You know the excitement when a brand you’ve been waiting to try finally becomes available where you live? Well, that certainly happened when I walked into my local drugstore on a random day and found Flower Beauty. There was no heads up, it just suddenly popped up and one of the products I had been wanting to try for years is available: the foundation. Now, the line I have access to is quite limited in terms of products. We just have some concealers, powders, the foundations and some powder blushes. That’s about it. So I haven’t been able to try much, but I thought I could whip out some reviews of the products that I can get my hands on and that I am interested in. Let’s start with the Flower Beauty Light Illusion foundation.
Review: Flower Beauty Light Illusion foundation Porcelain L1
Unlike other brands that we get that originates from a country abroad, we do not have to pay a premium price compared to the US. On the official Flower Beauty website, this exact same product retails for $14. At my local drugstore this retails for €14.99 which is just a little bit more. However, since I bought my products when the brand was introduced, I got this foundation with 25% off, which was a pretty good deal. Now one difference that I did find is that our shade range isn’t as good. More about that below.
What does this foundation have to offer?
On the Flower Beauty website, this foundation comes in 15 shades. In The Netherlands? We get 6. So I bought the lightest shade available with is Porcelain L1. This foundation is a buildable, medium coverage foundation with a dewy, natural finish. This is a hero product from the brand and I was super excited about this one as it was a product I had been wanting to try for years. It is a product that is very hyped up and let me tell you: I like almost everything about this foundation, except for one thing which is a huge deal breaker for me.
What does this foundation swatch like?
When I picked this up in store, I didn’t find it looked all that dark. However, once I got it home and swatched it onto the back of my hand I instantly thought: that may be about 2 – 3 shades darker than I need. The texture however was lovely. This is exactly what I like in a foundation: a buildable, easy to blend foundation that has a dewy look, but without covering your skin up completely. This looks so pretty on, the longevity was great and it looked great on my dry skin and it didn’t look cakey or overly makeuppy. In short: it has everything I like and then some. However, the shade match was horrible.
What is the shade match like?
So I bought mine in the lightest shade available to me: Porcelain L1 and it is too dark. It is about 2 -3 shades too dark and as the foundation settles down, it also oxidizes a bit making it even darker. You can see in this picture above that the undertone is also a bit on the orange side for me as it is quite a warm toned foundation. In the bottom swatch picture, you can also see the foundation looking a bit darker around the edges where it was already settled onto my skin. Luckily for me, the range does come in a lighter shade (Shell L0) so if I would ever be able to source that from some place, I would definitely pick it up. The reason? This foundation is a great drugstore foundation that is up there when I compare it to some of my high end foundations. So great foundation, shoddy shade match.
What is the coverage like?
As you can see here, this foundation looks really good one if we take the shade match out of the equation. This has everything I want! It covers up my redness, but it still makes my skin look natural and dewy. It is lightweight enough when applied with a sponge and it is works well on drier patches too. It just is an overall, great allrounder of a foundation. But as you can see in the before and after picture here: this foundation makes me look orange. Maybe I can make this shade work in the summer, but I do not tan that much (hello pale skin here!) especially not in my neck. The only think I could possibly make this work for me is if I were to blend my foundation all the way down to my chest, down the back of my neck and that is just a bit too much of a hassle to me.
My final thoughts
I really wanted to like the Flower Beauty Light Illusion foundation. And I do! I really really do. This is a stunning foundation, but the shade is just too warm and too dark and it is making me look like an oompa loompa. I am still curious enough about the lighter shade that is available, but I currently have no means to get my hands on it. I believe the closest place where Flower Beauty is also available is the UK and that is of course currently not a place I can get to. However, I do believe that Super Drug stocks the brand (or Boots, either one of the two) so I hope they do sell the full shade range there and then if we can travel again, I will certainly pick it up as this foundation has everything I am looking for. It is dewy, it is natural, it is blendable, buildable and just overall a great foundation for someone with dry skin like me.
Would I recommend the Flower Beauty Light Illusion foundation?
If you can find your shade match in this line and you have dry skin: go for it! However, with only 6 shades available, I doubt anyone in The Netherlands can find their match. This has been a known issue though. For years L’Oreal and Maybelline foundations that came in a bunch of shades in the US and the UK (and even Germany) would just not be available in The Netherlands as we only got a hand full of shades. That’s certainly the case here too and I honestly don’t get it. If you want to sell your products shouldn’t you make sure you cater to as many people as possible? I honestly do not understand how any brand can launch just a few shades in a certain country when other territories get many more. Rant over!
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