I tried Il Makiage’s bestsellers — here’s what is worth buying (and what’s not)

Despite being described as medium to full coverage, I needed at least two layers of Il Makiage’s f*ck I’m flawless multi-use perfecting concealer to feel like any redness, blemishes, and dark circles were slightly covered. The formula was very blendable, but felt more like a lightweight BB cream than even a skin tint, let alone a concealer. Just like with the foundation, the shade match was great (shade 8).

The click-and-brush applicator was really easy to use and the perfect delivery tool for the more watery consistency. The finish on my skin was glowy without looking greasy, and I didn’t need to powder more than once throughout the evening — plus, it lasted well and didn’t separate or crease right up until bedtime.

Out of the entire lineup, Il Makiage’s black card mascara was my favourite pick. The wand — which has a double-sided comb shape with long and short teeth on either side — did a wonderful job of depositing just the right amount of formula onto my lashes, and sweeping them into a fanned-out, defined look.

It lasted all day and night without smudging or transferring, even in a California heatwave, and was super easy to remove with just some coconut oil and Fenty Beauty’s total cleans'r remove-it-all cleanser.

Il Makiage’s headliner base product has gathered stellar reviews for its shade-matching capabilities, thanks to the website’s quiz. After answering questions about my coverage preference and skin type, I selected the closest skin tone match from what appeared to be AI-generated model images. The most important part of the quiz helps find your undertone, with questions about tanning and sunburn and what metals and colors look best on you. It features a section to compare to your usual base brand — however, it’s missing a product and shade section (which other beauty brands and retailers like Sephora incorporate), meaning that a crucial step in the shade-matching quest is missing.

My results were the natural matte finish in shade 130, which was a pretty close match for my neutral-warm undertone and in-between-seasons skin color. I had to look through the images of arm swatches for a while to verify — most of the swatches look very ashy and cool-toned, but I decided to trust the process.

My only regret was opting for the matte finish — but that’s nothing on the brand. As a skin tint and concealer lover with freckles, I only opt for foundation when I want a perfect base or a fuller face of makeup in the evenings. I usually opt for a dewy finish that I can softly mattify with my most highly treasured Charlotte Tilbury airbrush flawless finish setting powder.

Il Makiage’s formula settled instantly into every pore and fine crease, making my skin look a little worse. But at least it didn’t look too cakey or create a weird wash over my freckles, which shone through the foundation quite nicely. As a lightweight, creamy liquid texture, it felt comfortable on the skin and photographed nicely. As the day went on, it looked pretty much the same as it did upon application, although I did need to blot my T-zone a couple of times.

In my experience, mineral baked blushes (and bronzers) either show up boldly on the skin or struggle to show up at all. Unfortunately, this one fell into the latter category, despite opting for the boldest orange-peach shade in the lineup: toxic. It took several swirls with the brand’s tulip brush (which I feel is overpriced at $48) for any pigments to appear on the brush, and so many layers to get the color to slightly show up on my cheeks that I nearly gave up.

Swiping my fingers onto the blush picked up more pigment than the brush, but it deposited streakily onto my face and looked chalky. Though the blush can be applied wet or dry, I only tried it dry — so it may fare better as an ultra-subtle blush topper with a misted brush. It didn’t last throughout the evening, but left my cheeks drier and more mattified than the rest of my face.

Matte lip paints were at their most popular when Il Makiage launched in 2015, a true relic of “Instagram makeup” alongside extreme contouring and razor-sharp liquid liner wings. I was obsessed with them, especially KVD’s Lolita shade and Stila’s beso red, and still use them sometimes if I need a bold color that will truly last for hours.

Il Makiage’s formula was pretty drying from the start, which is expected from a liquid lipstick of yesteryear, and there are now many more innovative new formulations from brands like Violette FR (the petal bouche is my top liquid formula hands down) that don’t make lips look wrinkly and dried out.

I received two shades that were both cool-toned pale nudes — matte chill and matte glory — and unfortunately, both looked very grey and beige on me. Although I used to like that look, I wish I’d been able to try one of the deeper or red shades to truly enjoy it. The creamy formula was very opaque and didn’t budge for hours. But it was quite difficult to remove, so I had to scrub at it a lot with a face towel and a cleanser.