Illamasqua cream pigments & medium pencils

I made an Illamasqua order a couple of months ago. I think I was feeling sorry for myself after hurting my foot and not being able to attend the event. So I bought a cream pigment in Hollow, a medium pencil in Fidelity and the #1 blending brush. I've wanted to try out the medium pencils for a while now and I'm so glad I got one, they're so easy and quick to apply. They blend so easily, are buildable and last really well. These are totally kit worthy, I'd love to try a few more and create a whole eye look purely with these. Such a good tool if you want a quick defined eye. I'm now a massive fan of these pencils. The blending brush is also equally amazing and goes hand in hand with the medium pencil, they work perfectly together, creating soft blown out eyes.

I bought Hollow cream pigment as I heard it was a great contour colour. It is just that, but if you're looking to use this as contour I would say to be careful and not to over load as it is quite a cool shade and can turn a tad mucky with too much product. Other than that it blends with ease, even over powder which doesn't always happen with cream products, a great contour for cooler paler complexions when you find some bronzers to be a little too warm.

The picture above shows Hollow cream pigment next to Fidelity medium pencil blended and unblended.

What do you love from Illamasqua?

Illamasqua Freak

"Teased by the sweet pungent tang of opium". An extract from Theatre of the Nameless instantly made me think of Freak. From first smelling it I loved the scent, strong, deep & with a touch of sweetness. I'd say if you enjoy Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille you may also love this. I'd save it for the night, but cold winter days seem appropriate as well. At first & well still now, I can't quite explain the scent, it's probably one of the most distinguished perfumes I've tried. Not just for the scent, but for the feelings when wearing or smelling it, Freak has a personality.

I could copy & paste the details about the fragrance, but I think that'd take away the fun & personality away from it. That & the ingredients, to me, are a foreign knowledge, but it does make me think old worldy & all things mysterious & magical. So I direct you here. Go read!

It's released on the 20th October & will retail at £59 for 75ml for Eau De Parfum, nothing less, no eau de toilettes here thanks.

Illamasqua Toxic Nature

00. Any company that sends me literature designed so beautifully, and so image heavy that my eyes never tire is an instant favourite. I've always loved Illamasqua, but this has topped my admiration over the edge to possible obsession. I literally cannot stop looking at these images, yes the makeup might be far from being consumer friendly, but aren't we a little bored of that anyway, who walks past a Bobbi Brown poster and takes a second look with awe? I've seen a few negative comments on the visuals because of that, but you cannot deny the incredible makeup artistry & personally I'd rather see this as a visual than a smokey eye. This baby is going in my inspiration folder, I love you Alex Box, you genius.

01. I was generously sent two of the cream pigments & a nail varnish from Hayley & Alex. I was unable to attend the event so it was a nice surprise coming home to this package that has everything, even the address label imprinted with the beauty of Illamasqua. I've given it a week or two to try out the products, I don't want to just jump in there, so you know I've tried & tested these products well.

02. Nail Varnish in Stagnate. Stagnate is a grey mauve, not a colour I would allocate to the S/S11 trends, but a colour I cannot get enough of. The purple undertone gives it that colourful edge, it's far from being a dull grey. Everything chips on my nails, they're very flexible therefore nothing lasts long, but on my strongest nails this varnish held up well & I'm really considering getting some falsies so I can wear this colour for longer & falsies are not my style! That is love people. The varnish goes on beautifully, no clogging, high shine, top notch stuff.

03. Cream pigments in Emerge and Delirium. Honestly, what better colours could I ask for? Peach & a taupe, very good against blue eyes. I've had a problem with creasing with Emerge, but no one else has, so it's very likely to be just me with the problem. Despite the initial creasing, I still pursued, I really loved the buildability and ease of blending with these pigments. Over the top of a MAC paint pot they last hours, with a bit of a base they're crease free & I don't seem to have a problem with Delirium creasing at all, so it's possibly been the lavish application of Emerge that was giving me a problem, you can't blame me though, the colour is so beautiful built up to the max.

04. Not from this collection, but my top favourite product for S/S11 from Illamasqua is the Gleam Cream. If you want something to give incredibly beautiful luminosity to the skin you need this. I think I rave on twitter about it at least once a week.

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Favourite thing right now

Currently I'm loving mixing my blushers. I've been doing it for a while now & can't just be happy with the one! My new favourite is mixing MAC Melba with Illamasqua...erm unrequited? I'm not too sure exactly as the sticker has come off (fab!) but it's a very light, cool bluey pink. Love it. Mixed together these give a gorgeous coral. Missed out on Ripe Peach? Try these two or very similar blushes, seems like an exact dupe.

also wearing:

Face:
a mix of MAC studio tech & fix fluid.... I'm a foundation mixer too!
MAC fix powder
Golden Refined bronzer
Melba & Illamasqua love mix
Soft & Gentle MSF

eyes:
Soft & Gentle MSF
Kid e/s
Diorshow blackout mascara
#7 lashes

lips:
Ravishing l/s
Fold & Tuck l/g