Hi Peeps, not sure about this foundation, it seems very thick, but does seem light once on the face, but it seems to make the pores look big (no one wants that!). I may not have mastered the art of applying it, I assume you would need a tiny amount, as I put a little, and it looked clumpy after a few hours and my skin was perfectly moisturized and primed.. I will stick to Double Wear Light as my HD for the moment... This Illamasqua is also made in Thailand... which concerns me. Never quite know what is in it - not being awful (dont hate me for that comment), but regulations just not as tight as a lot of other places.

Used this a hand full of times, the first time I used this I loved the coverage, very full coverage.. SO yes.. MASK like coverage, and i applied it with a stippling brush. didn't make my skin look like skin, it looked like a 2 layers of powder type foundation on me when i only squirted out one Z shape.. i bought this online and blindly choosing the color 6 and basing it off the reviews i read. since its supposed to come off lighter than usual.
the packaging sucks. hate it! NOT unique just horrible.. unappealing to the eye! i passed by it over 10x and still didn't know till i received it in the mail.. NOW onto the NITTY GRITTY: this made MY PORES LOOK HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
END OF STORY.

Illamasqua is fast achieving cult status on the London beauty scene. There has been so much hype around the Skinbase Foundation that I was convinced it could be my HG. I was seriously excited to try it out. The formula is inspired by Asian Beauty Balm creams and promises to create the 'perfect complexion' whilst feeling totally natural. There are 18 shades with a variety of undertones to choose from.
(For reference I am usually NC20 in Mac. I have normal skin.)
I went into Illamasqua's flagship store on Beak St, London to get colour-matched by a MUA. She matched me as a 3, the shade with the lightest yellow undertone. I was surprised to be matched with such a light colour but my skin looked good in the store so I decided to buy it. A bit fickle of me in hindsight...

Good Points:
- Extensive colour range
- Full coverage (could pass as a foundation-concealer)

Bad points:
- I was matched with the wrong colour. Shade 3 is a very ashy yellow and made me look unhealthy and grey and photographs terribly.
- Although the foundation feels good on the skin, the formula is very thick and difficult to blend to an even finish. It feels like a mask.
- It sits terribly in the hairline and accentuates pores and the smallest of dry patches.
- The plastic bottle looks pretty but is impractical. There is no way to control how much product is dispensed and it becomes more difficult to squeeze out as it is used up.

Overall, this is one of the worst foundations I have ever purchased. It was a complete waste of money.

I really hoped this would work for my dry sensitive skin but it did not. It looks fine close up although i do think there needs to be more yellow shades but but it made my skin fairy dry throughout the day. My skin feels tight as i type. Then since my skin is dry its overproducing oil so i looks greasy even thought feel really dry. Would not repurchase

This foundation was easy to apply, with buildable coverage as advertised. It is about medium coverage upon my initial application with a sponge, and I've even been able to use this as a concealer. Once it's on, it's hard to tell that I'm wearing foundation, but it doesn't quite give that smooth, gorgeous finish that I get with MUFE HD. I prefer the upside-down squeeze tube to a pump because it allows me to have better control over how much product comes out, and I won't have problems getting the last little bit out. Illamasqua wears well throughout the day on me, and I'm very pleased with it!

I bought this in a shade 8, which is a nice match for my NC30 skin. I like that this foundation has both yellow and pink undertones, since my skin seems to have a little bit of both naturally. My first impression for this foundation is how expensive it is because of the small packaging and the fact that you only get an ounce for the price you pay. However, I can overlook that because this is a wonderful foundation, probably one of the best foundations I've used in the past couple years. I don't know how well the squeeze tube packaging will fare once I start to run out, but for now it works ok. I apply this foundation with my hands because I feel it can be a little thick to apply with a foundation brush and my hands help warm this foundation up for application. Upon first application, it appeared a little too pale for my liking, but within minutes, it settled into my skin and made my skin look flawless. I do find that this lasts all day, but after 6-8 hours of wear, my forehead does get a little shiny. Another great thing about this foundation is that it doesn't break me out. Love my first foundation purchase from Illamasqua!

