Illamasqua

Illamasqua. Have you heard of it? When I ask my clients, they rarely have. Illamasqua is a makeup brand created by Julian Kinston in 2008. The brand focuses on individuality, fantasy and avont guarde looks. Their website states "with British creativity at our roots and self expression in our hearts, our mission is to inspire you to take pride in everything you are and all you aspire to become". The brand focuses on individuality and avont guarde looks. 

Last year, when I began studying Level 2 Media Hair and Makeup, I was required to buy exactly £584.86 on Illamasqua makeup (and brushes), and this year our kit was £179.20. Therefore, as I own £764.06 worth of their makeup (and that's including professional discount), I'd like to think that I have come to some sort of conclusion as to what I think of the brand and its products, so here's a little run down of what I think about 3 Illamasqua products, in my own opinion.

1 - Skin Base Foundation

In my kit last year, we received three Skin Base Foundations, 1 (white), 6 (yellow undertone with pink) and 8 (pink undertone with yellow). Now, to put this in to perspective, I am paler than MAC's NW10 and I have neutral undertones with some pinker tones on my face but I generally wear a more neutral/yellow foundation to counteract the pink on my face and blend with the colour of my body. At the moment my best matching foundation is Urban Decay All Nighter in 0.5. I should also mention that my skin is combination (I get dry flaky patches on my chin but also have large oily pores on my nose and cheeks - everywhere else is normal).

 

It retails at £33 for 30ml/1oz. This product is advertised to be 'lightweight and easily bendable' and was made to create a 'flawless finish every day'. It's a water based foundation, and contains silica - an ingredient used to smooth over pores and make the finish look flawless. Although it is not advertised for having an SPF, it does contain titanium dioxide, which is found in sun cream and can be the cause of that awful ghostly flashback in photographs. Having said that, I haven't really noticed any problems with flashback on my clients when I have used this foundation on them (as I always snap a flash pic to make sure everything looks good on camera).

As you can see from the picture, SB1 is a solid white. This is the Skin Base foundation that I use the most on myself as I mix it with foundations that are too dark for me to make them match. It helps create more coverage (which I like) and doesn't particularly affect the texture of the product I am mixing it with.

SB6 is advertised to be a 'yellow undertone with pink'. I would say that on it's own it's a straight up yellow undertone, but when mixed with the white can appear more neutral-pink. This colour would probably be around NC15-NC20 in MAC. I do like this colour as I favour the more yellow foundations because I think that they look more flattering on the majority of people than pink toned foundations.

SB8 is supposed to be a 'pink undertone with yellow'. I find that it looks very pink and not yellow at all, so I don't really use this one much as the other two. Like I said before, I find yellow undertones to be the most flattering on clients. I also find that the darker a person is, the more yellow toned they are, so the fact that this is a deeper colour and is pink means that there are less people that it would suit. I would gage this at around a NW25-NW30 in MAC.

Colours aside, the formula of the foundation is liquid but thick. I like this texture as it gives a full coverage pretty much straight away. Drying time is pretty standard, and you have plenty of time to manoeuvre the product before it sets. I like to apply it with a stippling brush in circular movements and once I am happy with the coverage, I use a beauty blender to make it look flawless. I find that this foundation does not look like skin (which I don't really mind), and can look thick if a beauty blender is not used after applying. I have used this foundation on people of all ages and have found that it looks best on younger skin, as the thick formula can accentuate fine lines and wrinkles and over time, looks really quite wrinkly as it sits in lines - even when powder is applied. It lasts an average amount of time, and I find that it can need a second powder half way through wearing it.

Another little nag is that the packaging is very basic and cheap looking for the price. The foundation comes in a squeezy plastic bottle with a plastic lid. The cheap packaging makes me hope that the foundation its self is worth a lot of money and that the brand invested on the foundation rather than the packaging. I suppose that it is good that the bottle is plastic as it won't smash like glass, which is good for a traveling MUA. Even so, I feel that it does look basic, and clients who aren't familiar with the brand may assume that the product is cheap based on the packaging.

