After being bombarded with Insta & Facebook ads for months, I finally purchased Il Makiage foundation ‘Woke up like this’ – here’s my full Il Makiage review!
I’ve been looking for a new foundation because I was becoming more and more uncomfortable wearing my current foundation, Estée Lauder Double Wear, because it’s not cruelty-free, unlike Il Makiage who are cruelty-free. I bought it in 2019 so figured I was due an upgrade. I have combination skin & Double Wear leaves my forehead at the end of the day as oily as a frying pan – I’m hoping this new one isn’t the same.
Is Il Makiage cruelty-free and vegan?
Never. We never test products or ingredients on animals, nor do we allow suppliers or affiliates to conduct testing on our behalf. Animals > Everything. Not 100% of our products are vegan, but most are, including our foundation. Contact us for a complete list of our vegan products.
As per their FAQs https://www.ilmakiage.com/uk/faq
Shade matcher POWERMATCH – how does it work?
They have a shade matcher “power match” on their website which I must say, is pretty accurate. After answering several easy questions (2 minutes tops), it suggested 35 for me. I also messaged on Facebook the Il Makiage team, and after sending them my photo, they recommended 40 – right next to 35 in the list so very similar, I ended up going with 35 though and it turns out, the POWERMATCH is spot on because it’s the right shade for me.
It takes 2 minutes to answer questions based on your skin concerns, skin type, preferred coverage & finish etc.
Il Makiage #35 less yellow than my current foundation, Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay In Place, 1W2 Sand. Il Makiage’s 35 is in my opinion a much better colour for my skin. Estee Lauder’s would probably suit me with a tan.
‘Woke Up Like This’ foundation: Shade 35
My YouTube video shows how I apply the foundation with a sponge: (just had covid so yes, I look rough, which is actually really handy to show you just how much this makeup makes me look less dull!)
I bought a pack of 4 sponges from Amazon for £5 – here’s the link. Don’t forget to dampen the sponge first for the best coverage.
How does it cope with my combination skin?
I have sensitive eyes; my forehead & sides of my nose are oily; around my mouth is sensitive & dry; the rest is normal.
My face has different concerns – I have sensitive eyes; my forehead & sides of my nose are oily; around my mouth is sensitive & dry; the rest is normal. My current Double Wear foundation makes my forehead very oily by the end of the day – so much so that when I get in from work (after 10 hours) I’m dying to get it off. It also flakes on my dry patches. I can’t deny it though, Double Wear gives amazing coverage. If you have normal skin, I can imagine it stays on all day and looks amazing, but it’s not cruelty-free so a re-purchase for me is off the cards.
According to Il Makiage website, the ‘Woke up like this’ foundation:
50 shades for all skin tones
https://www.ilmakiage.com/uk/212-66050-woke-up-like-this
Lightweight texture
Buildable medium-to-high coverage
Natural matte finish
Optically-corrective powders
Enriched with: Vitamin E for anti-aging benefits Hyaluronic acid for hydration, protection and filling wrinkles
…. flawless, uniform natural matte finish
I have high hopes it won’t leave my skin a flaky greasy mess by the end of the day. I also work out after work, when I’ve got makeup on – this will be interesting.
My Tiktok shows how I apply the foundation:
What’s the coverage like? How much product do I need?
I like the light coverage. I’m 33 so I feel too much makeup looks worse due to the texture/fine lines that are appearing. ‘Woke up like this’ is buildable so I guess you’ll be able to pump as little or as much as you want.
One pump gives a lovely finish – not everything is covered as you can see, but on the most part, it’s given my skin a glow and evened it out a lot. The redness either side of my nose has been reduced – but is still visible, as is the bumps on my forehead. It’s also covered small acne scars and uneven skin colouring on my cheeks and forehead.
Buy from their website, https://www.ilmakiage.com
It goes on very light and melts into my skin. It feels lovely. It isn’t thick, so I’m able to move it around my skin quickly and easily without any pulling of my skin. I buffer it in using circles with a brush, to make sure I get an even coverage. (UPDATE: I now use sponges for foundation (thanks tiktok) £5 for 4 here from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3K4mdai)
I have 2 pumps on here – plus added blusher. The redness around my nose has 95% been hidden. My skin looks even but it doesn’t look like I’ve got a lot of makeup on.
