Illamasqua had a sale on a couple of weeks ago, and even though I usually get my artist's discount, some of the offers in there were too good to pass up. I also finally bought myself Poisonberry lipstick, which I've been lusting over for months.
Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Faithful
I've never had the desire to own a brown nail varnish before, but this one really caught my eye. I'm glad I got it, and I've been wearing it since the day it arrived (it's rare for me to take chipped polish off, and just reapply the same colour!). Faithful is a warm coppery brown with gold shimmer. Despite it being warm it looks good against my cool skin tone.
Illamasqua nail varnishes have a great forumla, and apply easily. They dry down quite quickly, and I get a good 3 days before showing much sign of tip wear (which is impressive for someone who can chip nail varnish in her sleep).
Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Androgen
Illamasqua cream pigments are one of my favourite cream shadow formula. I never get along with the overly frosted finishes that many cream shadows come in *cough*MAC*cough*, and I hate how quickly they can dry out. Luckily, I don't have any of these problems with Illamasqua cream pigments. They have a matte finish, and apply smoothly. My only gripe with them is that they crease, even on top of a primer. But then again, I do have the oiliest eyelids ever, and I've yet to come across a cream shadow that doesn't crease. But they don't hold out as long as Maybelline's Colour Tattoo cream shadows. Still I love the colour and the formula that the creasing doesn't bother me too much.
You can wear these on the eyes, cheeks, or lips. I've only swatched them on the former two. Products like this dry out my lips really badly, so that's something I pass on.
I love how Androgen looks against my eye colour. It's pretty much the perfect shade to enhance blue eyes.
On cheeks, it sheers out to a natural peachy flush. It's subtle, and is a product that I'll use if ever I'm going for a no-makeup look.
Illamasqua Powder Eyeshadow in Slink
Despite me loving almost everything from Illamasqua, I've never tried one of their powder eyeshadows. I own their paranormal palette, but they're more of a cream - powder hybrid.
Slink is a beautiful cooled toned campaign colour. I really wish I'd been able to capture the colour a bit better. It's quite close to my skin tone. When I swatched it on my arm I was really disappointed, cos it didn't show up very well. However, on my lids (which are slightly paler than my arm), it shows up beautifully, and it was then that I was able to see that it really is an opaque shadow, that applies smoothly. It's one of those colours that everyone should have in their collection, and yet different enough for me not to have any dupes for it. I think it's the cool undertones to it that set it apart. I can see this becoming my go-to every day eyeshadow. In terms of wear time, it's up there with shadows from MAC and Urban Decay, with it lasting for most of the day with only minor fading.
Lime Crime Lipstick in Poisonberry
I've been eyeing up Lime Crime's lipsticks for a while now, and I finally caved and bought myself Poisonberry. It's a beautful mid-tone, glossy purple. The formula is great; smooth and creamy to apply, and comfortably hydrating. With it being so creamy, it can tend to smudge around a little if you're not careful (corn on the cobb + lipstick that doesn't dry down = purple face). After a few hours it fades down and leaves a pinkish stain. The only thing I don't like about it is the packaging. A unicorn fan I am not, and I think it cheapens what otherwise could be a lipstick to be proud of (can I seriously see myself pulling out a bright purple plastic lipstick case with a silver sparkly unicorn on in my favourite heavy metal pub? Not so much). That aside, I am still tempted to invest inGeradium soon.
When I first applied the lipstick, I was a little disappointed with what a light purple it looked on my lips. All the swatches I'd seen were of a mid-deep purple! A base coat of MAC'sVino lip liner gave me the colour I wanted. The lighter colour (without the liner) is growing on me, and I can't decide which I like more. Either way, I just can't seem to put this lipstick down.
Poisonberry without lipliner Poisonberry with MAC Vino Lipliner
