Trying A Clean Beauty Brand On Over 45 Skin—Will It Work?

Beauty Expert: Elise Marquam-Jahns

Today we’re going to try out some products from the clean beauty brand Ilia to see how these products perform on mature skin.

I’m excited to see how almost a full face of Ilia products will perform.

Beauty Brand Ilia:

I first want to give a big thank you to Helen who works with Ilia for sending me these products to try. Many of you have indicated in the past that you enjoy hearing the back story on a brand. Let me briefly acquaint you with the clean beauty brand Ilia.

It was founded in 2011 by Sasha Plavsic. Sasha was raised in a rural, ocean-side setting just outside the city of Vancouver in Canada. She’s always been close to nature. And her mother was a true pioneer in health and wellness. She co-founded an organic food co-op with several families at a time when organic food could not be found in grocery stores. Sasha’s younger brother and now business partner, Zac suffered from acute asthma and allergies as a young child. This motivated Sasha’s mother to search out homeopathic remedies to help heal Zac.

“Her journey into clean beauty began when her mother encouraged her to read the ingredient list on her favorite lip balm.”

Ilia’s First Product:

Through trial and error, Zac was healed primarily through diet. And went on to compete in sailing in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. This was an amazing accomplishment. Especially after the doctors had predicted he would never be able to play sports.

In 2006, Sasha found herself in LA after studying typography in New York and London. She spent several years working as a branding executive within the fashion and beauty industries. And then moved back to Vancouver for a brief sabbatical. Her journey into clean beauty began when her mother encouraged her to read the ingredient list on her favorite lip balm.

Sasha was shocked to discover that many of the ingredients were not safe. And this was a product she used every day. So she set a challenge for herself to re-create her favorite lip balm. She wanted it to be safe, effective and natural. And that lip balm became Ilia’s first product.

Clean Beauty Requires Conscious:

The company’s focus is on viewing skincare and makeup as one. Their approach is to create fuss-free products. Many of which are multi-use—for simple, easy, on-the-go applications.

“The Ilia philosophy is that clean beauty requires conscious, carefully selected ingredients and no compromises.”

Early on Sasha realized that botanicals were not enough. That not every natural ingredient is safe for the skin, and not every synthetic ingredient is bad. The Ilia philosophy is that clean beauty requires conscious, carefully selected ingredients and no compromises.

The company also works toward more sustainable packaging. This is accomplished through the use of recycled aluminum, glass components, and responsibly sourced paper. But recycling is just one piece—where the product goes when it’s done is another.

That’s why U.S. customers are invited to mail in up to five empty beauty products per month—Ilia’s or another brand’s—and the company they work with—called Pact Collective– will break them down responsibly, so they don’t end up in a landfill.

Their Cult Classic:

In today’s video, I’ll be using their True Skin Serum Foundation and combining their multi-stick in the shade “At Last” with “Lady Bird” for blush.

I’ll also be using their Liquid Light Serum Highlighter in “Atomic,” their Daylite Highlighting powder in “Starstruck” and their Color Block lipstick in “True Red”. And although I won’t be using these next two products, I do want to show you in the video two of their cult classic Balmy Tint Hydrating Lip Balms in “Runaway”— which is a neutral pink nude– and “Heartbeats” which is a warm red.

These lip balms come in six other shades and have moisture-boosting ingredients, including Rosehip Seed Oil, Shea Butter and Salicornia which is a sea succulent. They are poured by hand to maintain the integrity of the active formula.

“But in today’s video, we’re just focusing on Ilia’s face and lip products.”

Emphasis On Clean Beauty:

Ilia does make an eye primer, eyebrow gel, eyeliner, two different mascaras, a liquid powder eye tint and two different eye shadow palettes—one with cool shades and another with warm shades.

But in today’s video, we’re just focusing on Ilia’s face and lip products. However, to keep as true as possible to today’s emphasis on clean beauty, I did use an eyeshadow palette from Jessica Alba’s clean beauty company called Honest Beauty. It’s their “Get It Together” eyeshadow palette. I also used the Honest Beauty combination lash primer and mascara.

17 Other Shades:

I’m going to start by applying Ilia’s True Skin Serum Foundation. I have shade SF3 called Texel and it does come in 17 other shades. The website description of this product refers to it as weightless and buildable with light to medium coverage which creates a velvety finish.

“Ingredients include aloe leaf, rosehip, jojoba, and marula oils..”

