Monday, January 9, 2012

Sampling Samples: Clarins Skin Illusion Natural Radiance Foundation


One day a long time ago I was standing at a counter in Myer waiting patiently for someone to come and take some money from me (and as anyone who's ever been to Myer knows, these days it's a long wait), and I saw a stack of these foundation samples sitting on the desk. Right there in the open for anyone to take. This may seem quite a normal thing to you North Americans and Europeans, but for Australians, a free sample actually being OFFERED is a rare thing indeed. I snatched one up quickly and scurried away into the night before anyone saw me.



As sample colours go, this one (111 Toffee) is a pretty decent match for my skin - usually they're way too dark - so I was able to test it outside the house for once. Oddly, this seems to be the darkest colour in the range - they must run really light.

It's quite liquidy so it has a light to medium coverage, but it is buildable. I added another layer to my cheeks and it blended in nicely. I usually apply foundation with my fingers and then sometimes buff it in with one of these if the 'finger finish' isn't cutting it.



I forgot to take a photo of 'after' before I put the rest of my face on, so I am also wearing blush in that second picture. D'oh! (As a side note, check out how much the redness in my cheeks has reduced since I started using Silk Naturals serums, compared to the last foundation sample post I did!)

The problem I had with this foundation is although it doesn't look heavy, it feels heavy - I was constantly aware that I had it on my face and it bothered me. After about 4 hours I couldn't stand it anymore and I had to wash it off, so I can't speak for its lasting power. It also didn't look especially radiant.

It's a shame about the feel because I did really like the look of it. A 30ml bottle of this will set you back $60 in Australia, but as much as I like Clarins' skincare, I'm never overly thrilled with their makeup. They won't be getting my buckaroos on this one.

6 comments:

  1. Oh I can't stand foundations that feel heavy on my skin, even though I don't mind full coverage ones. I have been tempted by some of the Clarins make up releases, but haven't bought anything from them yet.

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  2. Thats interesting that it feels heavy. I don't think I've tried any clarins products recently.

    I just dropped you an email from my other email account. I realized the email I sent you this morning didn't go thru. Oops!

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  3. Emma, same! If I am aware that it's there at all it just bugs me all day and I can't focus on anything else. I love the look of that giant LE Clarins bronzer thing, but realistically I don't use bronzer so...

    Jill, it is quite a light, liquidy formula so it was weird that I could feel it so much on my face. Not sure what's going on there. :-/

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  4. Aren't you glad you didn't pay for this, I hate when I feel something on my face like that!

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  5. That's the one I was telling you about that I didn't like! Although I did persevere through the entire bottle. It was just meh the whole way through, and I am a fan of the Clarins foundation. I'm using some firming one at the moment, and I am less aware of that than I was of the one you tried!

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  6. Tracy, very glad!

    Jodi, I don't know how you made it through a bottle. I couldn't make it through a day.

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