Illamasqua I'mperfection Spring Collection

As a huge fan of Illamasqua since they first came on the beauty scene, I like seeing all their new and exciting collections. One thing I love about the brand, is that each collection will be so well thought out, and have so much meaning behind each product and specific "look". I was recently invited along to see the new Illamasqua Spring Collection and I wanted to share my thoughts with you all. 

One cannot simply snap away at new products without a comedy shot of their best friend inside a blusher compact...

The collection is titled "I'mperfection" (get it... I'M PERFECTION = IMPERFECTION) Personally, I think this is one the best collection names i've ever heard. So simply but SO clever. The difference an apostrophe can make! It's all about embracing the things that are typically seen as imperfections and highlighting them instead of hiding them away. 

Alex Box describes the collection as "a stand against the homogenised nature of the beauty industry today, and a celebration of freckles, scars and birthmarks - the things that make us who we are. To borrow a line from Marilyn Monroe, "Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring". I love that quote! 

The first thing in the collection that caught my eye was this gorgeous blusher duo in "Lover & Hussy*", both gorgeous matte shades. The colour that stood out to me the most was the orange/peach tone, as these shades really compliment my skin in the summer once i've had a bit of sunlight on my face! Illamasqua blushers are my favourite thing about the brand. They are far more pigmented than plenty of others I have tried and the consistency of them is really lovely to use and blend. 

Next up is the lipstick. Lipstick was the first item of makeup I ever bought from Illamasqua as they had such a vast and interesting colour range. They have the best selection of matte lipsticks you will ever find, and the colour payoff is amazing. This shade is called "Immodest*" and it's a gorgeous vibrant, fuchsia pink. The lipsticks are really long lasting and contain vitamin e for nourishment, which is almost a necessity when wearing matte lipsticks as many people stay well away in case of major dry lips. 

Above are swatches of the lipstick "Immodest" and both blush colours from the "Lover and Hussy" duo, as you can see, all three are extremely pigmented.

Next is a brush* which really excited me! Illamasqua have designed this brush for a more chiselled and precise blush technique when applying. This new "brush up" design has an ellipse shaped head designed to tuck directly under the cheekbone. Gone are the days of big rosy round cheeks, it's all about creating more shape and structure to your face (hello fake cheekbones) and the best way of doing that is a more precise way of applying your blusher. I am so excited to start using this on my face, although it definitely sounds a lot easier than it probably is, and could take a few attempts in order to make it look just right. 

Besides the brush, I was also really intrigued by the new nail polishes that Illamasqua had brought out with this collection. Each nail polish is in a pretty pastel shade with a speckled finish inspired by the beauty of a bird's egg. At first I raised an eyebrow at this bizarre concept, thinking it looked a little like sparse glitter, but the more I looked at these, and when I saw them on the nails, I was completely sold. They look SO good! The two shades I have above are "Freckle"* and "Speckle"*. Speckle being my favourite in a gorgeous pastel purple. I can't wait to do my next manicure with this and I also think it would look great on toes!

In keeping with the campaign and collection, they had also designed a speckled effect for the eyes using the precision ink liners in black (Abyss) and white (Scribe). I would have never thought to do anything like it but it looked amazing on the girls, and sounded so easy to do. I also love the other creative ways of using other colours with your eyeliner. Who would have thought white cat-eye liner would look really good with a neutral eyeshadow? Not me, but now I really want to try it. 

The one amazing thing about Illamasqua is that their collections aren't just "pretty" but inspiring, and the campaigns that run alongside new collections are really interesting and make you think outside the box. If there is ever a brand to open your eyes to the creative world of makeup, it's Illamasqua. You don't have to be daring in your makeup choices in order to indulge in any of the products, but keep an open mind and be inspired. Makeup can become a very boring chore in our every day lives, but it's nice to keep everything a bit fresh and exciting, and I always feel like Illamasqua do that. 

Buy items from the new I'mperfection collection here on the Illamasqua website

What are your favourite items from the new collection? Anything you'd love to buy and try for yourself?

♥

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Review | Liz Earle Makeup Range

As many of you may know already, I am a huge fan of Liz Earle. Their hot cloth cleanser is the one skincare product I am always repurchasing, I think i've got through around 8 bottles of the stuff! You can read my review of the Liz Earle skincare HERE but for now, i'm going to talk about a new addition to Liz Earle, a makeup line!

