Illamasqua Powder Blusher Nymph - Review and Swatches

Hello Beautifuls,

I spent most of my day yesterday finagling with my computer because it just stupidly decided that it doesn't want to work with Photoshop anymore. I haven't been able to resolve the issue in spite of doing a system restore, uninstalling and re-installing the program, online research and trying out a few of the suggestion, checking for virus, cleaning and defrag, pulling my hair out...to no avail. So until, it decides to magically fix itself, lol knock on wood, I have to resort to other editing options. Fortunately, there are many free online photo editing programs that will get most of the job done but still have limitations, which kind of annoys me but I'll live. Have any of you used GIMP? I hear it's the next best thing to Photoshop and it's FREE. That might be my next option. You can check out the reviews and download it HERE if that is something you might need. I don't know how much edit you do on your pictures but I do crop, rotate, and resize a lot, along with adjusting the exposure, colors, and watermarking. This may seem like a lot for some but they are simple and easy adjustments that can make a huge difference, especially if the quality of your pictures matters to you.

Ok, now aside from the geek talk, this is a blush I've had for a while and never got to review it. If you've been following me for sometime, you may have noticed that I've wore it on a few of my makeup looks.

Packaging

• Slightly bulky but good and practical
• 1.5 oz or 4.5 g

Product

• This particular shade has a matte finish. If you love matte blushes, you'll love the formula of this one.
• It's not powdery and feels very soft and silky. 
• Pigmentation is good, buildable, and product is easy to blend. 
• This shade looks light but will show up on most skin tone I think. I've slightly over applied on the picture above but that's just to show you how much you can get out of it. Typically, I don't use that much and it can look quite natural.
• Product last on average about 5 hours and I notice some slight fading a couple hours after.

Final Thought
This blush was given to me as a birthday gift from my sister. I personally really like it and the Illamasqua Cream blushes are just as good. This is probably one of my favorite high-end blushes. Price ($26) can be a con for some but if you can justify the price, this is a great blush to have in your beauty arsenal.
My rating: 10/10.

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Illamasqua Cream Eyeshadow and Liquid Metal Swatches and Review

These are the last two Illamasqua products I have left to review from the Alter Ego Mystery Set that I purchased about a month ago from Sephora. Unfortunately, that set is no longer available but you may still find these products individually.

If you've missed the swatches and reviews of the other products that were in the set, you can click on these links to be directed to them:

Illamasqua Nail Varnish Jo'mina
Illamasqua Lipsticks Swatches and Review
Illamasqua Intense and Sheer Lipgloss Swatches
Illamasqua Creme Blusher Brazen
Illamasqua Medium Pencils Swatches and Review

With that said, here is the reviews and swatches of these two cream eyeshadows...

Intrude is a dark brown with grey undertone cream eyeshadow. You get about .07 oz of product. The finish is almost matte. This feels light but incredibly pigmented. This cream shadow can crease even with a primer. However, if you don't over apply and if you set it with a powder shadow, I've noticed that it helps minimize the creasing and I can actually get a about 5 hours of wear until I start noticing minor creasing. For the record, I have moderately oily lids. My only complaint about this cream shadow is the creasing. Otherwise, pigmentation and blendability is fantastic.
My rating: 8/10.

Illamasqua Liquid Metal Superior is a gorgeous metallic blue cream eyeshadow. It's extremely pigmented and emollient, which makes it really easy to blend as well. But that's just as far as it goes. This one creased within a couple minutes with and without a primer. When I applied a powder eyeshadow over it, it still creased within 30 minutes. What a shame! It is such an amazing color and finish. It creased much faster than Intrude. I'm so disappointed cause it was almost perfect. There is .05 oz of product in the packaging and I can detect a subtle vanilla scent to it.
My rating: 5/10.

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Illamasqua Medium Pencils Swatches and Review

Hi lovelies,

I've been too tired to post on my blog lately since I've been putting extra hours at work. Well today, I got off my regular time because the weather was getting bad. We got rain mixed with snow so I had to be extra cautious on the way home since it's pretty slippery. Any of you out there who's getting hit with this winter storm, please be safe. I have a feeling I'll still have to go to work tomorrow...Uhhhhh. I hate driving in the snow.

Anyways, these are the two Illamasqua pencil liners that I got to try out from the Alter Ego Mystery Set. They are labeled as multifunctional for eyes, lips, face, and body.

Each liner is .05 oz and there's really nothing fancy about the packaging as you can see.

Cane is a matte pale yellow.

Severe is a matte deep burgundy plum. This one is great for lining the lips.

I think the colors are pretty pigmented. You can get a good color payoff on the first pass. The pencils are not that creamy, not too soft or too hard. I personally think they work really well on the lips or other body parts other than your eyes. You'll still be able to use them on your eyes but they do tug a bit and they only last about two hours on me as an eyeliner. After that, they start smudging and fading. I like using Cane on the waterline, it brightens my eyes and looks natural. The only con is that it doesn't last very long. 

Overall, I think these are great liners but if you want something specifically for lining your eyes, I recommend you look elsewhere unless you don't mind retouching them every couple hours.

My rating: 8/10.

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Illamasqua Creme Blusher Brazen - Swatches and Review

Hello Beautifuls,

Today, I will be reviewing and swatching this lovely cream blush from Illamasqua that I received in my Alter Ego Mystery set. When I first opened up Brazen, I thought wow this is so wicked red! If you remember my haul post, I received this blush with a suspicious white stuff on the lower left corner, which some people have mentioned in other posts and reviews that it is mold.
Well, as you can see the white stuff is gone and it actually disappeared about 2 hours after I had received my package, which lead me to believe that it may just be frozen condensation from the product. My package has been traveling in the cold before it got to me. The product didn't have an odd smell so I think it is perfectly fine.

