It was highly anticipated and way back in December when Drew Barrymore’s brand Flower Beauty first launched at Superdrug. A core collection (of 27 products) is still available online and is also now available in select larger Superdrug stores from January 2019. Flower Beauty’s a fully cruelty free brand (with Vegan options) and on the more affordable end of things being a drugstore brand which is great…the more drugstore cruelty free options the better!
There’s a few other Flower bits I’d be interested to try (face powder, mascara, highlighters and blush to name a few) that aren’t available right now in UK/ Ireland, but here’s hoping the line expands at Superdrug! I picked up the hyped Light Illusion Foundation and Light Illusion Concealer back in December and have been using them along side others I’ve been trying as well as my holygrails…one reason for the delay in blogpost (finding time to give it a fair shot!), but also it’s taken me a good while to reach a proper opinion about both of these!
First up the Light Illusion Foundation…
✖️ Lightweight, breathable formula with a nude skin feel and luminous finish.
✖️ All day wear.
✖️ Medium, buildable coverage.
✖️ Broad spectrum SPF18 (I have no idea why SPF18, but US do have different SPF guidelines to us).
✖️ Available in 12 shades.
First thing’s first, the packaging…it looks and feels higher end. The bottle’s glass and has a good weight to it, the rose gold detailing looks sleek and I love how this comes with a (sturdy/ secure) pump and cap closure. Drugstore brands typically have less shade selection than higher end and although not the worst, 12 shades definitely isn’t great. I went for the shade Porcelain the lightest shade and porcelain/ light it is not! I can just about get away it once I go in with a lighter concealer/ don’t go crazy with bronzer/ blush. (For reference I’d wear/ be UD All Nighter in 1.0, Too Faced BTW in Swan, MAC NC 10/15) I hope flower come out with more shades (specifically fair and deeper shades) so we can all try!
The formula itself is a lot thicker in consistency than I expected when you pump it out, but a little goes a long way and it doesn’t look or feel heavy/ as thick on at all. I’d definitely say it’s a medium coverage and would agree that it does build, but then I feel like it starts to defeat the object of a more natural formula and starts looking pretty makeup-y…on me anyway, but that could have a lot to do with the shade being off. I’d recommend building up any extra coverage with concealer for a more natural result.
You can apply it with a brush or sponge (it works well both ways) but personally and as with most brands/ formulas for me a damp beauty sponge has the edge…it allows more control and melts product in to your skin rather than sitting on top, looking more natural and skin like. It does have a really dewy/ luminous finish as promised, which I do like (even though my skin’s more combination…I just have to take more care prepping my skin/ controlling any oily bits) and it looks beautiful on the skin. I’ve tried it with, without and with a good few different primers, but I feel like I’ll need to experiment even further. I’d like a lighter shade but that aside love the way looks and it does last all day technically, but on my combo skin it doesn’t wear as well as some other dewier finish foundations I’ve tried/ own. It breaks down around the usual sides of nose and chin, but that’s after a good 6 hours wear and is easy to touch up with it having such a natural creamy formula and other things sitting well over the top. I’ve actually enjoyed it more while my skin’s been drier/ weather colder, so although it works for me I’d say it’s best suited to a normal to dry and mature skin too as there’s no denying it does give a gorgeous luminous yet natural glow. I still feel like I’m not fully decided on this…I need to mix it and test it out with other foundation formulas too. My current go to combo (Jouer Essential Full Coverage mixed with Too Faced BTW) will take some beating, but it’s testament to the mixing formulas theory and am interested to see if anything can improve my Flower experience! If anyone know’s of any good Light Illusion Foundation combos, let me know…I like the finish of it enough to put in a bit more time/ effort experimenting trying to make it work!
Next up the Light Illusion Concealer…
✖️ Liquid, full coverage concealer.
✖️ Illuminating and blurring.
✖️ Weightless formula.
✖️ Crease proof.
✖️ Available in 6 shades.
So 6 shades, let’s get it out of the way…not great. Again I hope Flower increase the shade range in this especially because it’s such a good formula. I went for the palest shade of course (Fair L1-L2) but it’s not fair by any stretch of the imagination. It’s more of a light or even light-medium shade and weirdly, is actually slightly deeper than the palest shade of foundation so although I can kind of make the shade work it’s nowhere near as light as I’d need to brighten my under eye. I can’t really use the Light Illusion foundation and concealers together for that reason, which is a shame.
Similar to the foundation, the packaging’s great…sturdy, sleek and in a world full of massive doe foot applicators the size of your head (which I do like also)…this one’s more compact, but perfectly shaped to hug the under eye and place just the right amount of product precisely! The formula is really creamy and blends effortlessly in to your skin. I’d say medium to full rather than full coverage straight off the bat (like Tarte Shape Tape for eg) but that’s definitely not a bad thing in my opinion. It’s hydrating and does illuminate and lift (way more so if the shade was a better match) the under eye as well as sitting nicely over blemishes without illuminating those too much (we don’t want that!)…although this is best suited to the under eye and/ or any redness or discolouration…I’d go in with something with a more natural matte finish for any raised blemishes. I wouldn’t say this is totally crease proof. I pretty much always need to set my under eye anyway in fairness, but even with setting it does slightly crease after a few hours on me. It’s easy enough to pat back in and I really like the finish for more natural days…but staying power wise, I probably wouldn’t choose this for all day wear personally. Again if your skin’s drier, this might be the one for you though! If they come out with lighter shades, I’ll definitely pick one up for natural/ need to look more awake days for sure.
If you’re looking for a dewy finish foundation, more hydrating/ illuminating concealer or have normal to dry or mature skin…I’d definitely give these a go! My only real criticism is the current shade selection which is pretty poop and disappointing. If you have a light to medium-deep skin tone, you’re in luck, but all the rest of us will have to hope the shade selection will be looked at and soon…more of a shame with them both being a really lovely product/ formula apart from that!
Flower Beauty’s available now from Superdrug!
Have you tried anything Flower Beauty??
Lyd x
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