I’ve always had such a soft spot for Illamasqua as I find their products so exciting; I remember trekking down to Selfridges in the very early days of my beauty blogging to have a nose around the Illamasqua stand and try and get my hands on the gorgeous Katie blusher (the palest pink I could find!) then very excitedly rushing home to try it. I was recently sent some of the newest launches from this iconic brand, and I was just as exciting to try them all out! Here’s a look at what’s new from Illamasqua:
I was desperate to get my hands on the Colour Correcting Bronzer (£34 here – link) as it looked so interesting! Available in three shades (I went for Glint which is the lightest) each bronzer contains three strips of colour; two blocks of bronzer in slightly different shades and finishes, with a mint green strip of colour-correcting powder in the middle.
What’s really interesting about this product is how well the mint shade balances the bronze shades to give the most beautifully natural looking bronze that adds lift, life and glow to skin. The mint shade can also provide a colour-correcting benefit to the overall skin tone, but I think you would need to use quite a lot more than I do (I’m very pale, so too much bronzer is not a good look for me) to see the full effects. For me, this is just a fabulous, well-balanced bronzer that doesn’t look muddy, orange or anything other than very natural, so a huge thumbs-up from me.
The Hydra Setting Spray (£20 here – link) is available in two finishes, Matte or Dewy. I was sent the Matte finish that’s designed to help with oil-control whilst keeping makeup in place. I always tend to gravitate towards setting sprays that are more for adding hydration as my skin can look quite dry, but this Matte finish one is a lovely choice for anyone who struggles with oiliness.
The Hydra Lip Tints (£20 here – link) are a really great example of how Illamasqua are so good at taking something we love and making it just a little bit more interesting. Similar to the bronzer above, these nourishing lip tints contain three strips of colour with the two outer colours matching, whilst the central shade is a little bit different; with the two shades I have (Grapevine and Picnic Plum) containing central shades that mute the colour and give it a kind of murkiness that is unlike anything else I’ve used.
What’s great about the Hydra Lip Tints is that they can be customised, so you can use a lip brush to apply the colour and add a bit more or less of the central to get the balance just right for your personal preference. I really like the effect of applying it straight from the bullet as you get a deep hit of colour that’s bold without being too in-your-face, plus the formula is lovely and hydrating.
Finally, the Spectacular Face Trio Palette (£36 here – link) which I was very happy to receive for a very specific reason…can you work out why? It’s the Katie blusher! I’m so happy to have it (although I would bet money that if I were to have a little hunt I’d be able to find my original as there’s no way I’d throw it out!) in this gorgeous trio that also contains the Beyond Powder Highlighter in OMG and the new Powder Sculpt Contour Powder in Silhouette.
It was such a pleasure to use the Katie blusher again and it’s ever bit as lovely as I remember. It also reminds me just how fab the Illamasqua powder formulas are as they blend so well into the skin. I wasn’t expecting to like the OMG highlighter as much as I do as it looks quite sparkly in the pan, but on the skin it diffuses down to a really lovely, gently glowing finish. It’s such a great trio!
Disclosure: unpaid ad – post contains PR samples and affiliate links
