the foundation face off! chanel vs illamasqua:

there are two things in life that are hard to find, the perfect fitting pair of jeans and the right foundation.

I'm a girl on a budget; when it comes to make up I tend to stick to mid-range brands for most items but when it comes to foundation I'm prepared to spend a little more! 

I was putting on my make up this morning when it occured to me that maybe I should share my two favourites with you in case any of you were looking for that elusive foundation. 

I'm not actually someone who wears a lot of foundation, in fact hardly ever in the summer (I just use a good concealer) but in the winter when my summer tan has long gone I feel like I need a little assistance to perk up my skin!

so here's my skin savior's in case you wondered what I use:
I actually asked twitter for suggestions and the chanel was the most recommended so I took the plunge!

I do like this foundation but I was slightly disappointed in the coverage (do bear in mind this is the aqua version so is lighter coverage than their others) if you're looking for light/medium coverage this one is good, for me this is more of a summer foundation when you want a lighter coverage. 

if you have very pale skin this could be an issue; this is their lightest shade (10 beige) and you can see it's more orange toned than the illamasqua. 

I also find this one on occasions looks a little greasy after 4-5 hours but I do have combination skin aha!) overall a good foundation... but for the price I was a tad disappointed.

now for the illamasqua skin base. I was gifted this a while ago but there was no request for me to review this etc so rest easy this is my 100% honest opinion and included only because I rate it as the best foundation I've used to date.

this is good if you need/want more full coverage, and a little goes quite a long way. I use a stippling brush to apply this and build up the coverage. this foundation is almost chalky compared to the oilier feeling chanel but I really like this!

skin base completely evens out my skin tone and leaves a nice matte finish (be careful though as I think you could easily tip the scales to cake faced if you apply too much!) I barely use concealer as it covers any dark circles well (even after a night out...) 

the tones of this are also lovely, not even a hint of the dreaded orange colour and a perfect match for my pale skin (it mixes well with moisturiser if you require a lighter coverage some days too)

for me the illamasqua is my favourite because of the good pigmentation, finish and coverage; it also lasts longer than the chanel on my skin. 

I hope this has been of some use to you guys! whether your after light/medium or medium/full coverage I think these are my two favourites I've tried. 

if you want to check out either the illamasqua ones are here (my shade swatched is SB 4.5) and the chanel is here!

do any of you have any recommendations? the only one left for me to try is the famous estee lauder double wear... have any of you tried it.. is it any good? I'd like to try it and compare it to these two!

caroline x

18 comments

  1. I use the skin base foundation and I fell in love and never looked back at my previous foundation :)

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    1. ditto, think I'll struggle to find a better finish & coverage than this one! :) x

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  2. This post couldn't have come at a better time! I'm looking to take the plunge for a new foundation and I'm after a dewey finish - a few people have recommended the Chanel foundation but no one so far has mentioned Illamasqua. Is their foundation quite matte would you say?? xxx

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    1. the illamasqua is definitely more matte on me! the chanel is slightly less matte and lighter coverage so maybe better for you! x

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  3. I'm looking for a new full coverage foundation so the illamasqua skin base sounds really good! xx

    www.charissarae.com

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    1. Yes it's my fave, if I have any breakouts it's the best I've tried and better shade choice than many :) x

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  4. i really want to try the illamasqua skin base, unfortunately it's on a list of many foundations to try! i'd definitely recommend estee lauder double wear, it's perfect if you're looking for a full coverage foundation and there is a pretty good range of colours (i'm led to believe they've introduced some new colours for pale skin). i'm currently using the double wear light which is also good and definitely a more medium coverage, it's still good for covering any blemishes (i apply with a buffing brush) but isn't as thick as the normal double wear which can also run the risk of a cake face if you apply too much. definitely worth a try though! :-)

    the-jewellers-hands.blogspot.co.uk
    x

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    1. Oh you star! Thanks for giving me the low down :) think I'd try the original rather than the light so I won't run the risk of being disappointed in the coverage (I'll just be skimpy on how much I put on!) thanks you :) xx

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  5. I have the illamasqua skin base and it is one of my faves, great coverage and the matte finish is ideal when I'm having a bad skin day!
    I have used double wear before but only the light version, it was good enough to use up but i wouldn't repurchase purely because there wasn't enough coverage although getting the regular double wear would probably solve this!
    The best foundation I have ever used is Benefit Oxygen Wow! I have tried alot of high end foundations and this is the only one I will repurchase! I will try other foundations just on the off chance they will beat Benefit (though I doubt it) but I wouldn't repurchase any other foundation I've already tried apart from this one!
    My best friend thinks this is the best foundation she's used so far too and she's used the normal double wear and laura mercier cream silk in the past xx

    http://aztecdoll.blogspot.co.uk/

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    1. oooo I've never thought of the benefit foundation! thanks you, I shall try it next time I'm at the beauty counter :) xx

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  6. what's the staying power of the illamaqua like? really need a good foundation for my oily tzone! doublewear is nice but if you have dry areas of skin, not dehydrated it may cling to them a bit! x

    http://thebeautyvisual.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. I find it good on me for staying power (better than the chanel.) I set mine with mac mineralise powder compact and it banishes my oily patches really well through the day :) xx

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  7. I've also used both these foundations, I love the Chanel one, I find it leaves the skin looking so smooth and dewy. Illamasqua one was the same but I did find it a little bit too heavy for my dry skin! :D

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    1. yes it's more chalky than the chanel so best to moisturise first! lots of people really love the chanel- on me I find it slips off and feels a bit oily after a few hours, shows how different skin types really make the difference to a product :)

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  8. The Illamasqua one looks and sounds amazing, I've been using the Benefit Hello Flawless at the mo and it's been fab xx

    Lucy Loves To Blog

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  9. I use illamasqua's foundation too and it's the best I've used so far the only bad thing I have to say about it is I wish it was a shade or two lighter, but it covers up my acne and marks and stuff really well without making me look too cakey. x
    graciousghost.blogspot.com

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  10. I'm really keen to try a higher end foundation, with Illamasqua being the one brand that I'm looking at more and more.
    I also like how the Illamasqua foundation is quite yellow based as I find that these suit me much better

    Thank you for the review! :)

    Amy xx

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