Hello and welcome once more to the Dark Side of Beauty.
After trying out certain brands for a long time, you begin to get a sense of the products from that brand that you like and the ones that you do not like. One of my favorite cosmetic brands of all time is Illamasqua, and I think I have a good sense about my favorite and least favorite products from their line. Illamasqua offers bold colors, innovative formulas, and marvelous promotion pictures. They are a United Kingdom based brand but it is available in the US through Sephora. Most of my Illasmasqua purchases have been through Sephora, but a few have been from Illasmaqua.com and ASOS.com.
BLUSH
The only face products I have from Illamasqua are blushes. I have yet to try their foundations or powders but I hope to in the future. I own three blush colors that are all n different formulas: a cream, a matte, and a shimmery blush. The colors are: Libido, Sin, and Morale. The cream blush, Libido, is very easy to blend, but it stays but for a long while (it does have a dewy finish). Sin is a super pigmented grape color, and it works well for a very defined and sculpted cheek. Morale is not as pigmented, but it offers a lovely color payoff with a gorgeous sheen.
Hare are swatches of the three. There is a very pigmented swatch and then a slightly blended swatch next to it.
Verdict of Blushes:
These three blushes serve to give me a general sense of the entire Illamasqua blush range. Firstly, they are very pigmented blushes. They are bold and definitely not for the faint of heart. You can make these colors very wearable, but keep in mind that you must use a light hand and always blend the blush to give it a softer look. The blushes are a stand out in the Illamasqua cosmetic range!
My favorite: Morale. It offers a lovely flush with a beautiful highlighting sheen.
Least favorite: Libido. It is not the easiest color to wear, although it is beautiful.
Cream Pigments
One of Illamasqua's newest range, and quickly becoming one of my favorite products, is the Cream Pigments. These are a highly pigmented, matte, and multi-tasking colors that come in a creamy formula. I have four shades: Bedaub, Hollow, Androgen, and Depravity. Bedaub is a mint-green shade which I prefer for the eyes or for concealing redness. Hollow is a cool-toned brown that is perfect for contouring. Androgen is a pastel coral shade that looks lovely on the cheeks, lips, or eyes (also great for color correcting). Depravity is a vibrant grape that I love for the lips, eyes, or cheeks.
Verdict of Cream Pigment:
These are wonderful, wonderful products! They are multi-tasking and super pigmented. They are long lasting and stay put all day. There is a good range of shades and I hope this range will be expanded!
My favorite: Androgen. The most multi-tasking color and a very beautiful shade!
My least favorite: Bedaub. It is gorgeous, but it is the only one that creases on my eye lids.
Lipsticks
The first Illamasqua product I ever tried was the lipstick in Underworld. Since then, I have tried three other shades. I think their lipsticks have great potential. But I should note that the lipsticks seem to be weakly attached to the tube because they break very easily :( There is a wide range, most colors are very pigmented, and they have very bold shades. I have: Obey, Liv, Underworld, and Kontrol.
Obey is a matte true coral that is bold and very retro. Liv is a super pale and matte lavender toned pink. Underworld is a iridescent purple-pink with a blue shift. Kontrol is a very pigmented cream purple-blueberry shade that glides on the lips very easily!
Verdict of Lipsticks:
Their lip products are VERY pigmented and there is a lot of colors (wearable and bold) to choose from. I dislike the fact that the lipstick break easily though, and that fact was stopped me from purchasing more lipsticks.
My favorite: Underworld. This color looks so beautiful on the lips! It is one of my favorite lip colors!
My least favorite: Liv. The color is lovely, but it is so pale and matte that it tends to look chalky and gross on the lips. I can wear it only with another lip gloss over it.
Eyeshadows
I don't own many of the Illamasqua eyeshadows. I have three of their Pure Pigmentes (Beguile, Alluvium and Ore) , one of their Liquid Metals (Resolute), an done liquid eyeliner (Glister). The Pure Pigments are awesome! They have a lot of shimmer and are for the most part very pigmented (for the exception of Beguile). The Liquid Metals have an oddly pleasant smell (like marshmallows!) and they have a high impact color. But there are a few downsides as well. The pigments can be very messy if you are not careful and you can spill and waste a lot of product. The Liquid Metal in Resolute is lovely, but it also creases like crazy! The Glister eyeliner is really pretty and quite a unique color, but I find it difficult to find a look where I can incorporate this lovely nude liner.
These swatches do no justice to the colors!
Verdict of Eyeshadows:
Their products for eyes have some definite lovely gems, but there are also some duds. Make sure to checks out reviews and swatches before you purchase something!
My favorite: Ore Pure Pigment. Most amazing bronze-gold shade EVER. It shines and sparkles!
My least favorite: Resolute Liquid Metal. This creases so badly on my eyes. It is hard to even use it!
Nail Polishes
I've owned quite a few Illamasqua nail polishes over the past couple of years, but the only one I have actually kept is 'Poke'. The others ones I either sold or gave away because I did not really use them and my nail polish collection just keeps growing! I love the Illamasqua nail polishes, but most I had were very simple colors and I prefer very bold and shimmery colors. Poke is one of those shades that I find so appealing that I want it to be a part of my collection! It is a lovely iridescent purple with green, purple, blue, and pink shimmer. It is opaque it just one coat!
Verdict of Nail Polishes:
I think Illamasqua nail polishes are great. They are very pigmented and there is a great shade selection. However they are quite expensive!
Best and Worst
In my own opinion the best products that Illamasqua offers are their blushes and cream pigments. They are really amazing products that are totally worth the money. They are one of the favorite things in my makeup collection and I will definitely be thinking about purchasing more in the future.
The worst products that they offer are, solely based on my experience and on my opinions, and their lipsticks. They are beautiful, but they can be very frustrating too. They tend to break really easily and it really bugs me because they are not cheap. Illamasqua really needs to do something about it because I know a lot of other people have the same problem. Besides that, they can be a little drying on my lips.
Other
Just on a side note, I wanted to also mention that I hate that if you order from Illamasqua.com (there is a better range of products than what is offered at Sephora) and you don't live in the UK or Europe, they shipping in ridiculously expensive. I tend to want to buy anything because the shipping is like $20. Just a little heads up in case you wanted to order. You should probably wait for a free international shipping promotion!
I hope this is a little informative to those of you who are interested in Illamasqua. If you have a brand that you would like to me to overview, please let me know in the comments. Thank you all so much for reading :D
