I did some sneaky shopping recently! While somehow managing to stay totally oblivious of the Illamasqua sale until the very last day, I discovered it just in time, and with an extra 10% off too. I was keen to give it a go, having never tried the brand before, I had a quick snoop around the blogosphere for recommendations and gave these three products a go. I went for the Cream Foundation at the crazy bargain price of £5 from £23, the Cream Blush in Rude (£7.50 from £18) and Pure Pigment in Furore (£7.50 from £16.50)
The free postage took a little while to arrive but was worth it for the bargains in the order. The cream foundation has a fairly unusual texture, fairly solid in the pan but it instantly softens upon use, I have been applying it with a foundation brush and a buffing brush. Application takes a little bit of getting used to, it's fairly heavy coverage compared to what I usually wear and found I need a lot less than I thought I would. It works really well as a concealer too, and covers dark patches particularly well!
The Cream Blush is quite red toned and is particularly bright upon application but blends well to a very natural looking flush. It is quite warm toned and managed to warm up my pale tones.
The Pure Pigment is a particularly magnificent specimen. A small pot of intensely shimmery pigment, in a lovely cool bronze, I used it all over my lids as a shadow by itself, but have since used it to compliment other shadows. I find it goes particularly well with the Naked 2 Palette to add a little more shine to the less shimmery tones.
I love the packaging on all of the products. Having foundation and blush in a compact with a mirror is beyond useful for on the go touch ups, and they all fit rather nicely into my makeup bag.
Aside from the Illamasqua products, I am wearing the Collection 2000 concealer, Mac Kohl in Teddy, Maybelline Define a Lash mascara, Seventeen Brow's That Kit, and Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm in StandoutLabels: beauty, fotd, illamasqua, makeup, review