Review: I Nuovi Cosmetics Gelbase liquid foundation

I’m no good with liquid foundation. Put me near liquid foundation and immediately my face feels like an oily mask – no matter how light it might be. So, when I was at the I Nuovi store during their friends and family sale, I decided to pick up the I Nuovi Gelbase liquid foundation (amongst other things… hee…)

The promise that was made to me was that the Gelbase foundation is so light that I wouldn’t feel like I was wearing a mask. Also, I was told that it does not rub off easily and defies running even after jogging! Ok so I got the Gelbase foundation out of curiosity more than anything else!

I put it on on a day when I knew I’d have a rough day at work – I mean this literally. I knew I was going to be out in the hot sun, waiting around for hours in the heat and (horrors!) sweating so what better way to test out the foundation right?

The I Nuovi Gelbase foundation is as what it says – gel based. The texture is slightly bouncy and is a light gel that spreads easily on the face. The colour I got was 2C – one of the lightest in the range – it was all they had in store.

The drawback to the I Nuovi Gelbase foundation is that its sheer. Ok, its super sheer! They aren’t kidding when they labelled this a “Sheer Finish Gel Foundation”. If you are looking for coverage, do not even consider the Gelbase or you will come running back to me complaining about how it covers nothing. So, if you want something that covers don’t get this.

That said, I first put on concealer per usual and then applied a thin layer of the Gelbase foundation all over my face. You can see its very sheer because all the marks on my skin can still be seen through the foundation. Although it is very sheer, it has a nice way of balancing out the redness in the skin giving a more even skin finish. You’d know how important that is when you’ve been standing out in the sun for a couple of hours – your skin starts looking red and blotchy.

So, after my stint in the sun, the minute I got into the car, vanity took over and I flipped down the sun visor to look in the mirror to see how the foundation stood up to the acid test. To my surprise, although I had a sheen of sweat on my skin, my face did not look red or blotchy and my foundation did not run! Hmm….

To put it to another test, I wore it during my yoga class. Yoga is not all meditation and poise – oh no! Its pure torture on your muscles and you do sweat and get heated up. Again, no blotchiness to the skin and again the foundation did not run in rivulets the way most liquid or powder foundations would. Interestingly also, it did not rub off as easily as most foundations do.

By now I was very impressed. For those interested in Hollywood trivia, the makeup artist for Sarah Jessica Parker had confided that the I Nuovi Gelbase foundation was used in Season 6 of Sex and the City for the dewy look. I’m no Sarah Jessica Parker but I liked the look I was left with.

I wear the I Nuovi Gelbase Foundation for “no-makeup” days or when I go out on weekends. It does a decent job of making my skin look even toned and keeping it looking that way; and its light enough not to make me look cakey. It is overall, a pretty decent foundation in particular if you have good skin and/or only looking for light coverage. I do dust some loose powder over it to help it last and I do rather like this because I don’t feel like my skin is suffocating under it. If you prefer something with more coverage, give this one a miss or you’ll be disappointed.

The 50ml I Nuovi Gel base foundation retails for RM98 and they are changing the packaging soon, I’m told. You don’t have to use much as it speads easily so it’ll last a while.

Pros: Light coverage, Non oily, Evens out redness in skin, Does not run

Cons: Some might consider it pricey, Light coverage

Tagged as: I Nuovi, Makeup