It was only right that after launching their sheer skin tint, they would then follow with even more makeup!  I was super excited to see the collection as I knew that in true Liz style, it would be exceptionally good quality and I was not disappointed.

I'm going to try and sum up my thoughts on the makeup items that I've tried as best I can without boring you or making you want to gauge out your eyeballs (how pleasant). 

Natural Finish Loose Powder   

£19.50*

I am super fussy when it comes to powder. I don't like my skin to look matte, and so I like something to have reflective light properties or that gives a healthy glow. Although this powder didn't give me as much of a glow as i'd have liked (let's face it,  if I want a glow I can use a highlighter) I really love this powder. I actually find that it works really well with the sheer skin tint as that can be very dewy (I'm talking top of the dewy scale here). There is a whopping 12g of product in this plastic jar, so this is sure to last you a long time and in terms of pricing, works out cheaper than my beloved Bare Escentuals. This powder contains vitamin e, borage and avacado oils, so benefits the skin as well as just sitting pretty on it. I've not worn this powder alone, so I can't comment too much on overall coverage, but as far as setting other foundations goes, this works a treat. 

Natural Glow Bronzer

£19.50*

Now, the first thing you will notice, as far as bronzers go, is that this is quite a pricey one! However, the quality of this bronzer is perfect. It has a soft consistency, is easy to blend and leaves a very natural bronzed colour on the face. The powder itself is not overly pigmented, but this is why I like it. They have designed this specifically for a natural look. If you are someone who is a little scared of going OTT on the bronzed front, this will be perfect for you. It comes in one shade so far, so this may not be ideal for you darker skinned ladies but being a pale missy myself, I love it and have been reaching for it quite a lot recently. 

Healthy Glow Powder Blush 

£16.50*

Again, this is quite high up on the pricing scale, although nowhere near the price tag of my beloved Nars blushers (£21 *gulp*). This blush is also very smooth and soft and easy to blend and work with, and again, offers a natural flushed finish. The blush is available in 7 shades, the one I have is Rose 04. Although this isn't hugely pigmented, it gives such a pretty colour, and just like they marketed, very natural. 

Precision Brush

£13*

This was probably the one thing I was least excited about. I own a lot of precision brushes (mostly targeted for use with concealer) but they say that this brush is multi purpose. It can be used for face, lips, eyes and brows. It has a great thin, and rounded tip which would make use for all the above things very easy. They currently have 3 brushes, the one that most appeals to me is the powder brush, which looks really nice. They are all made with 100% man made fibers and all have a clear acrylic handle, which I really liked. It's stylish and different from any other brushes i've seen. 

Sheer Lip Gloss

£13.50*

This is the only product where I feel the price isn't quite justified. I'm not the biggest fan of lipgloss, but I do know that some of my favourite glosses, cost me in the region of £7 from the High Street. Had this been more around the £10 mark, I think I would have been slightly more inclined to purchase one myself. The glosses are quite sheer in order to give a very natural finish on the lips, which I know for a lot of people, is something they would choose over something with far more pigmentation. One thing I do like about this gloss, is that it doesn't feel too sticky on the lips. They also include avacado oils and shea butter to nourish the lips, which is a nice added bous. The colour I received is Quince 09, which although looks quite orangey (a colour you know I love) is more of a neutral dark toffee red once on the lips. 

Swatches

Overall, I was really impressed with the quality of the Liz Earle makeup line. I don't think their target market is young teenage girls however, and I can imagine that it will more suited to the more mature women after a very subtle, natural and youthful look. I personally loved the blush, bronzer and loose powder and would recommend them to anyone after something a little more natural. I like the packaging, it's not edgy or overly exciting, but it works and it represents the brand well. I also love that the compacts have mirrors, very handy for on the go touch ups.  I think I would have liked the lipgloss a little more if it was in a more neutral shade and a little less pricey. I do really want to try out a few more shades of the blush though, or even purchase a cream blush as they too look really interesting.

Have you tried anything from the Liz Earle makeup line? Anything that stands out to you?

♥

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