Foundation Review: Yves St Laurent Fusion Ink and Touche Eclat and Illamasqua Skin Base

I won't pretend I have a huge amount of knowledge or experience in foundation as I have always struggled to find one that matches my skintone. They are usually too dark or too yellow. Therefore I really haven't tried a huge variety of them! I have however found two perfect ones, and one pretty good one that I thought I would share!

YSL Fusion Ink B10 and Touche Eclat BR10 Foundations

As you can see my two favourites are both by Yves St Laurent.

In the UK it is pretty hard to find a make up counter that will happily give samples, which is very annoying. Most are more than happy to do your make up for you, but I won't buy foundation with only that to judge on. I like to take it home, try it for a couple of days using my beauty blender, ie applying it how I will be every day. I don't see the point in judging it on what a counter salesperson can do, as it could work totally differently in your own hands. I found a fairly good colour match in Urban Decay, but I have never been able to get a sample to try it.

Yves St Laurent are the exception. They are more than happy to give you little sample bottles to try at home and for that reason, as well as the wonderful foundations and shade range, that they got my business. I will never buy a foundation without trying a sample In my opinion if a product is good enough they will be more than happy to give out samples, as they know you won't be able to live without their awesome product once you have tried it.

I have had the Touche Eclat foundation in BR10 for a while now.  It is the lightest shade, and has pink undertones. (BR is Beige Rose, they also do Beige for neutral undertones and Beige Dors for golden undertones) It matches my pink undertones and pale skin perfectly which I love. I am happy to embrace the pink in my skin, and I love the glow this foundation gives me. It is medium coverage, giving me an even skin tone without looking like a mask. It comes in a beautiful glass bottle with a gold lid and pump, and feels very heavy and luxurious.

 Due to my great experience with  Touche Eclat Foundation I was really excited when they brought out a new matte foundation, Fusion Ink. Again they were happily giving out samples and it is the most wonderful velvety feeling foundation. it gives amazing coverage without being heavy, and the matte finish is to die for. However I have two negatives. Firstly it does not come with a pump but a plastic spatula type applicator. I have no idea why they skipped the pump on this one. Also the shade range is not as extensive as Touche Eclat. They do both B10 and BD10, but no BR10 which is my exact match. I can get away with B10 but it takes away my pink undertones and neutralises my skintone. That is fine, but I do like my pink and I am not particularly bothered about hiding it. The finish and texture overrides this. I did hang out in case they released a BR10 shade later on but so far they have not. I am happily using B10, but if they do bring out a BR10 in Fusion Ink I probably won't be able to stop myself as it is seriously gorgeous.

Illamasqua Powder Foundation 115 and Skin Baase 02

My second in line Holy Grail foundation due to the brilliant shade match is Illamasqua Skin Base 02 and powder in 115. I find I cannot just use the foundation as the finish doesn't work for me, but the colour and coverage are amazing. Using the 115 powder alongside it brings the finish more in line with a matte look that I prefer, and stops the shine. On good skin days I will also use the powder alone just as a little bit of coverage and shine control.

That is the end of this foundation review. I know it's pretty short and uninformative but I ave been lucky enough to find brilliant foundations, where the texture, coverage and shade work for me so I have not had to be experimental with it. To be honest I am happy with that as good foundations are expensive and if a foundation doesn't work for you its not something you can overcome easily, unlike a lip or eye product!
Martha x