Catrice Nude Illusion Foundation (010 Nude Ivory)

My first Catrice foundation. Nude illusion is a newly launched foundation by Catrice, a part of the semiannual revamping of their line for Autumn 2014 and its launch would pass me by just as most of their base products do if it weren't for a couple very favourable reviews I stumbled upon, one even comparing it to the Giorgio Armani's Luminous Silk, which we can't get here, but it's a favourite of many. My first impressions were marvellous, though during my month of use, I discovered it has its good and "bad" days, regardless it is a wonderful foundation and I've already used up a quarter of the bottle. 

Texture and finish: It feels very much like an old school foundation in a sense that it's very thick and I think it could benefit from a touch more silicones to make the application a bit smoother, easier and faster. Nonetheless, it blends in well, despite the lack of the silicone slip and has a dry to the touch, matte finish, but not a draining matte one, rather a natural matte finish. I said before that it claims to have a luminous matte finish and on good days that is exactly what you get - that is what I call a perfect finish. It doesn't really emphasize dryness, though it can catch on an occasional dry patch and doesn't look particularly well over dried up spots, however, it's not that tragic.

Colour: I have the lightest one in the selection of five called 010 Nude Ivory. The undertone is brilliant, neutral which suits me perfectly, however, I wish it were a half a shade lighter, as in that case it would be my perfect match.

Coverage: Is medium, but can be built up to medium-full, though it's never full coverage and my darker freckles still show through. It gives a relatively flawless finish, even covers circles well enough if you layer it. Of course, the more you use, the more obvious it is on the skin.

One layer:

Another comparison of pictures but with two layers of foundation here.

Staying power: This wears so well. Even after seven hours after application my skin looks matte, but in a healthy way, even if I haven't used powder or a primer. On good days it looks flawless, the pores look disguised and the skin looks fresh, the foundation doesn't look at all patchy and even on the sides of the nose it looks very decent. When it's not performing that well, it settles into pores and lines, but for some reason all foundations started doing that on me recently, so it might just be a weird skin day for me. At the end of the day there is a  lot of foundation on the pad when I use micellar water.

Scent: This has no detectable scent during application or when it's on the face. Straight from the bottle, it does have a faint paint scent if you really put your nose to it.

Packaging: A glass bottle with a good pump that dispenses the desired amount of product. The matte glass makes it look a lot more expensive than it is. 

Price and availability: Mine is from DM for 7.69 €.

I really like this foundation, despite it not being the perfect match due to being a half a shade too dark. On a good day it can look fantastic, disguising pores and with a luminous matte finish. On not so good days it's can look more obvious when it settles into pores and lines (again it could just be my skin's problem), but the natural, matte finish as well as it's lasting power is a winner. For the price, it's a great buy.

Have a great day!