all undertones and shades in the deeper spectrums.
If you don’t have access to an Illamasqua counter, I suggest giving them a call or dropping them an email to find out your closest shade before purchasing.
2. Not the most user-friendly foundation to work with. To some extent this is expected for something with this much coverage, and it’s not really a problem with the foundation itself. Just be aware that if you are new to working with thick, heavily-pigmented products, you might experience issues working with this texture or getting it to look even and natural.
3. Better for normal/combi skins that are slightly oily or slightly dry. Again, this is not really a problem with the product itself as there is no one product that can fit all skin types. But compared to Estee Lauder Double Wear Maximum Cover Makeup, this suits a slightly narrower range of skin types. This will slip on very oily skins, and grab on flaky dry areas for those who are very dehydrated.
—-
Pros:
1. Great value for money. As foundations go, I’ve always had to pay a lot more than £21.50 for equivalent products like MAC and Estee Lauder. Even a bottle of Colorstay in many parts of Asia-Pacific cost close to this amount, so I definitely think it’s worth checking out if you have multiple products you’re looking to buy, since you get free international shipping over £75. Also, for the amount of product you need for each application, one bottle is going to last a LONG time.
2. Versatile. You need to see this as a 30ml (1oz) bottle of tattoo-covering concealer that you can sheer out as you want. For daily use, you mix 1 part with 2-3 parts of moisturizer as foundation, and then dab on a tiny but more as concealer.
3. Nice skin-like finish. Unlike other full-cover foundations, I didn’t find this to give me a mask-like, or corpse-like matte finish. It does set, but you still get a bit of a sheen which is slightly like that of a cream foundation. You can just leave it as is and skip the powder, and if you applied it well, it will just look like perfectly even skin.
—-
Tips and Tricks for a Flawless Finish with Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation:
1. If you’re a noobie with foundations, sheer it out with lotion on the back of your hand and apply it with a brush. Then go back in and build up more layers as needed. This allows you to control the coverage and blend easier.
2. If you have dryer skin, use petroleum jelly as a primer on dryer spots (I rub a bit between my palms and pat over dry areas to deposit the sheerest layer). This allows the foundation to slip over the skin and blend better. It WILL still set, but this happens slower, and it won’t cake up in dry areas.
3. The drop of foundation on the back of your hand, or any dish or easel you are using will thicken and dry up in about 1-2 minutes, depending on your climate, so what I do to keep it moist while I’m working on my face in sections is to rub a bit of petroleum jelly on the back of my hand before squeezing out a drop of foundation there.
4. Spray your brush with Fix+ or any alcohol-free toner before dipping into this foundation. Since it’s so thick, this helps everything to blend out easier, and your brush bristles will not drink up this foundation and waste a lot of product. I also don’t really recommend duo-fiber stippling brushes unless you are sheering out this product with a lot of lotion. Otherwise, the formula is too thick that a duo-fiber won’t work properly.
5. If you have oilier skin, apply a matte silicone-based primer on your skin before this foundation. After you finish your base and concealer, wait a minute, then lightly press a single-ply sheet of tissue onto your skin to soak up any excess moisture and grease from the product BEFORE apply your finishing powder. This gives you a matte finish and helps the foundation to stay on better.
