We Tested This Insta-Popular Foundation That Uses A Quiz To Match Your Shade
Before the global pandemic, ordering makeup online may have been popular but there was still something soothing about going to your local Priceline, Sephora, Mecca etc. and trialling their samples to really try and get the best bang for your buck.
But more and more, it seems completely unsanitary to go into a store and pick up a tube someone has already touched and smear a foundation that looks like your shade onto your wrist or hand, before realising your winter skin makes everything look orange.
Enter: the power of technology.
Il Makiage is a makeup brand that uses a quiz format to match your foundation shade in 90 seconds. Sounds nearly too good to be true, right? But even better, the brand promises to find your perfect shade and try it risk-free for 60 days.
From asking about your skin type to your coverage preferences and getting you to choose pictures closest to your skin tone, the quiz then gives you what appears to be your best-matched shade. Easy, breezy, and you don’t even have to leave the house.
We put Il Makiage’s ‘Woke Up Like This’ foundation to the test and here are our results.
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Tahlia, 30, foundation shade #60:
Two things have been popping up lately for me in my sponsored Instagram ads: LED masks and Il Makiage’s foundation, which is now retailing in Australia.
What I took from Il Makiage’s Instagram ads (to me) was that the foundation was about to save my life: it would nurse me when I was sick, compliment me when I was down, tell me it loved me, and all while giving me the glowing skin of a genetically blessed runway model.
For context, I am currently nearly five months off the pill, so in the last four weeks or so the hormonal outbreak has hit me like a truck. Skin wise, I’m 16 again, trapped in the body of an 84-year-old woman — because that is how much lockdown has aged me. While on the pill, I had no skin issues whatsoever and now I am patiently trying to let my body sort itself out, hopefully in time for lockdown to end so I can launch myself into hot girl summer rather than hormonal girl summer.
So when it came to the day I planned to trial Il Makiage’s foundation because I was finally leaving the house to see a friend for a socially distanced walk, my skin was having a flare-up brought on by eating approximately 11 Maltesers the day or two before (after a month of not touching sugar), resulting in one of the most disgusting, double-headed pimples I had ever seen on my face.
You know the kind of blemishes that look you right in the eye and tell you to fuck yourself? That kind of pimple.
Regrettably, I popped it and was left with a sore, red mark, that only months of Bio-Oil will now fix for me.
On the plus side, while I was convinced NOTHING would cover the monstrosity on my face, Il Makiage was like “hold my beer” and tried its very best.
9am face.
That day I walked 30,000 steps, roughly equating to about 18km. The weather was mild – I didn’t get overly sweaty, but hot enough to wear a t-shirt while walking,
How did the foundation hold up after one girl’s bored effort to get her lockdown steps in?
Pretty damn well.
5pm face.
In total I was wearing the foundation from 9am – 8pm. It smudged off a little around my nose and chin by this time, but it was nothing a little mineral powder wouldn’t have touched up. I also didn’t use a primer or setting spray at all when using this foundation, so the longevity of it was super impressive. The shade #60 was perhaps too dark for my winter skin, but otherwise would suit me perfectly in the warmer months.
Before Il Makiage, I had been using Fenty and/or Estée Lauder Double Wear and I found this foundation has much better staying power than the other two and didn’t feel as matte on my face. Normally at the end of the day after wearing Fenty, I looked like a dry old witch, my pores cackling directly into my reflection in the mirror.
But one thing must be noted: will Il Makiage survive the ultimate test of a sweaty nightclub dancefloor, as I down tequila shots? I’ll let you know if we ever get out of this pandemic.
Michelle, 27, foundation shade #60:
When I first heard of Il Makiage in 2018, it was during a Bretman Rock video where he was just doing what he usually does — insulting his sister for 24 minutes straight. So naturally, I paid no attention to what was actually happening during the makeup review.
A few years passed, and I never thought of the makeup brand again. That is until I saw that Il Makiage had a ‘Foundation Quiz’ that could apparently use ~AI and machine learning~ to “precisely guess” my foundation shade. Sounds fake, I thought.
But as an absolute whore for weird technology and proving robots wrong, I took the quiz and it matched me to shade #60. Determined to beat the system, I took the quiz again when the foundation was in my hands… and got the same result. Then, just to be sure, I took the quiz one more time while writing this review, and I hate to admit it but the robots have beaten me. It was shade #60 AGAIN.
Now when I swatched the foundation, I’m not going to lie — I was scared. It looked quite orange and like it would be the perfect summer shade for me. The issue? Well, it is famously now winter, Sydney is stuck in lockdown and I’ve left the house all of about four times in the last six weeks so I’m more pale than I’ve ever been.
But for the sake of science, I pushed forward. And the result? I mean, pretty bloody impressive.
9am, before and after.
Now as I’ve gotten older, and COVID has taken over our lives, I’ve really ditched the idea of foundation unless it’s a special occasion. I value sleeping in over a full-face beat. So the idea of putting foundation on without fake lashes and contouring felt very weird. But there’s really just no denying that coverage.
When applying the foundation, like a real scientist, I tried to add as little as possible to really test it out. I used a primer as I do every time I wear foundation, applied it with a brush, added liquid blush and highlight, then set with MAC Fix+ setting spray. No concealer, no powder, no Beautyblenders. Just pure vibes.
At first, I was giving real “teenager using far too much Dove Summer Glow lotion in 2009” energy with just how orange my face looked to the rest of my skin. But as the hours passed, the foundation settled into my skin really well and surprisingly actually looked great in direct sunlight?!
But most importantly, the foundation stood the biggest test of all: Unexpected tears.
Now, did I plan on crying when reviewing this foundation? No. But were there really strong winds when I went on my lunchtime dog walk? Yes. And did I also just happen to test this foundation on the day Peter Bol competed in the men’s 800m Olympic final where his family and friends were crammed into a tiny room proudly cheering him on? YES. YES, IT WAS.
The point is, even with a mask on during a sweaty walk and water leaking out of my eyes at 10pm, the Il Makiage foundation didn’t transfer or shift off my skin.
During my 1pm walk in natural sunlight, and at 10pm after a cheeky cry.
Considering I wore the foundation from 9am to 10pm, I’d say Il Makiage did a pretty banging job.
The only real issue I found with the foundation itself was how drying and matte it was compared to anything I’ve worn in the last six months while being trapped in the confines of my home. And because it’s such a matte foundation, it really clung onto the dry patches on my skin which had me dramatically rubbing away at my forehead desperate to get rid of that snakeskin look.
But even though I gravitate more towards natural, dewy foundations on a regular day, I can tell ‘Woke Up Like This’ would be a great foundation for clubbing and the post-shots sweats. It’s a good base that evens out skin tone and I can tell with a full face of makeup, the slightly-off colour and matte-ness would balance out well — similar to how I’ve been using my Too Faced Born This Way.
And while I really have nowhere to go right now, even if Gladys Berejiklian lets us leave our houses, I reckon I’ll be adding ‘Woke Up Like This’ to my regular full beat rotation for when we can finally hit the clubs again. Which at this rate is looking to be 2027.
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You can now buy Il Makiage’s ‘Woke Up Like This’ foundation ($69) online.