Illamasqua The Sacred Hour Collection

I’m so excited about the newest launch from Illamasqua, The Sacred Hour, as I feel like it couldn’t be more made for me if it tried! Illamasqua are the kings and queens of turning traditional beauty on its head and making beauty consumers really think about their make-up; they create adult playgrounds of colour for us to indulge in, and every new collection causes buzz and excitement.

We’re so used to seeing flamboyant, extravagant colour being used to forward each new Illamasqua collection – such as green lipstick and neon cream shadows – so of course it makes perfect sense that we’d be wowed yet again with a completely pared down set of colours in total contrast to the usual Illamasqua fare, instead we have a product line full or dirgy, earthy shades that are almost bleak yet brilliant…it’s a masterful collection that I can see people going crazy for; I so rarely get this excited about new launches that I want to just talk and talk about it!

The Sacred Hour is definitely autumnal without being cliched, and you can see that a lot of inspiration has been found in the elements of wood and earth.  There are several key pieces I’m going a bit mental for, so here’s a breakdown of what’s in the collection.  There’s also a new product line called Skin Base Lift which I’m saving for a separate post.

Starting with Lush Lash which is the product I’ m least excited about as I’m rubbish at applying strip lashes, sadly! These are fluffy, feathery and full, definitely one for the confident lash applier and extremely feminine without being too drag-queen.  These are £14.50.

There are two new nail varnish shades: Hemlock which is a pale, slightly metallic green shade and Facet, a deep dirgy grey shot through with gold.  Facet is a real stunner of a shade and you can really see the earthiness in both shades.  These are £14.50.

There are also two new blusher shades in a new Velvet formula: Sleek – dusky coral, and Peaked – dusky rose.  The Velvet formula is a cream to powder finish with a radiant finish, so not too matte but thankfully not sparkly either.  I have Peaked and it’s one of those shades that will perk up a drab complexion and give you that “I’ve been exercising” look.  These will be £18 each.

The new lipstick shade is Shard, which is a deep, red berry shade.  It’s an absolute stunner that compliments the rest of the collection perfectly, but I’m really enjoying low key make-up at the moment and this works wonderfully with lightly lined eyes and a spot of warming blush, such as Peaked from this collection.  It’s a really versatile lipstick that can be pressed in for a hint of a stain, or really worked in if you want that proper port-stained lips look.  I love this! It”ll be £16.50.

Saving the best ’til last, we have the new Reflection palette, which contains four shades of beautifully shimmery earth tones in a similar formula to the Paranormal Palette from the collection of the same name.  The four shades are Precipice – pale bone shade; Acute – taupe; Graphica – charcoal; and Dart – bronze.  In my image the Graphica shade looks a little blue-leaning, but it’s definitely a solid grey shade.  On first inspection of the collection, I figured it would be this palette that stole my heart above all else, but I actually think it’s the Shard shade of lipstick…although the palette comes a very close second! Illamasqua The Sacred Hour Collection launches exclusively at Selfridges today, and will then be available online from 19th August 2013.

*PR Samples