Yesterday was another thrilling day at law school. Today, I'm taking a break from revising EU law to bring you another instalment of my blush collection: Illamasqua.
L-R, top to bottom: Katie, Lover, Sin, Hollow Cream Pigment, Morale, Hussy
As you can deduce from its dusty state, Katie is definitely a favourite. I ordered this shade and Hussy from the Debenhams website one day last summer while bored to tears in the library, hunched over an essay on early modern theatre and legal culture. Katie was the success story of that order: she's a pale baby-pink, fairly neutral in tone, with a matte finish (as always, Temptalia has clearer pics of the product in the pan, but on this occasion I think KarlaSugar's swatch is more helpful on colour). I think it's pretty pigmented, but obviously since it's such a light pink it's unlikely to work well on darker skintones. On me (cool-toned, lighter than MAC foundations - srsly MAC?) it can be built up to a fairly noticeable pink flush, or kept very subtle. Perfect for spring, but I wear this all the time anyway. It has the distinctive Illamasqua blush scent, which is a bit like cake batter. The packaging is OK, a bit bulky and can be fiddly to open but it's nice to be able to see the colour through the lid.
And then we have Lover. This was purchased in Selfridges after I walked in in search of a peachy blush. I never go for peach, so I was interested to try one. This is a delightful fairly pale true peach colour, again matte (see KarlaSugar again - I should really learn to master this swatching business, but there's never any natural light - excuses excuses). I'm still not 100% convinced it works on my colouring, but it makes for a fun change in spring/summer with a peachy lipgloss like Revlon Super Lustrous Coral Reef.
Next up, the colour formerly known as Sin. At least, I think that's what it's called - there's no name on the back. [A quick trawl through my email inbox reveals it is indeed called Sin.] I picked this up in Illamasqua's summer sale for £10, since I was looking for a purple/plum blush. When it arrived I was a bit disappointed it wasn't more blue-toned - it's definitely more plummy than purple - but I've since grown to love it, and wore it for about a month straight in November. It looks terrifying in the pan, in the way of most Illamasqua blushes, and it is very pigmented, but with my trusty MAC 188 you get a surprisingly natural-looking cheek, which of course can be built up for more drama. I don't know if this shade is still available, but it's worth a look if you fancy wintry, plummy cheeks - don't be put off by its vampy appearance in the pan, as it does blend out to a pretty raspberry colour!
Moving on to the next row, we have Hollow cream pigment. Not a blush, but it crept in there any way because I originally bought it for contouring purposes. It's a pretty good colour: a cool brown/taupe, with no hint of red, with a completely matte finish. Certainly closer to the shade I want than MAC Harmony blush. Quite a stiff cream formula, which makes using a brush a bit tricky - fingers are probably best with this, for application if not blending. Charlotte from LipGlossiping has also tried it out as a contour, and wasn't completely convinced. Contouring is definitely something I haven't got the knack/face for personally, and I rarely bother with it on an everyday basis. I also use Hollow alone on the eyes for a very neutral, polished look, if I'm wearing bright lips/cheeks, and it's a pretty good base for other shadows if you so choose.
Morale is one of the brand's two non-matte blushes, released with the Theatre of the Nameless collection last year. The other one is Ambition, a neutral pink, which I don't own (yet). Morale is a very blue-toned pink, almost violet when swatched heavily, which may make it less than ideal for warmer skintones which suit gold/peach shades. This kind of colour has my name written aaaall over it, however, and it's very pretty on the cheeks. The finish is shimmery, not glittery - much as I love Illamasqua's main line of matte blushes, I think this finish is a great variation. I find it very pigmented; however, when my mother used it, she complained it didn't show up on her cream foundation. Since she's also pretty pale, I find this bizarre - in my experience, blush usually sticks more to foundation, especially of the dewy/cream variety, and refuses to blend. Maybe best to get an MUA to apply this over your usual foundation before purchasing. I also find that you get A LOT of powder kicking up when you swirl a brush in this (also true of Katie, but not to the same dramatic extent), which is a shame. Though in my opinion the gorgeous colour alone makes this blush worthwhile!
Lastly, Hussy. Weirdly, I think I've barely worn this since I acquired it. It's a bright, very warm pink, which KarlaSugar aptly describes as "watermelon". Looking at it now, I'm mentally resolving to WEAR THIS when summer comes around - it looks rather lovely! I think it was overshadowed by the more demure Katie when both arrived last summer. It does blend out more red than pink, which is a bit of a shame since the colour in the pan is stunning, but since I wear MAC Frankly Scarlet this shouldn't put me off. Must use more, and see if I can fall in love with it.
While I definitely have no plans to acquire any more matte blushes from the brand (though you know what they say about the best-laid plans), I do have my eye on Ambition, the other shimmery blush. I'd also like to try a colour from the cream blush line - I'll have to pop by Selfridges/the lovely Beak St store at some point to try out the cool pinks (naturally), and maybe the famous Rude. Lies, the pearlescent pink, also looks like it'd be worth a swatch.
And now I will stop fantasising about blush and get back to work! Next up: my two (oh yes, I now have two) NARS blushes.
Till next time,
LL x
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