the foundation face off! chanel vs illamasqua:

there are two things in life that are hard to find, the perfect fitting pair of jeans and the right foundation.

I'm a girl on a budget; when it comes to make up I tend to stick to mid-range brands for most items but when it comes to foundation I'm prepared to spend a little more! 

I was putting on my make up this morning when it occured to me that maybe I should share my two favourites with you in case any of you were looking for that elusive foundation. 

I'm not actually someone who wears a lot of foundation, in fact hardly ever in the summer (I just use a good concealer) but in the winter when my summer tan has long gone I feel like I need a little assistance to perk up my skin!

so here's my skin savior's in case you wondered what I use:

I actually asked twitter for suggestions and the chanel was the most recommended so I took the plunge!

I do like this foundation but I was slightly disappointed in the coverage (do bear in mind this is the aqua version so is lighter coverage than their others) if you're looking for light/medium coverage this one is good, for me this is more of a summer foundation when you want a lighter coverage. 

if you have very pale skin this could be an issue; this is their lightest shade (10 beige) and you can see it's more orange toned than the illamasqua. 

I also find this one on occasions looks a little greasy after 4-5 hours but I do have combination skin aha!) overall a good foundation... but for the price I was a tad disappointed.

now for the illamasqua skin base. I was gifted this a while ago but there was no request for me to review this etc so rest easy this is my 100% honest opinion and included only because I rate it as the best foundation I've used to date.

this is good if you need/want more full coverage, and a little goes quite a long way. I use a stippling brush to apply this and build up the coverage. this foundation is almost chalky compared to the oilier feeling chanel but I really like this!

skin base completely evens out my skin tone and leaves a nice matte finish (be careful though as I think you could easily tip the scales to cake faced if you apply too much!) I barely use concealer as it covers any dark circles well (even after a night out...) 

the tones of this are also lovely, not even a hint of the dreaded orange colour and a perfect match for my pale skin (it mixes well with moisturiser if you require a lighter coverage some days too)

for me the illamasqua is my favourite because of the good pigmentation, finish and coverage; it also lasts longer than the chanel on my skin. 

I hope this has been of some use to you guys! whether your after light/medium or medium/full coverage I think these are my two favourites I've tried. 

if you want to check out either the illamasqua ones are here (my shade swatched is SB 4.5) and the chanel is here!

do any of you have any recommendations? the only one left for me to try is the famous estee lauder double wear... have any of you tried it.. is it any good? I'd like to try it and compare it to these two!

caroline x