Illamasqua Skin Base 6.5

Here is a quick pictorial review of the Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation in 6.5...I ordered this from Sephora last month, sight unseen, and did my best to color match based on other swatches I found online.  After trying it out for a FOTD (found HERE), I used it again a few nights later, thinking it was indeed the right match.  Intended to mimic the skin's natural finish and provide natural, buildable coverage, this foundation sounds like a dream come true.  However, it was a just a mediocre experience for me in the long run...

I really liked the packaging that the foundation comes in...sturdy, squeezable, with a nozzle tip to carefully dispense the product...this tube is light and trouble-free to tote in your makeup bag.  The only downside I could envision would be managing to get every last drop of the product as it nears the end.

According to everything that I read, shade 6.5 is a light-to-medium yellow based beige, however, in my experience, it is definitely more on the light, rather than medium, side and photographs even lighter (see the image at the end of this post!).  The foundation is relatively thick but blendable and, despite decent medium coverage, the finish was less skin-like than I had hoped for.  It lacks luminescence and borderlines on being a bit chalky (though it could be that this shade was just too light for me in general).

Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation 6.5 swatched lightly and blended, then heavily in direct sunlight.

Skin Base 6.5 on the face...I found that this photographs considerably lighter than it look in person.  This was the chief  reason why I couldn't keep it!

Bottom Line: I wanted to like the Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation but the fact that it photographs so "white"and has a slightly chalky finish dissuaded me from keeping it...it is not earning a spot in my foundation team!