I'm NC25 and decided to buy the shade 8 as they shade (6) that I wanted to try was sold out online. It was a great colour match and blended easily to give a very natural finish to my skin - not too matt or rich. It lasted well throughout most of the day and looks flawless in photographs. I also like the squeeze bottle so I only use the amount I need. The only problem I had with it was my nose became shiny which doesn't happen with any of my other foundations.

I just purchased this a couple weeks ago from Sephora. I was disappointed that they were discontinuing Illamasqua's Rich liquid foundation and this one came out. The other one is only $36 and this one runs at $46 -_-. It's less pigmented than the rich liquid but still gives a full coverage. It's also more of a satin look than the other that sets more matte. However, I do like it.

I bought this because of the good reviews and especially after watching Pixiwoo use it in countless videos. It was Lollipop26's review that eventually led me to give in and buy it. I bought it from ASOS for £25 in the shade 10 and I'm an NC35. On the Illamasqua website it claims the shade 10 has "yellow undertones" but this is far from yellow it was more of pinky beige and over my yellowish skin tone looked grey. It kind of reminded of how terribly pink and beige some drugstore foundations are and this felt exactly like that, it just made my skin look so grey. The foundation itself has a medium consistency not too runny or thick, it doesn't feel heavy on the skin and goes on fairly nicely. The main reason for disliking this foundation, other than the colour mismatch is that it just looks like a drier version of my skin. I was so disappointed! My natural skin looks so much better and more glowy on its own. I have dry skin and seeing Pixiwoo who also claim to have dry skin I thought it would be a good shot but I was so wrong. So now I'm stuck with an entire bottle of it and I extremely dislike it :/ it doesn't look invisible to HD environments like it claims and for people with dry skin I just couldn't image how it works. The only way this could possibly work is for a combination or nomal-oily skin as it would probably do a good job at keeping things matte. I gave it two lippies because it didn't work for me and I've tried drugstore/chemist brands that have performed much better than this. Really gutted with this :(

Great finish, great colour match (but that may change in the winter months coming - Australia), feels super light and looks so natural and healthy. I couldn't stop staring at myself whenever I have this on - I look about 10 years younger. Wish it was more long wearing and this is a lot harder to blend than most foundations I've tried before. Still, I'm keeping this in my foundation drawer.
Ref: Illamasqua Skin Base 12, MAC NC 37-40

I am NW20 and got this in shade 6. Not the greatest colour match but a little goes a long way and the coverage is great. It is a little more sheen-y than I normally like so I would not repurchase. Guerlain Extreme still very hard to beat ...

I was so dissapointed when I first bought it. First, color was off (MA said it was just right)
I bought 03 and it is really yellow, while i'm neutral.
Second, I couldn't make it look good, it was awfully streaky when I used my fingers and the coverage was poor.
Flat top brush kinda made it look better but with a SPONGE...! What a diffrence! Went from 'meh, I should swap it' to 'I'm buying a second one!'
Didn't give it 5 just because I had to spend half a bottle to get it right which shouldn't be so difficult :)
I like the sweet smell, coverage (medium to full) and staying power (untill I wash my face!)
Finish is really nice anad natural, and the shade, while really off undertone-wise, it blends and assimilates really great!
I'm guessing when I buy the right shade I'll be coming back to upgrade the lippies :)

Finally after trying various colors from 9, 6 and now 8, 8 seems to be a perfect match for my yellow tone. I'm in between NC25 and 30 and based on the Ilamasqua site, the color match was all wrong. I've been mixing the 9 and 6, 9 was darker for me and 6 was a tad too light. After using this foundation, I'm so impressed, and totally avoided my other high end foundations. I don't need a concealer with this, it covered my freckles and I set this with my Mac skin finish in medium. My skin looks flawless and it lasted a whole day, I work 9 hours a day with slight blotting, nothing major. I have normal combination skin.

