Urban Decay Surreal Skin Makeup in Illusion

I love powder/mineral foundations.  I do use liquid foundations, but very seldom.  As a rule I only use foundation under my eyes (to cover my dark circles) and on my chin to cover redness (had that lasered 2x and still remains..grrr) except for when a random pimple pops up that needs coverage, so mineral foundations work best for me.  I just ran out of my Maybelline Pure Foundation Mineral in ochre 1 N or OC1N (whatever that's supposed to mean..bought that in Japan as they didn't sell my favorite Revlon mineral foundations there.)  The Maybelline one worked so well with my skin tone that I made it my second favorite.  Well, when that ran out I decided to live a little and try to see what Urban Decay had to offer!

I got their Surreal Skin Mineral Makeup in Illusion.  Here's what the box says: "Experience the transcendental effects of this amazing mineral makeup.  The innovative application system puffs and buffs on with zero mess and leaves skin looking so flawless, it's surreal.  With a silky, weightless feel, micronized minerals finish skin beautifully, and wear all day.  Get a sheer effect or complete coverage with this innovative, luminous foundation alternative-it contains a range of protective elements AND allows skin to breathe."  The product costs $31.

Ingredients: Methylparaben, Propylparaben.  May Contain: Mica, CI 77163 (Bismuth Oxycloride), CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499 (Iron Oxides)

Now, I liked the idea that the foundation could be buffed directly out of the puff on top of the bottle and the pretty purple packaging, but I'm not so big on the buffer after all.  The buffer is kind of wide and as I said, all I mostly cover is under my eyes and my chin, and the puff makes it really hard reach under the eyes.  I wound up taking the puff off and using the foundation directly on a bare minerals brush I had lying around.

The product with the buffer pad removed:

I bought Illusion since it's the lightest shade (I usually buy the second lightest in Maybelline and Revlon, but I didn't know how UD colors worked) and boy am I glad I did, because even the lightest shade is a little dark for me!  I ordered it online so I didn't have a chance to test it out on my skin first.  It stands out on my skin after I've applied it, and I have to blend Maybelline's Instant Age Rewind brightener (will review soon!) to make it look decent.

How it looks, before I blend it with Maybelline's brightener:

 UD, you need to get some more shades, and improve that buffer!  Until those improvements are made,  I'm going to stick to my Maybelline or Revlon powders :)