Lately I've been tempted too many times by Illamasqua and have placed way too many orders. This post shows one of these orders. Expect more to come, as they dared to launch a 60% off summer sale too and I'm soooo powerless that I've already finalized my 2nd order batch from the same sale!!!! ayeeee *head@desk*
So, this box comes form a previous sale, when you had to reach an amount and got a pair of flase lashes for free. Correct me if the details were different, I might be mistaken.
Here are the things I bought:
Fundamental e/s palette £ 30
I couldn't pass this chance and I'm so glad I didn't!
The palette consists of
- 2 powder eyeshadows: Hype (bold yellow) and Inception (rich violet),
- Cream Pigment in Bedaub (?) it's a mint green and I think it's Bedaub, however, it's not stated exactly on the website
- Liquid metal in Surge. This one isn't stated clearly either, but they use "molten pewter" which is the description of Surge.
BTW, why does a Human Fundamentalism LE palette include colors from previous LEs? Bedaub was part of Toxic Nature in 2011 and Surge was in Body Electrics in 2009!
I'd expect Limited Editions to have limited colors, you know, not just 'let's cook up an interesting eye quad from existing materials'...
I was sceptical about Hype. Yellows are usually huge letdowns, but this was a positive surprise, it has strong color payoff and is a pretty yellow.
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| with flash |
My only (personal) problem is the creamy texture of cream pigment and liquid metal. They are creamy, thus they crease like hell on me and slide around even on strong primers. The only way around is to use them on creaseless surfaces and not wanting to go to work or school wearing them.
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| without flash |
The next contestant is Lipstick in Test £15.50
Test is soft pink chocolate with matte finish according to themain site.
However, I don't know where it has any hint of chocolate.
It's a pinky nude or beige, that's for sure. And beige indeed comes from brown, but to call this chocolate brown is a far strech.
It sould be milk chocolate with tons of milk with some strawberries.
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| lip swatch with flash |
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| lip swatch without flash |
It drags a bit when applied, but stays on for long hours and fades gracefully. Also, thanks to its matte finish it doesn't feel too creamy which is horrible in the summer heat.
Illumine Oil in Volt £ 25:
This bottle of highlighter oil came out in 2009 as part of the Body Electrics LE Collection.
Really sorry for the rotated picture, I swear I'll smack the programmers of Blogger one day!
Above is how the oil looks like when spread lightly from the bottle. This is only one finger pressed to the mouth of the bottle.
This is blended, with flash, so you can see the shimmer particles.
And this is without flash, at the edges you can see how it looks when the light hits it. It's sheer but definitely buildable.
It also smells nice, kinda floral(?) but you know I suck at scents. Some people are deaf or blind or mute, I simply cannot differenitate between scents. I can only tell if what I'm smelling is clearly citrusy or floral, 'cold' or 'warm'. No more.
Main problem of Illumine Oil? The bottle! A squeeze tube or pump head would have been better, however they could be clumped. With this kind of bottle you either press your fingertip to the hole and tap the oil onto your face (messy) or press your hand/wrist/arm and use your brush. But tell me, who wants to play like a kindergartener with crayons in hand. In the morning? Before leaving to work? There's no chance to stick your brush into the liquid as it won't fit. Unless you use aprecision eyeshadow brush. But that's not for highlighters/body oils! Nada!
If you plan to use this on more than your cheeks, like on collarbones or go for body painting then pour a little into a little cup and use your brushes.
Here is the freeby: False Eye Lashes No.23
£ 13.05:
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| rotated photos rulez |
My first falsies from Illamasqua. Personally I never wear strip lashes because they are heavy, the band won't bend like i want it, they pull my eyelids and I keep shedding tears. Or so I thought they were. I have several boxes of those Chinese 10 pairs for 3USD falsies and they are sooo far from quality lashes! Mind you, the Chinese fringe lashes are good and I like to wear them...
So, this pair is lightweight - it is so easy to blink with these -, bends like a dream, fits to my lids, won't pull it, and it does not release the glue, sticking out at the ends.
Finally, Volume Mascara in Nocturnal £15:
This was on sale for £5 when I bought it, but it doesn't worth a penny.
Its building formula claims to lengthen, thicken and dramatize to extremes, but the most it does is giving a little color to one's lashes. I never go for brown mascaras, as they are too natural for me, and as I tried this on I was convinced that even the black (Raven) one wouldn't do much for me. It does not clump but makes natural-looking lashes, however, don't expect "dramatized to extremes" lashes from this mascara. If you have naturally long and curved but blond lashes, then adding color will definitely make them look longer and fuller, but that's not what I want from my mascara.
