UPDATE: Pronounciation. ILL-AH-MASK-A
I am in trouble. You are in trouble. Hold my hand, and we’ll try to get thorough this together.
A black envelope containing some Illamasqua goodies arrived on my desk a few days ago:
We got:
Excite powder blusher – a brightish orange-coral
You get a HUGE pan. Huge. It’s so pigmented that you only need a tap and it blends away nicely.
Intense blue-teal eyeshadow (powder):
Highly pigmented – sheer for a blue/teal look and patted on for a smokey effect.
Mascara Volume:
Comes with a medium thick brush and lots of bristles. This did make my lashes flop (as do 99% of mascara’s I try) and I needed 2-3 coats for the thick look. It does have nice separation though.
Bright red nail polish:
No complaints here, just a really hot red polish – 2 coats makes it perfect.
I wore the eyeshadow and blush, with a generic shimmery white eyeshadow, Nars Lifting foundation, no powder and Jill Stuart Sensual Veil Lipgloss (clear with multi coloured shimmers).
For someone who loves colour like me it’s heavenly, but there are definately some nudes, browns, taupes and greys for the more neutral loving girls.
Why are we in trouble? Because this is complete and utter love.
Is this brand better than MAC? It’s WAY better than MAC. And its a good price too. When I first noticed this collection, a few months ago, it caught my eye but I didn’t bother to investigate since it looks terribly expensive, like Suqqu and Cle De Peau – the last thing I needed was another very high end brand obsession.
But the prices are no higher than MAC or Clinique – pretty affordable and extremely good quality.
The eyeshadow is completely pigmented and intense and easy to blend. I am actually very impressed by the blusher too because only a small amount was needed and it blended away nicely – the last thing you need is a big streak on your face. You also get A LOT and this blush will probably be buried with me.
Finding this brand has kind of thrown other lemmings out of the water – I had dreams of MAQUillage spring, and Bobbi Brown, a sprinkling of Majolica Majorca but now they are all fading away as I consider the huge colour range available from this brand. I want to get some of the Quad palettes – you can get these for eyes, cream eyeshadow and lips – a nice way to get a variety of colours in a convenient palette and for a good price. I also want to try some of the sealing gel, a lipstick and intense lipgloss and pigment. Trouble, trouble. This brand and I are in love. There’s nothing we can do about it.
You can buy Illamasqua over here.
Let me know what you think 
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Love love love this llama business. Its all so beautiful! And so beautifully applied as well! I’m currently on the website just adding lots of things to the basket which I’ll email the boy for valentines day. Though seeing as hes getting a home made card I don’t think he’ll be too pleased. I need to win the lottery… or get a job.
Reply
Hey Elizabth
Ilama, coincidentally, is a much better name. Don’t get a job – jobs are for mugs. Just get a boyfriend with a good job. I also want to hint for some of this stuff for valentines day!!! There is actually a valetines kit, I may report on this if people are interested…
Reply
How gorgeous are they??!! I’ve read about the brand – now I’m glad you tried it! Which colours caught your eye?
Btw the link you in your post doesn’t seem to be working?
Reply
Hey Zereen
Link fixed! Hmmm gosh I don’t know. There are SO many colours I don’t even know where to begin. I am naturally drawn to golds, greens, blues so I guess I will stick to these families! How about you?
Reply
How does this range compare to Nars?
Reply
Hey Zereen
As good as Nars, that’s for sure. I haven’t tried any of the lip products, but the blush is as good as as are the shadows. I think this range is cheaper than Nars generally…
Reply
I love that blue on you – it’s stunning! What is the silver shadow you’ve got on? I love the same colours as you but I love purple too – as long as its a vibrant one!
Reply
The first time I read it, I thought the name was ‘llamasquama’. It sounds like a disease: ‘llamasquamous carcinoma’. I shouldn’t joke; there probably IS a disease called ‘llamasquamous carcinoma’.
That nailpolish color is absolutely gorgeous!
I really appreciate that the ingredients are listed along with the product description. It saves the trouble of having to e-mail the company and wait for the reply (which never comes, 90% of the time).
Reply
I just went ahead and ordered some stuff from Illamasqua. The blusher looks awesome on you!
If your lashes flop after applying mascara, try waterproof instead. I curl my lashes everytime I wear mascara but it’s all for nothing if the mascara isn’t waterproof. Of course, not all waterproof mascaras are good but waterproof mascaras usually keep the lashes curled.
Reply
Hi Salia
Ooh yes I do always use waterproof :X
Reply
All i can say is………….OMG!!!! My usual beloved MAC and Nars have now taken a back seat too this AMAZING range, the colours are too die for, so bright and in ur face!! I was on my way to YSL to get the volupte lipstick that cost £21 when i spotted Illamasqua for the first time and i got another lipstick there which was 100% better and only cost me £14, its stunning! I ended buying that lippy, blusher, eyeliner, intense lipgloss and eyelashes (which they let u try on first & cut to your size). Just ashame they dont do it where i stay but i will now constantly be on the website trying out new colours for the summer.
Reply