This new product restored my faith in foundation
Foundation has been one of the least-used products in my makeup drawer for years, as I rarely have any reason to wear anything more than a tinted moisturizer or oil. The last one I purchased was Charlotte Tilbury’s Light Wonder (a few years ago), and although it would do the trick when I was going out or had a meeting (remember those days?), I started to notice I needed a bit more coverage to even everything out. Then the pandemic happened and this was literally the least of my problems.
Last week I “attended” a virtual masterclass hosted by Illamasqua to celebrate the launch of their brand-new Beyond Foundation. Excited to spend an hour with Illamasqua’s Global Director of Artistry, Pablo Rodriguez, I propped my laptop up on my vanity, laid out all the goodies the brand sent along beforehand, washed my face and got ready to play.
The foundation was obviously the focus, and I received several options a few days earlier so I could find the perfect match—and it was actually super-easy thanks to Illamasqua’s 3-step shading system. The 25 shades of Beyond Foundation are divided into Light, Medium and Dark. Within these categories there are three undertones including Golden (G), Rose (R) and Neutral (N), and each undertone has three levels of color (1, 2 and 3). In case you’re curious, my shade is LN3.
We started with the Hydra Veil Primer, which has a cool jelly-like consistency—and I love the packaging’s interior flip-up lid that has a holder for a small spatula. (I never know what to do with the little scoops that come with products. They either usually wind up getting lost or tossed.) Then, with my fine lines and pores blurred and texture significantly smoothed, it was time for the star of the show.
This foundation is all about hydration and radiance (who isn’t?), and the vegan, cruelty-free formula features hyaluronic acid for mega-moisture and vitamin E for antioxidant benefits. And once we got going I learned a few valuable foundation tips from Rodriguez along the way.
Try applying your primer with your foundation brush. A little extra primer on there when you get to your foundation enhances application and helps skin look extra juicy.
For more coverage, use a flat, compact foundation brush.
For a sheerer finish, use a round, fluffy brush to apply.
Mix a drop of Beyond Liquid Highlighter with your foundation on the back of your hand before applying for a beyond-otherworldly glow. (I have the “OMG” shade and it lives up to its name.)
From there we played around with concealer, powder, highlighter and contouring. The most intriguing product I received in my package was the Gel Sculpt, which honestly scared me when I first opened it up. Yes, it is insanely dark, but the color is actually super-subtle when you swipe it over your skin. (Kind of like Clinique’s “Black Honey” lipstick—which I still have BTW.)
Rodriquez served up three different looks, so I basically just layered them over each other, and here’s the end result… I absolutely love it because my skin looks fresh, even and radiant but not the slightest bit overdone. In fact, I love it so much I actually applied it before taking my son to the orthodontist yesterday—and that really means something.