Packaging

• It's pretty and practical. 
• Contains .14 oz or 4g of product.

Product

• Brazen is a true red but it may look a bit warm if you have warm undertone. When looking at the color in the pan, it is quite intimidating; however formula is fantastic and the product applies like a dream. It is pretty pigmented but I lightly applied it with a small stippling blush and it literally melts and blend effortlessly.
• The finish is slightly dewy (not shimmery), which I like cause I think it looks most natural on me and gives my skin a more youthful glow.
• The lasting power is fairly good, I'd say about 6 hours on me.
• This could also double up as a lip product. On the swatches I am wearing Brazen on both my lips and cheeks and as you can see it looks quite lovely and not as scary as it does in the pan.

Final Thought
This is by far the best cream blush I have ever tried. Some other brands that I tried were too thick or tacky, some were too glossy, but this one Illamasqua perfected the formula. It is incredibly light and pigmented. It was really easy to apply and blend with a stippling brush, which I highly recommend that you use for this blush. The product literally melts right into your skin and applies beautifully and evenly. It also last fairly well on me.

My rating: 10/10.

What do you think, is this a blush you'd try?

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Illamasqua Intense and Sheer Lipgloss Swatches

TGIF! What a long week it has been for me! I've been working my ass off and doing extra hours and work. I'm pooped now but I just want to throw this post out there for you before I pass out because I haven't posted anything since Monday.

I currently own 2 Illamasqua Intense Lipglosses and 1 Illamasqua Sheer Lipgloss. I've got them swatched for you. The two that you see above, I got them through the Illamasqua Alter Ego Mystery set. I must say I am quite happy with them.

Succubus is a gorgeous opaque true red, no shimmers. I really love how this one looks on me. Very pigmented and glossy. The consistency and formula was nice too. If you are looking for a red gloss for the holidays, this would be one to consider.

Tantrum is a semi-sheer purple-ish pink shimmery gloss. It gives just enough color for my pale lips. This one settles in my lip lines. It's noticeable up close but not to obvious I think.

Last but not least, Hermetic is an intense burgundy gloss with shimmers. I think this color is appropriate for fall and even for the holidays. Not sure why the formula with this one is a bit different because it is thicker and sticky. Some people may be uncomfortable with that but the color is beautiful I think. It doesn't apply evenly but I think if you wear it over a lip liner, it should be fine.

Overall, I do like these Illamasqua glosses. The Intense shades are very pigmented. They have a subtle and pleasant fruity scent to them.

Sorry, if I didn't put much detail on this post but I am very tired and ready to crash. Feel free to comment if you have any questions. Hope everyone enjoy their weekend.

 Do you own any Illamasqua glosses? If so which shade would you recommend I try.


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Illamasqua Nail Varnish Duo - Glitterati and Viridian Swatches

I grabbed this nail polish set during Sephora's VIB sale. I heard great things about Illamasqua nail polishes so this was a good opportunity to try them without having to pay full price. This duo set is sold for $25.00 but if you were to buy them individually, they are $14.00 each.
This is a limited edition set and I think Glitterati is only sold in this set. It was the main reason I picked up the set since I'm a sucker for glitters.

Glitterati has a reddish wine jelly base with large and small holographic glitters. I find the polish quite pigmented for being a jelly. You only need 1 or two coats. I'm wearing it here with a top coat.

Viridian is a gorgeous shimmery green teal. Very pigmented and need 1 or 2 coats.

Illamasqua nail polishes are chip resistant. Both of these polishes have a very nice formula and consistency, which makes them easy to apply.

This duo set is also great to give as gift for any nail polish lovers that you may know.

Have you tried Illamasqua nail polishes? If so which color would you recommend I get?

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Illamasqua Lipsticks Swatches and Review

Hello lovely readers,

Today, I will be reviewing these two Illamasqua lipsticks that I received with the Alter Ego Mystery Selection set, which currently retails for $60.00 at Sephora.com.

These lipsticks retails for $24.00 each so receiving them through the set was a great bargain. However, the flipside to this amazing deal is that you don't know which lipstick shade you will receive other than Fable.


Packaging

• Glossy black rectangular shaped tube. I like that because it annoys me when my lipsticks rolls out of the surface I put them on.
• Net weight .14 oz

Product

• Fable - A matte light bubble gum pink shade. This lipstick feels so dry! It pulls and tugs on my skin. I highly recommend that you exfoliate your lips to get rid of any dry flaky skin you may have because this lipsticks is very unforgiving and will make them look worst. Also don't forget to prep your lips with a good lip balm. If you look at my picture below, you can see that it really emphasize my lip lines as well.
• Also, I think many people may find this shade difficult to wear. I personally don't think it looks flattering on my skintone but I think I can make it work with certain looks. I definitely could use a bit of gloss on top.

• Drench - ahh this color is gorgeous! It's a really nice berry red color that would look flattering on any skintone. I think if you are intimidated by red lips, this would be the perfect red to try cause it's a little more toned down. This color was easier to apply. It has just enough creaminess to make application effortless without feeling slippery. As you can see from the swatch, it looks smooth on my lips. Doesn't feel dry but doesn't feel moisturizing either. The pigmentation is excellent and though it is labeled as a matte, there's definitely a little bit of shine to it.
• They have a scent that reminds me of vanilla.

Final thoughts
These last fairly well on the lips, 3+ hours and have good pigmentation. The scent is nice. Packaging is pretty standard. There's inconsistencies between shades. These definitely need a bit of moisture, something I would want from a lipstick at this price point.

My rating: 8/10.


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