Beauty Product Reviews

Perfect amount of coverage, versatile finish

I love the amount of coverage this foundation provides; it's more than a mere tint, but it's not a heavy-coverage thing. Perhaps light-to-medium coverage? This foundation is perfect for when I need sunscreen but also want to even my complexion out.

To compare, this product provides more coverage than Tarte's Maracuja Tinted Moisturizer, and slightly more than one layer of MAC Face and Body. I assume the Ilia provides more coverage because it has a Zinc-based sunscreen in it, where the Tarte and MAC do not have any sun protection at all.

For daily wear, I'll first prep my clean, slightly-damp skin with a hyaluronic acid serum, and once that soaks in, I'll lock it in with Bobbi Brown's Vitamin-Enriched Face Base, as well as Bobbi Brown's Vitamin-Enriched Eye Base. Once all of those products sink in, it's time for the Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint.

I shake the bottle well, I squeeze the dropper-top a few times to make sure I'm actually getting the freshly-mixed serum into the dropper, and I dispense about a nickel size into my palm. I dot it on around my face, and I blend with my fingers, and then finish blending and pressing it in with a barely-damp Beauty Blender-type sponge. (If I know I'll be out all day, I'll dampen my sponge with Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray instead of water.)

The Ilia provides a gorgeous, dewy finish, and the Bobbi Brown products I applied underneath also provide dewiness, so this all runs the risk of being a touch toooo dewy. To fix this, I follow Wayne Goss' fabulous advice, and I take an unused, dry Beauty Blender spongey thing, I wrap it in a Kleenex or in a few squares of toilet paper, and I press it all over my face to blot the excess dewiness. Using this "wrapped sponge" technique absorbs only the excess shine, but leaves behind just the right amount of dewiness; it doesn't remove any coverage or sun protection-- I'm just left with healthy-looking skin that looks like skin. (This step also helps the product from settling into lines-- it's really a game changer!)

At this point if I want to add the tiniest, tiniest amount of powder around my nostrils and under my eyes to set it, I will... but I usually skip it. Then I'm onto bronzer, blusher, and the rest of my makeup.

I really love this product; every time I use it, I'm always super-happy with the results. I love that it has SPF 40, and I really, really love that it doesn't sting my eyes.

Thanks, Ilia! Great job!

Got this as a sample: It really, truly, genuinely works!

I received a tiny 15ml bottle of this as a sample with one of my orders. I tried it randomly one evening and was instantly impressed. I kinda couldn't believe it.

I'm 50. While this stuff isn't going to fool anyone into thinking I'm 20 again, it truly does give my skin a little bounce and a little plumpness. It's subtle, but it's real.

I apply it directly on my freshly-cleansed skin and it absorbs quickly; it is a pretty thin lotion. Once it's absorbed, I still feel like my skin is freshly cleansed-- it doesn't sit on top of my skin; it sinks in perfectly and goes to work. It doesn't react with any of my other skincare products (no pilling at all), and it is unscented, and it doesn't feel like anything.

A little goes a long way, and this tiny little sample bottle has lasted me a few weeks of almost daily use, and I still have half a bottle left.

Yep, a full-sized bottle of this is expensive. But knowing how long this bottle will last, especially for something that genuinely works, makes it a no-brainer for me. (Lordy knows I've spent way more for products that did nothing.)

Great as eye shadow!

Back when Bright Poppy was the only shade in stock, I picked it up because I just had to try it... kinda knowing I probably didn't have the skills to make these colors work as a blush or highlight for my corpse-pale skin. And I was right... BUT, it is absolutely glorious as an eye shadow duo. I find myself reaching for this almost daily. I can make it look perfectly lovely as a day look, or I can glam it up and make it work for when I perform. The formula is beautiful, and I can't wait to review one of his other shades as an actual blusher once I have one in my clutches.

Pale folks, don't be shy! Bright Poppy is beautiful.

A little goes a long way!

I have platinum hair, and we platinums are always battling brassiness. These drops are the perfect color to tone out that brassiness and leave you that icy color you want.

The drops are very concentrated, and a little goes a very long way. You must mix the drops in with something (ideally a leave-in conditioner) so you can distribute it evenly in your hair. My pixie cut only needs two drops if I'm using it with a leave-in conditioner. I'll use about 6 if I'm going to rinse the conditioner out.

ProTip: If the drops get directly on your skin, it will leave a purple stain... so wash your hands immediately after applying... but also make sure to check your ears, forehead, hairline, scalp, and nape for purple spots.