Ingredients include aloe leaf, rosehip, jojoba, and marula oils to soothe irritation and tame redness. It’s also supposed to plump fine lines, blur imperfections, minimize pores and melt into the skin to create an even and luminous appearance. I’m going to put the foundation by itself on one side of my face.

Liquid Light Serum Highlighter:

And on the other side of my face, I’m going to combine the foundation with a couple of drops of the Liquid Light Serum Highlighter in “Atomic.” I’m just going to put several pumps on the back of my hand, dot it on one side of my face and then use my buffing brush to buff it into the skin.

On the other side of my face, I’m going to apply the foundation with a couple of drops of the Liquid Light Serum mixed into it. I’ve not tried this before and one side of my face may end up looking way too glowy, but let’s give it a try. Since the foundation is buildable, I’m going to apply a bit more to the areas where I need more coverage.

Ilia Multi-Stick:

The Ilia blush is a stick blush called a Multi-stick and can be used as both blush and lip color, but I’ll just use it as blush since I also want to try the Ilia lipstick.

“I wouldn’t normally use the Liquid Highlighter and the Daylite Highlighting powder together—”

I’m going to put some on my finger, warm it up a bit so it applies easily, and dot it on so I don’t disturb the foundation underneath. I’ll combine the shade “At Last” which is a dusty rose with “Ladybird” which is a neutral rose. It also comes in six other colors.

Next up is a highlighter. I’m going to use the Liquid Light Serum Highlighter color “Atomic” but it also comes in two other shades: “Nova” which is a soft gold and “Astrid” which is a soft rose gold.  And as I mentioned earlier, here is also a beautiful highlighting powder called Daylite which is more of a gold shade.

I wouldn’t normally use the Liquid Highlighter and the Daylite Highlighting powder together—especially since the Daylite Highlighter is a gold shade–so I’ll apply the Daylite Highlighting Powder to just the side of my face where I didn’t mix the foundation with the liquid highlighter.

A Powder Multi-Tasker:

The Daylite Highlighting Powder can also be a multi-tasker since it can be used on the eyelids and on the inner corner of the eyes. The information on the website also says that this powder is buttery soft (which it definitely is) and won’t emphasize fine lines because it’s formulated with silica beads which provide a soft-focus finish.

In addition, jojoba has been added to the formula to hydrate the skin and diffuse fine lines. And I have to say that this powder feels unlike any other powder I’ve ever used—in a good way. It has an amazing texture that is not only buttery soft but is also almost cool to the touch. It’s unfortunately not the right shade for my skin tone, but I do love it.

“And I have to say that this powder feels unlike any other powder I’ve ever used—in a good way.”

A Beautiful Fuchsia:

And our final product is Ilia’s Color Block Lipstick. I’m going to apply the “True Red” lipstick, but in the video, I’ll also show you a swatch of one other Ilia lipstick color I have called “Knockout” which is a beautiful fuchsia. First I’m going to apply some concealer and lip liner and then the lipstick.

And, I’m going to do a little product multi-tasking by putting a little of the Liquid Light Serum Highlighter on the back of my hand, picking it up with a lipstick brush and then applying it as a gloss to highlight the middle of my lips.

Glow Of Beauty:

So let me share my thoughts on all the Ilia products we tried today. I’m absolutely a fan of the True Skin Serum Foundation since it provides light to medium coverage and is buildable. It also feels very lightweight and has a soft subtle sheen. I do like the Multi-Stick cheek and blush stick.

“When I’m looking for a red lipstick, I’ll definitely be using this one from Ilia.”

But my preference with a blush is to have a little more color payoff. And in order to achieve that with this blush, I do have to apply several coats. Both the Liquid Light Serum Highlighter and the  Daylite Highlighting Powder provide a beautiful glow to the skin and apply beautifully. I’ll continue to regularly use these two products.

The Color Block lipstick has a lovely satin finish which I love and applies beautifully. When I’m looking for a red lipstick, I’ll definitely be using this one from Ilia.

Cool Tone Version Of This Beauty Powder:

I think my favorite Ilia products that I tried today are the Liquid Light Serum Highlighter, the True Skin Serum Foundation and the lipstick. I do love the Daylight Highlighting powder formula, but I wish they had a cool tone color in addition to gold and rose gold tone colors. If they come out with cool tone version of this powder, I’ll be first in line to buy it.

I hope this article and video have given you some insight into the Ilia clean beauty brand and has provided a helpful overview of several of their face products.

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