Ellis Faas Skin Veil Foundation Pen - 3 shades: S102, S103, S104 - swatches, before & after, review!

Hello, Beautiful!

I have heard some amazing reviews on the Ellis Faas Skin Veil foundation. One review really stuck with me, from makeup artist Wayne Goss, which he had said it is his holy grail foundation. Anytime anyone says "holy grail" about any makeup item, it makes me want to try it. So is this my holy grail foundation too? I don't think this is my holy grail at the moment (although I really need to go through an entire bottle of it first and also use it in both the colder winter months and the warmer summer months to see how it would perform), but this truly is a really beautiful foundation and one that is sure to make your skin look gorgeous! I just wish it had more coverage - then it may be holy grail status for me! Check out all the product info below, along with my full review, after the pics!

Ellis Faas Skin Veil Foundation Pen
Shades: S102, S103, S104
Continue scrolling down to see more pics of each individual shade.

Ellis Faas Skin Veil Foundation Pen
Before & After
I used shade S102 for the Before & After pics.... probably should have used S103






Ellis Faas Skin Veil Foundation Pen
Shade: S102

Ellis Faas Skin Veil Foundation Pen
Shade: S103

Ellis Faas Skin Veil Foundation Pen
Shade: S104

Ellis Faas Skin Veil Foundation Pen Info & Review:

Cost/Availability: $65.00 (includes TWO foundation vials that are 0.23 fl oz each, plus the pen to put them in). Available on the Ellis Faas website, at Sephora, on the Dermstore website, on the Beauty.com website, and everywhere else Ellis Faas is sold. Also available in the bottle form for $90 each.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Kisses

Product Info...

Ellis believes that foundation should illuminate the skin without feeling or appearing like a mask. She was able to create her ideal foundation in Japan: Skin Veil. With an exceptional balance of high-quality ingredients, Skin Veil foundation glides on in a thin layer, blending into the skin. Skin Veil minerals diffuse light across the skin's surface, reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Skin Veil foundation incorporates moisturizing ingredients which nourish the skin. SPF 15 PA+++ for ultimate sun protection.

This foundation is free of perfume and is suitable for all skin types, including sensitive. Paraben-free. Triclosan-free. No synthetic fragrances. No scent. No animal testing.

Currently available in eight shades. I've also listed the shade descriptions from both Ellis Faas website and Sephora's website (although Sephora's website doesn't have all the shades available).

• S101 - Light/Fair - for porcelain skin with neutral undertones.
• S102 - Fair - for caucasian skin with neutral undertones.
• S103 - Fair/Medium - for caucasian skin with neutral undertones. Light/Medium skin with neutral undertones.
• S104 - Medium - for light olive skin with a yellow undertone. Light/Olive skin with yellow undertones.
• S105 - Medium/Tan - for Mediterranean or Asian skin with a pink undertone. Medium/Tan skin with pink undertones.
• S106 - Tan - for dark Asian skin with a yellow undertone. Tan skin with yellow undertones.
• S107 - Medium/Dark - for dark skin with a yellow undertone.
• S108 - Dark - for dark skin with a neutral undertone.

To Apply (instructions from the Ellis Faas website): Sweep Skin Veil on the T-zone (forehead and nose) and fade outwards with the brush or fingertips to provide sufficient and natural-looking coverage. Within just a few minutes, Skin Veil becomes one with the skin. Apply a second layer for more coverage. Watch the instructional video on the Ellis Faas website.



My Review...

I'll start by talking about how to load your foundation pen. It comes with an empty pen and two foundation vials. You'll unscrew the little top of the foundation vial, then push it into the open end of the empty pen, and twist into place. This will make it a click-style pen. If you only push it into the pen and not twist it into place, no product will come out. You need to push it in, then twist into place. Give it a few shakes. From there it won't take many clicks to primer the brush-tip applicator. I have three shades, and I only had issues with one of the pens taking awhile to click-up the first time (to prime it).

I'm honestly not a huge fan of this style applicator (click-pen with brush applicator), but I do love how easy and portable it is. It makes it really ideal for travel because it's easy to store (won't make a mess in your bag), and with the built-in brush applicator you don't even need to worry about bringing a foundation brush with you.

Now you don't have to blend with the applicator; you could apply the foundation and then blend with your fingers, another brush, or Beauty Blender (or any other sponge-type applicator). I've tried it all four ways (blending with the included applicator, blending with fingers, blending with another brush, and blending with Beauty Blender), and I can say I'm not a huge fan of only using the brush applicator. I like using my fingers or the Beauty Blender best. Another brush works well too, but I think I just have a love affair with my Beauty Blender, haha.


Next, let me talk about the three shades I have: S102, S103, and S104.