There's not much scent at all (it's slightly fruity), especially because you're using so little product.

One bottle will last an eternity, so it's a great value.

This really works! (But it takes a lot of practice.)

I admit I purchased this product on a different site, but I wanted to review it. This stuff definitely works, and it works right away. It absolutely tightens my skin (I'm 50 and never had any work done at all), and it flattens my 11s, lifts my eyes, and tightens my neck in about 30-45 seconds. Really!

Here's the deal though: 1) You must apply it to clean skin. If you apply a moisturizer first, it won't work because the product won't be able to "grab on" to your skin.

2) You must use as little as humanly possible, because if you put it on even slightly thick, it will turn white and chalky... and if you wipe off the chalkiness, you're wiping off the product (and its effectiveness), so so you'll have to start again.

(Yes, I know the directions say "Revolutionary formula means that the white residue is splashed away or patted away, while active firming agents remain behind," but I have found if you gently splash away or pat away the white residue, you've also patted away the effectiveness. So the trick is: Apply so little that it never turns white or chalky, but apply enough that it works. It's a delicate balance.)

3) It is difficult to put makeup on on top of this product. Creams will just kinda 'rinse off' the product, or it will ball up. Because liquids don't work well on top of it, I tried using mineral (powder) makeup instead, but the powders only accentuate where you put the product on. So... strike that idea.

4) It works best for me if I just use it stragetically... so I'll put the tiniest thin dab on my 11 to smooth it out, another thin swipe up each eyebrow, rubbing it towards my hairline so it lifts my eyes. I'll also put a dab on my chin to tighten up this one annoying wrinkle I have there, and then a more generous amount over my neck to firm that up. When I apply it like that in small bits, then it looks way more natural, and won't interfere with my makeup as much.

5) The directions also say that you can mix it with your foundation. This didn't work for me, and I tried it multiple times, once using oil-free foundation, again with a cream foundation, then with a tinted moisturizer, and then with a mineral foundation... and none of them worked. The thing that looked best was putting the tightening product on first on my clean skin, letting it work, and then covering everything using a tinted silicone-based primer (like Too Faced's Primed and Poreless), because silicones just lay on top of everything, like cake frosting-- it doesn't sink in or mix or dilute the product.

So... be prepared to experiment a lot. Oh, and make sure you shake it really well.

Good luck!

What is this witchcraft?

So many YouTubers slap their name on any generic makeup in a glitzy package and try to pass it off as something luxurious and special when it's not.

But not our Wayne! This palette is really special. Sure, it's kinda neutral, but I find myself reaching for it all the time. That rust color in the lower left is so, so, so gorgeous, and the formula is so silky, with glorious blendability, the perfect amount of punchy pigment, and zero fallout.* The mattes are really matte, the satin blonde (upper left) is perfect as a highlight, and the sparkly blonde (lower right) is glorious on the browbone; it's got some chonky sparkle that catches the light perfectly.

I love that he said he's going to include the matte black shadow in every palette he creates. The black is SO handy for pushing straight into the base of my top lashes to make them look nice and full.

But folks, let's talk about the eye pencils, shall we? Let me say that I have never had any luck with eye pencils, and I have tried a zillion brands from drugstore brands to luxury items, and they were either too squishy/moist so all lines came out thick, or too hard/dry so it dug a trench into my skin. But ZOMG, Wayne has really pulled off a miracle: These are the creamiest, silkiest eye pencils EVER. Zero drag, zero skipping (even on my 50 year old lids), and gloriously rich color payoff. You can get a deliciously clean, thin line because the pencils sharpen like a dream, and you can smudge the line with a brush and it will look beautiful.

If I want the liner to last all day and night, I'll use an eye primer first, then I'll draw my lines, and then I'll use one of his ridiculously soft brushes with a tiny touch of powder to set it using a very light touch, and that line will never move. It is witchcraft.

These pencils also work great in the waterline and stays put... how is that possible?

I promise you won't be disappointed.

(*Yes yes, there's always going to be some miserable hag who smashes and scrapes a hard brush into one of Wayne's pans just to "prove" there's fallout. Ignore them, they are ugly, desperate shit-stirrers and not worth anyone's energy.)

I love love love this brush!

This brush is teeny, and absolutely perfect for placing a perfect gleam on the inner corner of my eye. It's also great for smudging your lower lash line.

Wayne's brushes are an absolute dream. The handle length is perfect-- long enough to let you vary your grip so you can vary your pressure/application style, but still short enough where it's not poking out of your makeup bag.