I’m not the biggest MAC fan. I love that they have really strong vibrant eye colors, but every so often the skin around my eyes will become red and a bit swollen. My skin seems to be too sensitive for their heavy makeup and it’s too bad of course, because MAC has some of the richest colors. To that end, I was getting ready to go out at my friend’s apartment a few weeks ago and saw that she was applying a bright pink shadow (she’s an actress so she likes that dramatic flair!), and I was surprised that the shade she was applying wasn’t one from MAC. The brand she was using was Illamasqua and they’re a UK line that just launched in the US. The line has a HUGE range of products and they include some of the most vibrant shades I’ve ever seen – bold, bright, neon heaven! That said, they also have an endless array of more traditional shades (no matter the shade though everything is very richly pigmented). More after the jump!
Unlike MAC the shades don’t feel heavy and they didn’t leave my eye-area skin irritated. Love their nail polish shades too! They’re similarly rich in color, long-lasting (barely chipped after a week). Click here to see more from Illamasqua!
Love the bright colors! Will definitely try this!
I was told this line was made for evening outings so thats explains the vibrant colors.
I love Illamasqua’s image and ethos- they’re all about being creative and unique. I will say, however, that while they have a wide, varied shade range, they are still a new line (they just turned a year old on Halloween) and as such, there are some kinks they need to work out.
One is that their shadows are actually very inconsistent in pigmentation- some are comparable to MAC, however, many are not. They are also currently re-tooling their foundation shade range (since they were originally designed for stage, the undertones are sometimes exaggerated- very yellow, very pink, some are even gray toned and not at all suitable for daily wear.)
I have several Illamasqua products and several more on their way as we speak, but just a fair caution to everyone out there interested in the brand. You can click on my name to visit my blog to hear more and see a few swatches if you’re curious!