Illamasqua is a brand that really intrigues me. Their aesthetic might not exactly be to my taste but they hold some real cult products that people love, love. Like ‘Would never want to be without’ love. Over the years I tried a few things; their Cream Blusher in Rude, a few of their Lipsticks (the matte formulas rock) and their Pure Pigment in Ore is something that I wear for almost every birthday night out and NYE, but I’d never had a good experiment or had that love, love moment with anything. So I’ve done a bit of Illamasqua exploring and you know what? It’s not as scary as it first seems. The artistry is experimental – serious kudos for that – but at the base of it the products are everyday-friendly and there’s something for everyone to swoon over here. After a bit of digging, I’ve found my faves…
Let’s talk base first, because the Skin Base Foundation is what I’d heard people rave about the most. Now it took me a while to get to grips with this one because it’s so different to anything else that I’ve ever used. It’s thick, pretty full-coverage and stays dewy on the skin so never really sets. Dry gals will go all heart-eye emoji for this stuff, but for me it took a bit of experimenting to fall head over heels for it. With a dense buffing brush, the coverage was too heavy, so I find it worked best over an extremely moisturised face with my fingers or a damp BeautyBlender. That way you get the best of both worlds – natural looking coverage – the dream! I use S.B 5.5 which is a good match for me right now and I can see me reaching for this more and more as my complexion because more prune-like in the upcoming months.
I hadn’t heard anyone talk about the Vintage Metallix in Embellish, but it’s now become my daily lid jam. In store they use it as an eyeshadow base, but I quite like it on its own. It’s thin in terms of texture when it comes to cream eyeshadows, but that means that it sets quick and is easy to build. The colour is a light brown with golden shimmer running through and I like it left alone, dabbed on with my finger with a couple of coats of mascara. Low-key lids at their finest. The other product which I hadn’t heard much about were the Lip Slick Stick in True and the Lipstick in Born. Together they’ve become my new nude lip go-to. I line my lips first, add in the lipstick, then go over the top with the liner again to add a bit more pink to my pout – this must be how it feels to be Kylie Jenner. It’s a matte combination and my lips need a good drink of moisture afterwards, but I just love the colour.
One thing that I thought I would love, but is actually more of a ‘meh’ product is the Sculpting Palette. In terms of appearance, it’s one of the chicest palettes I’ve seen. Clean, smooth, thin and compact, holding five matte shades and one shimmer, but I just find the colours a bit difficult to work with. Heroine (third from the left) is a good contour shade for me, but the the others require a high level of technique to place and blend on the face, which I really don’t have. The texture is great though, so they work well as eye colours but with the highlighter shade being too chunky with glitter too, I just haven’t found myself reaching for it that often.
So there are my Illasmasqua loves (and one leave). Anything I need to add to my shopping list for next time? What do you love, love?
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