Foundation
The first thing I noticed about the rich liquid foundation was how thick it was. It does have a nice creamy feel, but for the most part I feel when applying it if felt cloying and very heavy. That said it does provide a really good coverage and provides a clean matte base to work with. If you’re looking for a blank slate to work with, Illamasqua rich liquid foundation does provide a good base. I find the colour quite prominent, and RF140 was way too dark for me. It was very yellow and just made me look like I had a bad tan and a liver infection. For the kind of coverage it provides, I do prefer Estee Lauder’s maximum cover for this kind of thing, but I feel for a big night out and if I had a better colour match I would be more open to this. This colour is best mixed with some moisturiser to thin it out as otherwise might be a bit too heavy even for a night out.
I do love me a good red lipstick, so it will come as no suprise that I love Illamasqua’s lipstick in Sangers. It’s pretty much your standard red, I’d say it’s quite warm in tone and has an almost vintage pin up tone to it. Very vampy and very matte. It reminds me of Mac’s Ruby Woo – except no where near as chalky. The application was fairly easy and the colour is long wearing (roughly 6 hours.) The colour builds up quite well and stays put, and comes in this gorgeous elegant square black packaging. It feels mature and elegant, while still having an edge. If all Illamasqua’s lipsticks are as long wearing as this I may just be convert over from MAC. Maybe. I’ve got my eye on a warm coral pink matte called Scandal that might just be the perfect day time lipstick. At £15.50 it’s not exactly purse friendly…but the long wear and the packaging make it worth it.
Lipgloss
The think I enjoyed about the lipstick was that it was scent free, not so with the lipgloss – but that’s to be expected. Succubus has this really gorgeous smell of raspberries that isn’t sweet or sickly. It’s very pigmented and I found the coverage very pull. The colour itself is billed as a blood red (pretty much the best description I can think of). I’d say it is far warmer than Sangers and has a nice finish. However while it doesn’t feel too sticky on the lips it almost feels waxy and I found my hair took quite the liking to it. I’m not really a lipgloss person…ever, however the colour and the staying power of Succubus has me sold. I’m not sure if I’d be tempted to try any of the other intense lipglosses…although Gender (a bright blue) looks pretty amazing. I’m still not completely sold on glosses but maybe it’s time to extend my repertoire.
Nail Polish- Scorn
I have nothing but praise for Illamasqua’s nail polishes and have no qualms about saying that they are probably some of the best polishes on the market. You’ll have to forgive my application skills, and my crap camera, you can find another view and better pictorials here.
Scorn is a gorgeous matte black, and what I like about it looks a bit like latex for your nails. It has the amazing rubber effect. It takes a couple of applications to build up the effect but the over all effect is striking. I found Scorn did take a little bit of time to dry between applications but once it’s on it’s quite durable.
Nail Polish – Throb
Every girls needs a red nail polish. It’s just one of those finishing touches. Throb is the perfect red polish, not too orange, but no too deep – quite bright with a shine to the finish. The application for this colour was easy and Throb, unlike Scorn – only really needs one coat though you can build it up. Once more the lasting power is great and doesn’t chip too much (it’s passed the bar test.) £13.50. So worth it.
Overall
As you can probably guess I’m pretty much a fangirl for Illamasqua’s nail polishes. I’m yet to have a bad experience with them. I have covered my default colours here, but their range is so varied and I love their experimentation with colours and finishes. I’m dying to try some of their neons – they look astounding. Overall my experience with the brand has been positive, although I would be reluctant to try their foundation again. I’d like to know your experiences with the brand though – and what products I haven’t covered here (blushes, eyeshadows?) and if they are worth giving a wee shot.