Review: Illamasqua 'Allure' Blush

Greetings from the Dark Side!

Here is another Illamasqua review! Illamasqua is one of my favorite brands, and in particular I love their cheek products. Their cream blushes, powder blushes, and cream pigments are absolutely amazing. The blush I am sharing with all of you today is from the Generation Q collection and the color is called 'Allure'.

                                                                     Product Information                                                          

Product:	Powder Blush in the shade 'Allure'
Brand:	Illamasqua
Price:	$26 (Sephora.com) or  £18.00 (Illamasqua.com)
Color:	A terracotta rose with gold shimmer.
Texture/Finish:	A smooth, matte powder. It has big particles of shimmer that reflects light.
Pigmentation:	Like most of Illamasqua blushes this is quite pigmented, although not as pigmented as the others. I find that for my skin tone the pigmentation is perfect because I don't want a super dark blush. The medium pigmentation means that this is pigmented enough to be applied easily and also sheer enough that it is easy to blend out. The shimmer is not very noticeable once you blend the blush into the skin.
Application:	I apply this with a large blush brush, and then buff it in with the brush I used to apply my foundation. The powder applies nicely, and there is no patchiness.
Wear (comfort):	I have all day wear with no problems. The shimmer does not make my skin look oily or shiny.
Wear (time):	All-day (10-12 hours)
Dupes? Similar products?:	MAC 'Eversun' Blush

                                                                               Review                                                                       

This blush looked a bit scary at first because of all the gold shimmer. But, I was happy to see that the shimmer is actually quite subtle once you blend the blush onto the skin. The color is also not as dark on me as I would have thought, you if you have a fair complexion this blush can definitely work for you. If you have darker skin, this blush would look even better because you don't have to worry about blending it in too much. The pigmentation of the blush is buildable, so if you want to achieve a darker color you can just apply a second layer and make the color more intense.

This blush reminds me a lot of one of my favorite blushes, MAC's 'Eversun' blush. They are both terracotta blushes with a rose undertone. They are not spot on dupes, but they look very similar once they are on the cheeks. 'Allure' is more rose while 'Eversun' is more bronze. I like to apply these types of colors above the hollows of my cheeks as a type of contouring blush. If I use a contouring product (like Illamasqua's 'Hollow' cream pigment), then I would use this blush just above the area where I contoured.

I can see that some people will not like the shimmer in this blush. If you do not like shimmery blushes you might just want to stay away from this just in case. I don't think it is very shimmery, but that's just my opinion.

Illamasqua Allure

MAC Eversun

You can see the obvious differences in color and texture between the two blushes even in the pan.

                                                                              Swatches                                                                    

[Left to Right]: pigmented swipe of Allure ;  a blended swatch of Allure

[Left to Right]: Illamasqua Allure  ;  MAC Eversun

                                                                     Product in Action                                                               

  I used this blush for my House Baratheon look. It is hard to see it because I blocked most of my cheek area with my hand. But if you follow diagonally from my pointer finger, you can see a bit of contouring-like shading. That is actually the blush because besides this blush I did not use any other cheek products. 

                                                                              Verdict                                                                       
I actually quite like this blush. I am glad it is not as shimmery as it appears to be and that it has a semi-matte finish. The shimmer does add a bit of a sheen to the blush, but overall it is not overly shiny. If you have very oily skin you might want to beware of this blush because it might accentuate your oily skin. I have combo skin and I had no problem with the wear of this blush at all.

Would I repurchase?: If I finished both Allure and Eversun, then yes I might. But I don't see that happening any time soon.  I would also like to try new blushes and although this is a great product, I don't think it will become a staple product in my makeup collection.

Rating: 9/10