Saturday 24 August 2013

Illamasqua - The Sacred Hour Review

So I've had a few days to play around with my goodies, and I have to say, I think this is my favourite Illamasqua collection as far as colours go.  Don't get me wrong, I love the more interesting products they bring out, but as far as wearing them on a regular basis, this collection wins hands down.  I'm a sucker for neutrals at the moment!

First up we have the Reflection eyeshadow palette.  The formula is the same one that was used in the Paranormal palette.  They're a strange cream-powder mix.  They're wonderfully soft, and they can be applied sheer, or built up for a stronger colour.  For me, these eyeshadows take some getting used to.  I imagine that those with drier lids won't have much of a problem, but for my super oily lids they slide around a lot.  Even with primer, they don't really seem to set.  This makes doing more precise application (such as the cut crease I tried in my second look) very difficult to nail.  I think that oiler lids will find that sheerer washes of colour work better than dark, heavy looks.  With not drying down well, these also crease quite badly within an hour or so.  So will this palette sit in my drawer, unused?



Hell no!  Look at those colours!  They compliment each other perfectly, and there's such a wide range of looks that you could do.  They're amazingly shimmery, but it's shimmer in a grown up way (not an 'explosion at the glitter factory sort of look!).  It's such a unique, interesting finish. 
Here's a couple of looks I did with the palette.  I've told myself I have to wear something different today, but I'm sure I'll be playing around with it, and figuring out the best way to make it work for me.  It took 3 or 4 attempts before I really got to grips with the Paranormal palette, but it was well worth it!





You can see the creasing already in the first look, and where it's smudged from a thin line to a thicker area on the inner crease of the second look.  Usually this would be a deal breaker for me, but I'm so in love with the colours and the bouncy feel they have when you load up your brush.

Next up is Velvet Blusher in Peaked.  This is probably my favourite item from the collection.  I'm a big fan of Illamasqua's blushes, and this new cream to powder formula has just made me fall in love even more.  Soft, buildable, and easy to apply, these blushes lasted a good 4-5 hours on my super oily skin in the ridiculous humid heat.  The colour is described as 'a dusky rose', and I think that's fairly accurate.  It almost has sort of raspberry undertones.  I could happily wear this colour every day, and it's taken top spot in my blush collection.  I'm sure that Sleek will be joining my collection soon enough.



My Bobbi Brown gel liner has pretty much dried up, so I decided this would be a good time to try out Illamasqua's offering.  It's a lot softer than the Bobbi Brown gel, which makes it far easier to apply.  You sometimes have to go over it a couple of times to get a really black colour, but it doesn't have any problems with layering.  As it's so creamy, I do seem to be using more of it, so I don't think it'll last as long as my Bobbi Brown liner.  Although saying that, I'm only half way through that pot and it's already dried up, so I'll probably still get the same amount of use from it, providing it doesn't dry up so quickly.  I haven't had any problems with it smudging or fading either.



Last but not least are the Skin Base Lift Concealers.  I suffer from slight dark circles, and a little reddness under my eyes.  Nothing to bad, but just enough for a concealer to make a difference.  The main problem I have with concealers is that they have a habit of settling into the creases below my eyes.  I've been a using Lush's Colour Supplement, as that doesn't crease.  The coverage is quite sheer, but I don't need much more.  However, I think that the Lush Colour Supplement will be finding a place in the bottom of my drawer now.  These Skin Base Lift Concealers are AMAZING!

I purchased both Light 1 and White Light.  Below are pictures of it in action.


 The first is without any concealer.  The second picture is just with Light 1 applied under the eye.  The third picture shows Light 1, with White Light applied at the tear duct too (the last picture was taken at a different time to the others, which is why the light looks slightly different.  I'll try to update this soon).

As you can see the concealer covers all the redness, and doesn't settle into fine lines.  It has a lot more coverage than the Lush concealer.  Adding the white to  the tear duct really brightens the whole area.  These concealers are like a good nights sleep in a pot!  David Horne, creator of this product, suggests using it to highlight too.  I've used a little of the white on my cheek bones, and it looks great.  I'm going to try his method of dotting White Light and Light 1 alternately and then blending.

Here's some looks I did with all the products.  The lipstick I'm wearing is an old Illamasqua one, which has since been discontinued.  The name has rubbed off, but I think it's called Resist.  It's a shame they don't do it anymore as it goes perfectly with Peaked blush.





I can really see myself re-buying every single item that I've reviewed.  And I think that's the first time I've ever said that! You really nailed this one Illamasqua!

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