When it comes to make up boxes, there is usually one colour distinctly lacking, so naturally Illamasqua decided to embrace it for their Summer collection – “To Be Alive.” Blue can be a tricky bugger to pull off at the best of times, but in High Summer where the market is dominated by dewy skin and sparkling shimmers, Illamasqua shirks the usual trends. And really would you expect anything else from Illamasqua at this point?
The full collection is the very anti-thesis of Summer with it’s frosty cool tones – from pearlesent polishes to shimmering glosses, but there was one stand out piece that I kind of sort of totally needed to buy. The Spirit palette truly is a thing of beauty and why blue may not be the easiest colour to pull off on the old peepers, this palette provides everything you need to create a dramatic alternative smokey eye.
In truth I’ve been in a bit of a make up rut. If it wasn’t some variant of a brown or eyeliner it wasn’t going anywhere near my eyes. But then I was missing out so much what I love about make up. I love playing with colour and experimenting, and for someone who is more often than naught seen with a red lip, there’s got to be some way to add a bit of flair to the face. The spirit palette is exactly what the doctor ordered.
The palette contains four intense colour eyeshadows with both matte and creamy finishes. The shimmery cream (Awaken) is a perfect base product and has this lovely metallic quality that makes it look gorgeous under the light, however it’s the powder eyeshadows where this palette truly comes in to it’s own. There’s a matte navy (Refine) and a matte royal blue (Inspire) which pretty much set my heart a fluttering. The navy in particular is just so true deep navy and it might, might have been my fave if it wasn’t for this spectacular iridescent white eyeshadow (Cascade.) Seriously guys, pictures cannot truly do justice to how beautiful and shimmery and all around perfect it is. In fact, it was swatching the white that made we want to take the palette for a spin in a first place.
The Spirit palette truly is a gateway drug to the rest of the collection including a pretty amazing blue lipstick (which part of me would love to try) and a super girly and feminine gloss. At £34 for 4 shadow you’re getting a gorgeous palette with intense pigmented eyeshadow. I personally would use a primer under them (hell, I think you should use a primer under anything) to keep it in place. Paired with their navy eyeliner it’s a proper treat. If you’re still feeling a little bit cautious I urge you to go check it out and swatch for yourself (my closest Illamasqua counter is Debenhams in Glasgow) and prepare to fall in love.