Because it's a more thin/sheer finish, I find it's easy to find a match. Shades S102 and S103 both looked natural and a match on my skin (although I wish they had a bit more yellow to them - they are both for neutral undertones). Shade S104 will work beautifully for me in the summer I have more color on my skin. I could mix them, but the pen-style applicator doesn't make that the easiest to do. I think they need a light shade that offers yellow undertones, as well as a light shade that offers pink undertones. Neutral undertones will work for a lot of people, so maybe that's why, but I know more people would have a better match if those options were available.

For my before & after photo I used shade S102, but I find myself using S103 because more often, and using S102 in a highlight manner. I'll save S104 for the summer (which will be here before I know it).


Now let's talk about coverage, how this foundation looks on the skin (because this has a beautiful finish), and how it wears....

My problem skin needs coverage, and I'm typically a full coverage/complete coverage type of gal - but my skin is improving and I do have a couple lighter coverage foundations in my collection that I love --- like my Chanel Mat Lumiere Long-Lasting Soft Matte Foundation and my YSL Touche Eclat Illuminating Foundation. The Ellis Faas Skin Veil foundation gives sheer to medium coverage, depending on how many layers you use and your application method. I personally use two layers because one layer is just too light of coverage for my skin, but it may be all you need.

Skin Veil foundation feels extremely lightweight on the skin, and it blends in beautifully. It basically melts right in and gives you a my-skin-but-better look. Even with two layers my skin still looked like skin and not like I was wearing foundation.

It is a more dewy/illuminating finish, but in a natural way - not in a shiny way. It just made my skin look healthy. If you have oily skin you may not be too fond of the finish, especially if you prefer a matte look, but you can always use a mattifying setting powder on top. I use a setting powder with this foundation because I want to help prolong the foundation, and I don't feel like it fully dries down all the time (depending on how I apply it). If I apply with my fingers, I don't feel like it ever fully sets. If I apply with my beauty blender I feel like it dries down faster and sets better, maybe because the beauty blender presses it into the skin better. But even when it doesn't dry down all the time, it never feels sticky.  Even with a setting powder, my skin still looks healthy and as the day goes on I find my skin looks more and more luminous/dewy - but never over the top. I have combination skin, so again, if you're oily you may find you need to blot or touch-up with a powder depending on the look you're going for, as I would think those with oily skin would have a shinier look to their face if they were to use this foundation.

Like I mentioned, I do prefer a full coverage foundation because I don't want to take any time to conceal blemishes or hyper pigmentation. I just like my foundation to do all the work. However, I will absolutely use concealer in combination with this foundation because of how beautiful this foundation looks on the skin. Skin Veil may only offer medium coverage at best (with more than 1 layer), but I find myself reaching for this foundation quite often since receiving it. I haven't had it very long, but I've worn it many times and with different application methods.

As far as wear goes, this doesn't last long on my skin. I get maybe 4 to 7 hours of okay wear before I would need to touch-up. I've tried using it with primer (a couple different ones), without primer, with a setting powder (I tried two of my favorites), and without a setting powder, even tried to pair with setting sprays. I just couldn't get this to last all day on me, or not as long as I would like it to last. Don't get me wrong, I've worn this for 12+ hours without touching up (paired with a primer, setting powder and setting spray), but I could notice it had faded considerably by that 12 hour mark. This may wear longer on you, so definitely don't skip out just because it didn't last all day on me. I did find, however, that I got the most wear using my Dermablend Setting Powder - which, if applied correctly, can prolong your foundation wear for up to 16 hours. When I use the Dermablend Setting Powder I don't worry about this foundation fading, as it will last through a typical work day pretty well.

I also tried to layer this over other foundations - in just areas where I would typically highlight - and I find that it does work with SOME of my other liquid foundations and gives them a really nice radiant finish, but with other foundations it just kind of took the foundation off that was already on there and exposed some of my blemishes. So I wouldn't necessarily recommend using this on top of other foundations, but layering it on top of itself works great!



Final thoughts...

Overall, I think this is an extremely good luxury foundation that I'd recommend to anyone - but especially those who prefer light to medium coverage, with a luminous, naturally dewy/radiant finish. I do with it had more coverage and was a bit longer lasting, which is the only reason I gave it a 4 out of 5 Kisses as a rating instead of 5 out of 5 Kisses.

This foundation is absolutely gorgeous on the skin. It truly is. I can't get over that. I'm so incredibly happy I got to try this out and fully plan to continue using it. I may eventually get this foundation in the bottle - which is $25 more than the pen version - but I want my skin to improve first.

If you're not a fan of the pen-style you could always get it in the bottle version. It won't give you the most coverage, and it may not last all day, but it will look like your skin and give your skin a healthy look. In my opinion, this foundation is worth the hype!

Now let me know what you think...

What do you think of this foundation? Have you tried this or is this on your beauty wish list? Discuss in the comments below.