Hey! If you are a follower of mine, you’ll know that Illamasqua has long been one of most favourite makeup brands, even before I went vegan!

I recently got my hands on a few base products, including the NEW Hydra Setting Spray and wanted to share my review with you. Because they are Fab-u-lous!

The products I’ll be reviewing are:

• Beyond Foundation
• Skin Base Pressed Powder
• Beyond Powder Highlighter
• Colour Correcting Bronzer
• Hydra Setting Spray (matte)

Lets dive straight in!

Beyond Foundation

I’ll start by saying that I did try this out when it was first released and loved it for myself. I only had a sample size and that wasn’t enough to determine if it was pro kit worthy. But I have been recommending it since and now that I’ve had a chance to test it out for a few consecutive days I can wholeheartedly say I’ll be ordering more shades and it’ll added to the kit!

This foundation is so creamy and luxe feeling but it’s not super heavy. It’s not a full coverage foundation and won’t cover like the Skin Base range, but it still offers a decent coverage for those who like a more natural, dewy look. I’m definitely a lover of this foundation! After recently turning **cough** 40 **cough** (I know it’s hard to believe ?) I find a dewy, lighter foundation is less aging and gives my skin that youthful, glowing bounce that the 20 somethings still have.

To compare, it’s heavier/more coverage than Charlotte Tilbury Light Wonder and more in line with Delilah Time Frame, maybe a touch creamier feeling. Less coverage than Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation. It feels luxuriously rich when applying, yet lightweight to wear.

Skin Base Pressed Powder

What I love about these powders are that they are not ‘another translucent powder’. They have a slight colour to them which means as well as blotting those unwanted shiny areas and perfectly setting your foundation, you’ll get that extra bit of coverage. I tried the powder without any foundation underneath and it immediately reduced my redness, so you can imagine what it will do on top of foundation!

I have shade Light 2 which is the perfect shade for me – for the record I’m pretty pale with a neutral undertone. The powder is VERY finely milled and feels so silky on the skin. I’m so impressed with this powder, it’s actually surprised me how much I love it. The only downside is the bulky packaging, but I guess the more protection the better for a pressed powder. We’ve all felt sick when we’ve accidently dropped a powder and smashed it into a quadrillion small pieces!

Beyond Powder Highlight

O.M.G!! I almost didn’t want to use this powder as it looks so incredibly beautiful in the pan. But I am so glad I did!

I got this in shade Dare.  Technically this is a highlighter, but I wanted to see if it could work as a blush enhancer, hence opting for the rosy shade.  And Jackpot!  As a blush topper it is sheer perfection!

The glow is gorgeous.  It’s not glittery or blinding and too ‘in your face’ but having said that, it’s not so subtle that is hardly worth putting on.  It really blends well and gives the skin the perfect amount of silky, glow that can be layered up on top of a cream blush for full WOW impact.

On its own, it is light and sheer.  It’s great for a subtle day time blush with a little glow on light skin tones.  Then as a topper, layered over a cream or liquid blush, it has real oomph and would work well on most skin tones.

Out of all the products I’m reviewing here, this has to be my absolute favourite!  No wonder it’s a global best seller, it’s stunning!

Colour Correcting Bronzer

I wasn’t too sure on this when it first came out.  It’s the first time I’ve come across a colour correcting bronzer and couldn’t quite grasp the concept.  However, I kept coming back to it and curiosity got the better of me and I decided I just needed to try it.

I have shade Light (by now you will have realised that I am quite the pasty girl!).  I don’t tend to wear a bronzer often as I find they are either too impactful (remember when the world went crazy for Benefit Hoola?  Oh my, my skin looked like it was recovering from some horrific burn!) or just too warm like an awful noughties fake tan.

So you can see why I put off getting one of these for so long.  I needn’t have! 

Now I’m not sure if the bronzers (there’s 2 shade in each compact, one cool and one warm) are just the perfect tone for me, more neutral, less red, or if it’s the colour correcting strip that makes this work. But it just does.  I look sun kissed, in a good way – sun kissed for me usually means sunburnt, so this is already a huge improvement.  And it looks SO natural.

It would be great to hear what others with different skin tones make of this to give it a real all-round review. But for me personally, it works!  I also really like that there are two tones in one compact. I can wear the cooler tone alone in the winter and then mix the two together with the colour corrector in the summer and have a deeper bronze whilst still avoiding the ‘Tangoed’ look.

Downside again must be the bulky, plastic packaging.  If I wanted to carry the powder compact, the bronzer and highlighter with me, I’d have to get a bigger clutch!

And finally…

Hydra Setting Spray

Oh I love newness!

Have you tried the new Hydra Setting Spray yet?!  I have the Matte version.  It also comes in Dewy.

What I noticed and loved immediately is that it is a mist rather than a spray, and a lightweight one at that.  You’re not going to get a sharp squirt in the face, that makes you jump on every first pump.  But more of a refreshing ‘ahhhh’.  And also, that it dries pretty quickly.  I often find you have to wait for a setting spray to dry without touching your face. Otherwise you end up actually removing makeup accidently which is clearly the opposite point of a setting spray.  With this I can spray and go.

Whilst it works well as a mist after makeup application, my favourite way to use it is to apply it to my makeup sponge, before applying foundation.  I get most of the setting benefit using it this way and find my makeup last so much longer.

Round up…

As you can see, I’m pretty much a fan of all of these cruelty free and vegan lovelies from Illamasqua, as I am with the brand as a whole.  The products all perform really well, and I love how multi-purpose they are.   If Illamasqua could address their packaging to make them less bulky, more sustainable, and then make their whole range fully vegan, I think they could make it to my top makeup brand!

I would love to know if you have tried any of these, or any other Illamasqua products and what your thoughts are on them.  Leave me a comment below!

And as a thank you for stopping by, I have a discount code to share with you for 25% off at Illamasqua.com! Code ILLAM25

Until next time…. N x

As always…

Reviews are purely my own personal opinion and although I may have been gifted items to review, my comments are my own. Some links in this article may contain affiliate links which could mean I earn a commission on anything you go on to purchase at no additional cost to yourself. But it does go towards supporting my small business and the time it has taken to write this review. So thank you! ?