I have been using this foundation since it was first launched in my country late last year. I’m in between MAC NC40 and NC42 depending on the time of year and I have to mix 2 shades of this foundation to get my exact color, Shades 10 with 12. I don’t mind the mixing since I can adjust it to how light or dark I want it. My skin type is oily, especially on the t-zone and with a good setting powder (I use Urban Decay’s De Slick powder) this foundation can last a good 6 – 8 hours on me. I love this foundation for the following reasons:
1-It really does look like real skin and blends in seamlessly onto the face (if applied correctly by starting out sheer then layering as required)
2-The price is reasonable for the quality and the amount of product you receive
3-I do not need to use a concealer with this foundation as it does an amazing job of covering blemishes and imperfections on its own (I even stopped using under eye concealer and just pat a little bit of this foundation onto my dark circles)
4-Looks beautiful and natural in photographs
5-Feels comfortable and not like its suffocating my skin whilst I have it on
6-Can be refreshed with a dusting of powder throught the day without becoming cakey or patchy
I have owned and tried over 100 foundations (yes, I am an addict) from the highest of the high-end brands to the lowest of the low-end brands and nothing has even come close to what this foundation does to me.

this is, without exaggeration, the best foundation in the world !
I have found what they call the Holy Grail foundation
everything about it is perfect! the colour, the consistency, the application, the finish.
I have a hard time finding the right colour with foundations, even when being professionally matched. but Skin Base has a realistic and true-to-skin colour selection and 18 shades so nearly every skin-tone can be matched. number 06 is my perfect colour, it's like it was made just for me!
this is more of a cream than a liquid, and can be built up to medium coverage. but is versatile enough that you can even have a thin layer on for light coverage and still have perfect looking skin! if you blend it right in, with light coverage this is undetectable. so it's true what they say about this being the skin-realism foundation. it's like a second skin.
this is not designed to go all the way up to full coverage, I guess you could build it right up but it looked un-natural on me after I put a bit too much of this on. so you only need a small amount, like a pea-sized amount.
I find it easier to apply with fingers rather than a foundation brush because of the cream like consistency. it blends effortlessly, leaves no streaks and has a very flattering semi-matte finish. it also photographs extremely well. since Illamasqua design their products for theatre use.
is this a BB cream? because it acts like one: the creamy consistency, the pefect finish, the skin realism. also when I take this off, my skin feels softer and smoother than how other foundations leave my skin, so does this have moisturising properties?
there is only one downside to this foundation, it doesn't last the entire day. alone it will last around 5/6 hours, but with primer it will last all day. I use Guerlain meteorites pearls finishing powder on top of all that and then it lasts all day. so, small problem easily solved.

It's the best every day foundation I've ever used. Almost my HG but there's got to be something out there that can handle my T-zone better!!!!! Coverage is medium to full. After a while I stopped using the concealor that was recommended with it because the consistency was thicker than the foundation and I found it just caked over the top emphasising rather than hiding problem areas. Comfortable to wear, no break outs. Lasts longer than most over the slightly more grease prone areas but I still need brush a little pressed powder over my T-zone more than once a day to keep confident.

I've been using this for over two months now and I must say I quite love this foundation. I use shade no. 8 which is a *perfect* match for me. Seriously. I've never seen a shade that's such an exact match for my skin.
I would say this is a medium-buildable coverage. My preferred method to apply is with my fingers since it's so thick. I find that it blends better and you literally need the the smallest amount for a good deal of coverage.
This stuff looks gorgeous on the skin. The finish is slightly dewy--but not from any glitter/shimmer. I think it does mimic natural skin somehow.
This lasts all day on me, though I do set it with translucent powder (currently Sana Pore Putty).
However, I do agree with other reviewers... this is NOT good on dry skin. No siree. I wore this once when I was sick with a cold and my nose was dry and flaky. I think it was around lunch time when I was checking my make up and was horrified to find that it looked like someone had taken sandpaper to my nose. Yuck. I will definitely have to be careful using this in winter when my face is a little dry.
Also, the packaging kind of sucks. Sure it's in a squeeze tube and very sanitary but the plastic is *really* stiff. It takes some effort to get product to come out (and this is when the bottle is quite full). I can only imagine how difficult it will be to try and finish. But I will because I love it that much.

