Illamasqua's Matte Veil and Skin Base Foundation

When people find out I blog about beauty in my spare time, the number one question I get asked is 'can you recommend a good foundation?'.  I feel ya sisters, finding the right foundation can feel like an impossible task.  I wanted to share a base product combination that has really been working for me: Illamasqua's 'Matte Veil' and 'Skin Base' foundation.

Matte Veil (£30) - On their website, Illamasqua say to use 'Matte Veil' before primer and foundation to achieve a long lasting, matte base.  However, I've been using 'Matte Veil' as my primer and it works amazingly well on its own.

'Matte Veil' is unlike anything I've used before. It's very thin in consistency and feels very cool when applied to the skin.  I need the tiniest amount of product to cover my whole face and the miniature spatula really helps dispense the right amount of product as well as helping keep pesky germs at bay. 

What I love most about 'Matte Veil' is how quickly it sinks into the skin.  Unlike other primers I've tried, it feels undetectable on the skin on account of how thin it is.  However, this has no adverse affect on how the primer works.  My foundation lasts a full work day (10hrs+) without needing to touch up which is pretty much unheard of for me! I love how sleek and sturdy the packaging feels - I've chucked into my make up bag when travelling and the product hasn't leaked.

Skin Base Foundation (£32). I've blogged about 'Skin Base' before, however I was previously matched to the wrong colour which really affected how I felt about it. Now, 'Skin Base' is back in my life with the right colour and I love it.  'Skin Base' is a buildable foundation with a satin finish.  It lasts all day on my skin, particularly when I use 'Matte Veil'.  To get the best from 'Skin Base' I apply in very thin layers which helps it sit beautifully on my combination skin without ever looking heavy or cakey.  The one big drawback I've found is the products tendency to cling to any dry patches.  Using   a primer definitely helps with this but should be taken into consideration if you have a drier skin type.

As someone who comes from a history of full coverage foundation, 'Skin Base' is a nice break from the norm.  It provides just enough long lasting, natural looking coverage to make me feel comfortable

Have you tried either of these products? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Love Nic

xx

Magic's in the Make Up Goes Cruelty Free!

Woah! It's been a long time since I've sat down and written anything blog related; five months to be exact.  There's a big reason for this, 2014 was year full of changes and to put it simply, my attention has been diverted elsewhere...

Have you ever fallen into a You Tube black hole? It's a regular occurrence for me: one minute I'll be watching compilation videos of baby animals to hours later, through a complex web of  related video clicking, I find myself watching a demonstration of the most natural way to glue a toupe onto your head (spoiler - there isn't).  Little did I know that one such You Tube black hole would change my life.  I stumbled onto a video narrated by Paul McCartney called 'If Slaughterhouses had Glass Walls'.  You can imagine the content of this video and immediately afterwards, I vowed to never eat meat again.

In the last ten months, I have done a huge amount of research, research that has made me question how I want to live my life. I had already cut meat from my diet but what about the uneasiness I felt about the dairy and egg industries?  As a beauty product lover, could I live with the fact that 90% of the products I used daily had at some point been tested on animals?  It wasn't only animal welfare on my mind - the benefits of a vegan lifestyle on the environment and human health quickly became indisputable to me.

This January I took part in Veganuary, a campaign that encourages people to go vegan for the month of January.  In this last month, I've given away the majority of my make up collection (and  managed not to cry!) replacing what I needed with cruelty free alternatives.  I got excited by cooking again and in the process lost 12lbs.  I have been motivated to start exercising again and have generally felt lighter in body and mind.  

So, where does this leave me?  Now Veganuary is over, I am going to continue transitioning into a more compassionate lifestyle, with Magic's in the Make Up forming a big part of this. I will still be blogging about beauty however from now on, everything I feature will be cruelty free. You'll also start to see more lifestyle posts popping up which I'm really excited about.

Welcome to the new Magic's in the Make Up.

Lots of love

Nicola

xx