Primer is recommended
Before I put the foundation on, I moisturised with my Murad which has SPF in it. Then I went in with primer. It says on the Il Makiage website to use a primer to ensure the foundation stays on for as long as possible. That’s fine by me! I used a bit of Revolution Ultra Face Primer. I’ve now purchased Il Makiage’s primer – see blog links below. Obviously, with it being the same brand, they work best together (and I can confirm it really is amazing – helps it stay on all day, including the concealer).
UPDATE: Here’s my blog on Il Makiage’s Primer – I’ve recently tried it after repurchasing the foundation. It’s brilliant and they work really well together – as you’d expect.
Post-workout – did the foundation stay on?
I worked out and got sweaty – I don’t know about you but my skin actually looks better. Dewy but not greasy. The foundation also stayed on; it didn’t go clumpy, melt or anything else.
Buy the foundation from their website, https://www.ilmakiage.com
Instagram post – what’s it all about?
Okay, so this Instagram post is pretty convincing. It looks like one swoop covers her skin flawlessly. My personal opinion is for this woman to get full coverage like that in that small area, it would take at least 1 full pump. I used 1 pump to cover my whole face as I like a really light coverage. To get this fuller coverage over the whole face, you’d need at least 3 pumps.
Final thoughts – love it
Buy from their website, https://www.ilmakiage.com
Ok so I didn’t want the world on a stick…. I wanted a foundation that:
- didn’t make my oily/dry skin worse
- I could wear all day (10hr+)
- stays on after a workout or if I get sweaty/rained on
- doesn’t break me out in spots
Il Makiage lives up to that above. I’m really pleased (for once) I was targeted on Instagram!
I also wanted a cruelty-free and vegan brand, which I got. Il Makiage products are all cruelty-free and most are vegan – this foundation is one of their vegan products (check out their FAQs).
Even though they don’t give out free shade testers, the fact I got the suggestion from their customer service team gave me confidence I ordered the right shade – and they were right!
I’m not itching to take my makeup off by the end of the day because it doesn’t worsen my oily skin. After wearing it for 10+ hours, my skin still looks fresh with uneven skin tone & imperfections still covered – not as good as the morning but still impressive.
If you want to use a tool to suggest your shade, use their POWERMATCH. I did and it’s perfect! However if you don’t get a good match they offer a good returns policy which gives peace of mind.
Skin prep tip – a must to keep foundation looking its best with dermaplaning
Make sure you dermaplane your skin to smooth it out as much as possible. I do this once every few weeks and it makes SUCH a difference. ‘Dermaplaning’ is basically a fancy way of saying you ‘shave your face’ but it also removes the dead skin cells making your skin super-smooth. I can confirm after years of doing this, hair does NOT return thicker/darker.
Make sure to prep your skin thoroughly and leave enough time in-between for the products to sink in your skin. I moisturise then leave 10 minutes before putting primer on, then another 10 mins before putting makeup on (foundation first then concealer).
How much is the foundation and where can I buy it?
It’s £36 + delivery, £3.95.
Delivery is free over £40 which is kinda frustrating as their most popular product is just below the threshold.
- Buy from their website, https://www.ilmakiage.com/uk/212-66050-woke-up-like-this
UPDATE 27/4/22: Hadn’t seen this at the time of buying, but they offer ‘try it for 60 days’ if you use their POWERMATCH tool to find your shade match; see the promo below. I’ve not known a makeup company offers returns on foundation! This would help massively if you get the wrong shade, you can simply return it, instead of (like me) try to re-sell on eBay for a 1/10 of the price. Link here for their foundation POWERMATCH.
Discounts
As mentioned above, use welcome10 for 10% off from their website Il Makiage.
Final tip (and most important)
Don’t drop the bottle on a hard floor or this will happen. *cries*
Update: 30 April 2021
I bought the Il Makiage Primer and it’s worked wonders for keeping the foundation on all day without any crustiness around my dry patches. I would recommend (oh I repurchased the foundation!)
Other Il Makiage products worth mentioning
So far I’ve tried this foundation, F*ck I’m Flawless concealer and No Filter Poreless Base primer. I’m very impressed with all 3 products and would recommend them.
Il Makiage products – are they non-comedogenic? I’ve recently looked at the ingredients of Il Makiage’s most popular products – the foundation ‘woke up like this’, the ‘f**k I’m flawless concealer and the Il Makiage primer. Check out the results here.
Thank you for reading my article. I wrote it in March 2021 and last updated it in November 2024. It's tagged with the category Make up if you'd like to read more.
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