Illamasqua ..... my new obsession!

At long last I have managed to get my hands on some Illamasqua products! I have got myself 2 blushes, 2 eyeshadows, a medium liner pencil and an intense lipgloss. Now I must apologies in advance, I tried my hardest to get good swatch photos but I failed ... again! I just can never get the lighting right!

Firstly, as awkward as they can be in the make up bag, I actually really like the shape of the packaging simply because its a little bit different to other make up brands. Admittedly though it is not the most practical and found I had to use a bigger make up bag to fit the ergonomically challenged blushes in!

These are the 2 blushes. One is a cream blusher the other a powder blusher. The powder blusher on the left is called 'Excite'. Online this looks like a perfect bright coral colour but in real life it is more of a dramatic matte peachy orange colour ... it is almost electric it is so bright and this photo really does not do it justice. It is quite a scary thought to think about wearing this on the cheeks but with a light hand it gives just enough of the colour to give a lovely glow to the skin. This is now out of stock on the online store.

The cream blusher is called 'Lies'. Online it looks like a baby pink, in real life it is pretty similar but warmer than i expected. The consistency is very creamy and almost a little too wet but this actually makes it really easy to apply. I did find I had to layer this to get any kind of colour pay off. It is lovely though and gives a lovely glowy sheen to the face. Rather than use this as a blush I think I will be using this as a highlight or combined with another more pigmented pink blush, using this to help illuminate the face.
On to the eyeshadows. On the left we have 'Trollop' .... love the name! Online this looks like a very pale peach and looks like it would be a nice base colour but in real life I would have described it as a light orange. Not as neutral as I expected it to be. At first, i did wonder how I would use it but have actually found myself reaching for it more often than I thought. I wear this with a neutral eye, I sometimes layer a beige or browny colour over it or combine it with bronzey colours. Either way, it really helps the colour of my eyes to really pop! Orange is opposite blue on the colourwheel so I guess by using it alongside it will intensify the blue. Yay for me!

On the right we have 'Immortal' which looks like a grey-ish white online but is more of a true white in reality. I only have one white eyeshadow which is a rimmel colour... and it is no good so I was on the lookout for another. The Illamasqua one is great, pigmentation is fab and great for highlight or the inner corners of the eye to help illuminate. Both these colours are matte shadows.
Next, we have the intense lipgloss in 'Follow'. Online this looks like a bright electric fuschia but in real life it looks ruby red. However, when on the lips its more a bright pinky red. Either way i love it. I love a dramatic look for night time and this gloss certainly helps achieve this. This gloss is perfect over a lippie or on its own as the colour is so intense and pigmented ... and it lasts ages! It feels lovely and creamy on the lips almost as if it moisturises at the same time. It is glossy without being sticky which is great on a windy day ... can't stand it when my hair sticks to my gloss ..eurgh!
Lastly, we have the medium pencil eyeliner in 'Erratic' ... basically black. This has now replaced Urban Decay 24/7 liner in zero for me. Where UD is soft and creamy, the medium pencil has the same attributes and colour pay off but with more control when using the pencil. I sometimes find things get a little messy with UD 24/7, not so with the medium pencil.

So there you have my Illamasqua haul ... I am hoping there will be many more to come as it will be at a store near me very soon! Whoop Whoop!! Next on my list will be the Rich foundation, more of the blushes and glosses - the colours just look amazing .... and also some of the nail colours, after seeing how gorgeous Mizzworthys nails looked at the Body Shop event ... i'm sold!

So back to work tomorrow, need to go get organised ... Hope you have all had a lovely Easter weekend with lots of chocolate eggs and goodies! xx