I just got my Skin Base in the mail yesterday! I am currently about NC30 in my MAC Studio Fix Fluid and got 05 in skin base, which I admit is a little too pale for me. But, I mixed a little bit of an NC35 which is too dark for me and the color is perfection! Some probably hate to hassle with mixing foundations, but I've done it for so long that it doesn't bother me because I live in Arizona and my tan varies from season to season.
A lot of the reviews on here have said it is difficult to blend because it dries quickly, but I didn't run into that issue when I put it on because I used a tad of my moisturizer before blending with my fingers. I'm sure the moisturizer and the heat from my fingers helped to spread it evenly. After I applied it, I took my beauty blender and buffed it a little to make sure there were no harsh lines and - voila! - my skin looked like a celebrity's!
I didn't notice any offputting smell, but if that changes, I'll update this review. My lease favorite aspects of this foundation is the packaging and the price. I don't mind the plastic, but I dislike the large twisty cap. The US price ended up being $55, but that includes s&h, so otherwise it would have been $40 :-( But I suppose I can't really complain about the price since the quality speaks for itself.
continued >>

Pros:
Coverage - reduces redness, light but buildable if needed
Packaging
Color Range
Longevity – 6+ hrs wear without touch up

Cons:
Price
Consistency
Smell

Skin Type – Combination, Extremely Sensitive
Coloration – Cool toned and very fair

Illamasqua is an amazing brand, though their prices aren’t something that I can typically afford. They're one of the very few brands that has color that ranges from the extremely light to extremely dark. This is the only foundation that I have ever been able to use straight out of the bottle without lightening it with either moisturizer/sunscreen or MAC Face & Body White. This fact blows me away every time I use this foundation.

I bought their Skin Base late last year and have liked this foundation. I use shade 2. It's a very good match to my skintone and it evens out my redness. I tend to get oily gradually along my T-zone, the area around my mouth is on the drier side, and above all my skin reacts poorly (allergic) to almost every product. I haven't had any adverse reactions to this foundation. The foundation will stick to dry patches though, so I use it only when my skin is on its best behavior.

In my experience, this is a high maintenance foundation. The results will be stunning as long as your skin is in very good condition. I'm not very oily so it doesn't slip, slide, or transfer. If you're on the oily side, I would think that this foundation would be problematic. I don’t suffer from acne, just the occasional blemish, so I don’t know how well it covers acne and/or scaring. The finish can be on the “dewy” side as-is, but a good translucent powder gives it a very nice satin finish. The product dries fast when applied; I'll usually mix it with a little of my Embryolisse moisturizer to make the application easier.

All in all, this is a very nice foundation. Is it worth the price? Eh, yes and no. I use it when there's a special occasion or when my skin is in tip-top shape. Otherwise, I tend to reach for one of my other foundations. This foundation will last me a long time so the price didn’t make me kill over. continued >>

Okay, the sales assistant matched me with the shade 12 and dear god it is way too dark with a slight bronzed/orange tinge to it. HOWEVER when I mix with the Light Liquid foundation in 77 and it's just the right shade. I expected more from a foundation that costs AUD$65 but whatever.
I mix this with my moisturiser (Clinique DDL) and use my fingers to blend and work it into the skin. It is absolutely wonderful as a tinted moisturiser and you could use this method rather than purchasing the Light Liquid foundation which surprisingly isn't 'light'
*edit*
After a month's use, I have finally accepted the fact that this breaks me out. :/ Looks like I have to return it.