Overall, I would recommend this foundation for MUAs and anyone else - I would suggest purchasing the white (as every MUA ought to have a white to mix) and would also recommend SB6. It is disappointing that there are 26 shades, of which most are for medium skin tones. As far as any deeper shades go, I would suggest asking what medium colours are the most popular and go with a yellow toned popular medium shade, such as SB11. The line has four darker shades which look like they would suit POC, which I think is poor, especially as there is only one really deep colour. 

2 - Precision Brow Gel

Last year, I received three Precision Brow Gels - Awe (Blonde), Strike (Medium Brown), Stare (Dark Brown/Black). They retail for £18.50 for 5mls of product. The packaging is a glass pot, which feels weighty and luxurious. The product is advertised to be 'water-resistant', have a 'cream/gel formula' and be 'long wearing' and have an 'intense colour payoff'. It comes in a total of four shades (Awe, Strike, Stare and Glimpse (for Auburn hair). 

 

I have blonde hair and use Awe for a more natural look, Awe and Strike for an ombre look and Strike when I am doing more evening/less natural makeup. I have found it very difficult over the years to find a brow product that is blonde and ashy as most brow products have been neutral/warm which have made my eyebrows look ginger! I cannot tell you how much of a godsend Awe and Strike have been for me! They are my holy grail brow products! 

The texture of them is very creamy, although I can tell that my most used (Strike) is dryer than the other two (which I use less) because I have used it the most this past year. I think that the texture of Strike would be less dry if I added some Illamasqua Sealing Gel. The coverage is incredible and they last all day yet come off easily with a face wipe and micellar water. Illamasqua recommends applying them with their Illamasqua Angled Brush, which I would agree is a good combination as the brush is thin and very controllable. I have used the brow gel for a lot of brow styles, from bushy to clean and it has worked well for all. 

I would definitely recommend this product to everyone - I know £18.50 is pricey for a brow product but I really do believe that this is worth it. I have used Strike every day for a year and I'm only about half way through it - so they definitely last. The colour selection is perfect for a MUA as there is a colour for everyone - and they can be mixed to create the perfect brow shade. I really can't rave about this product enough it really has changed my life!

3 - Lipstick

Illamasqua currently sells 26 shades of their lipsticks. They retail for £20 a lipstick! Illamasqua says that they have a 'high-pigmented formula' and 'go on smoothly' and 'doesn't give up without a fight for the perfect all-night pout'. I have 

From left to right: Obey, Rosepout, Bare, Posture, Shard, Box, Eurydice, Flare.

The first thing about the lipsticks that I noticed was that they were not creamy to swatch. They have an almost hard, waxy texture which makes them awkward to apply on clients as you have to press them hard onto the client's lips. When applying them onto lips with a brush, I find that the brush doesn't pick up a lot of pigment, so it's more convenient to apply straight onto the lips and disinfect the lipstick afterwards. 

The pigment is great though, and they do last well. The waxy formula means that they are waterproof, however I do find that they can transfer onto glasses, so would recommend the old 'lick the glass before you drink' hack.

My favourite colours are Obey (which is about as bright as I go), Rosepout (one of the less waxy and slightly creamier formulas) and Bare (the perfect matte nude shade for me). My least favourite shade is Box, as it is advertised as being a 'deep scarlet red' but as you can see from the swatch, it's a more blue undertone red so comes up on the skin and lips as being a bright dark pink. It's a great colour, just not what was advertised as when I think of a 'deep scarlet red' I think Marilyn Monroe, and a more neutral deep red.

Still, lipsticks run in a variety of shades which include more 'out there' colours such as navy blue and deep green, which I would love to try. They are pretty pricey, but in my opinion some of them are definitely worth it.

Thank you so much for reading this product review post! Comment below your favourite products and anything you'd like me to review!

EVJMAKEUP

XOXO