Illamasqua

With These Nudes, You’re Fully Covered: The Full-Coverage Illamasqua Glamore Lipsticks in Tease, Cherub and Naked

October 28th, 2014 by Karen 18 Comments

Illamasqua Glamore Lipstick in Naked — Glamore Lipstick in Naked

When Sephora stopped carrying Illamasqua (bummer), it made the brand a little harder to find here in the U.S. for those of us who don’t happen to live within driving distance of the Kryolan City stores in Chicago or Toronto.

But if you do live within day-trip distance, and/or you don’t mind paying extra for shipping to order online, you might want to check out Glamore, Illamasqua’s line of full-coverage lipsticks released earlier this fall, because talk about pigment up the wazoo!

Illamasqua Glamore Lipsticks from the left: Tease, Naked and Cherub — Illamasqua Glamore Lipsticks from the left in Tease, Naked and Cherub ($30.02 each)

Ilamasqua Glamore Lipstick in Tease — Glamore Lipstick in Tease

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The Illamasqua Fatale Palette Is a Fall Fatale of Purply, Brownish Taupe Terrific-Ness

September 3rd, 2014 by Karen 12 Comments

I’ve been hesitant to embrace Illamasqua’s Fatale Palette while it was in the upper 80s and 90s here, but now that Labor Day is behind us, and it’s been a bit cooler outside, the shimmery bronze, berry, violet and purplish, brownish taupe (OMG, LOVE), are starting to feel right.

With Sephora no longer carrying the line, Illamasqua hasn’t been that easy to find here in the US these days, but the $55 Fatale palette is still available online at illamasqua.com, and at select Bloomingdales, Hudson’s Bay and Kryolan stores.

I’m tellin’ ya — that purply brown taupe will haunt your dreams! 🙂

Be Your Own Admirer With Illamasqua’s Red Hot I’m the One Collection

February 12th, 2014 by Karen 27 Comments

Illamasqua's Feisty Coloring Pencil, Maneater Lipstick and Touch Intense Lipgloss — Wearing Illamasqua’s Feisty Coloring Pencil, Maneater Lipstick and Touch Intense Lipgloss

Be your own admirer.

That’s the message behind Illamasqua’s I’m the One collection, a small but eye-catching release with just one lip pencil, a lipstick, one gloss and a nail polish — but man, oh, man, are they bold! And red. Two things I can really get behind. 🙂

Here are pics and swatches of three of the four pieces from the collection…

Illamasqua I'm the One Collection lip products in Feisty, Touch and Maneater — I’m red-y for ya! Three of four pieces from the Illamasqua I’m the One collection…

Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss in Touch — Touch Intense Lipgloss, $24

Illamasqua Feisty Coloring Pencil — Feisty Coloring Pencil, $20

Illamasqua Maneater Lipstick — Maneater Lipstick, $26

Illamasqua Swatches from the left: Coloring Pencil in Fiesty, Lipstick in Maneater and Intense Lipgloss in Touch — Swatches from the left: Coloring Pencil in Feisty, Lipstick in Maneater and Intense Lipgloss in Touch

Illamasqua Fiesty Coloring Pencil, Maneater Lipstick and Touch Lipgloss — A closeup of Feisty Coloring Pencil, Maneater Lipstick and Touch Lipgloss

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Illamasqua Zygomatic Cream Blusher

September 4th, 2013 by Karen 12 Comments

About the Author
The following guest post was written by Tiffany Nguyen of willworkformakeup.blogspot.com. You can also find Tiffany on Twitter and Instagram.

You know that shade of blush that just seems to always suit you, without fail? For me, it’s a pinky beige. Something not too pink, nor too brown; more of a complexion enhancer, if you will. I’m actually kind of embarrassed to admit that I have more than a few variations of this in my collection, but one blush in particular stands out in my mind…maybe because I feel like it doesn’t always get the recognition it deserves!

Illamasqua is a brand that just knows how to make blush. I’m a fan of their powder blush formula, too (Hussy, anyone?), but their cream formula is particularly divine. Zygomatic is a seemingly boring pinky beige, but coupled with its dewy, long-lasting, non-sticky formula, and it becomes one of the select few fail-safe blushes in my collection I know I can always rely on.

Although Zygomatic certainly does not fall short in the pigmentation department, it’s not quite as dark as it appears in the pan, so it’s probably better suited for light and medium skin tones. It’s creamy without being greasy, and it blends out with close to no effort at all (I use a brush, by the way. Not really of fan of using my digits!).

The long-running Makeup and Beauty Blog Unsung Heroes series features much-loved permanent collection products from a variety of bodacious beauty brands.

I have terrible lighting in my apartment, and I often fall victim to the I-thought-I-barely-had-any-blush-on-but-I-actually-look-like-a-clown phenomenon once I see myself in natural light, but not with Zygomatic. Being more of a subtle shade, once it’s on, my complexion just appears awakened and healthy, rather than looking as though I’ve obviously applied a cheek color. Great news for those of us who may be more heavy-handed with our blush application (you know who you are!).

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Posing Now Near Illamasqua Counters, Cool-Toned Mauve Posture Lipstick

August 21st, 2013 by Karen 10 Comments

Truth be told, I feel a little goofy wearing Illamasqua Lipstick in Posture ($24)…

I’m sure that somewhere out there, a gal/guy/space alien exists who can pull off this matte, cool-toned mauve with much aplomb, buuuut not I.

Posture, part of Illamasqua’s summer Paranormal collection, is one of those artsy colors that could look really neat if you have the right attitude and style to pull it off, but for your average 30-something-year-old cat lady, it’s kinda hard, LOL!

Posture is available now, definitely not slouching in its chair at Illamasqua counters and online.