Friday, April 26, 2013

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE: Illamasqua Pure Pigments

Hello,

Today's "Under the Microscope" is on Illamasqua's Pure Pigments. I have been in love with Illamasqua since they released their SkinBase foundation and my mother convinced me to try it! haha. They are a cult British brand, who are slowly becoming more recognised in Australia! (They have received a lot of good publicity lately for dropping their prices in Aus to be more in line with the overseas markets... Absolutely awesome I say!). I also love that they have a bit more outrageous colour palette (teal lipstick and purple blush anyone?!) but can still appeal to the everyday. I have six of their pigments. Five are still listed on the Illamasqua website, and one is no longer available (I will swatch it anyway, so sorry if you really like it... You may get lucky and find it somewhere!). There are ten colours in total currently up on the website!

The Illamasqua website describes their pigments as "a metallic, high-shine, pure colour powder". I agree. They are beautiful pigments and very eye catching! While I do not find the whole colour palette appealing (read: the red one), I really love the colours I have and I feel they are a good mix of day, night and fun!

Something handy to note: I usually wear my loose pigments with a base underneath to help them stick! I use the NYX white eyeshadow base, smoothing it on to the places where I want intense pigment and then pressing the pigment on. If you want a sheerer/more subtle look, you can use without a base and blend them out with a brush (I do this for the crease of my eye). I find loose colour pigments like these blend out really well!

Now for the fun part... pictures!:
(L-R: Alluvium, Android, Beguile, Chasm, Furore, Incite)
Top Row L-R: Alluvium, Android, Beguile
Bottom Row L-R: Chasm, Furore, Incite
Alluvium: This is SUCH an interesting colour and it is much more impressive in the flesh. It's a deep blue with red and gold shimmer/sparkle. The shimmer is more apparent if densely packed on, but it would be great combined with black for a majestic smokey eye! It's rather unique because of it's sparkle!
Android: A charcoal grey with a pink/green shimmer. I must admit, I was expecting it to be blacker and I was a little disappointed when I got it but it's still a great colour. Like Alluvium, would be great paired with black for a smokey eye! This one a bit more glitzy than majestic though! lol
Beguile: A white pigment with a pink/green shimmer. It is a bit like Android's albino sister! haha. Probably the sheerest of the bunch but it does perk up over a base. You could potentially use it as a glitzy brow highlight if you were feeling game/80's! haha.
Chasm: A beautiful turqouoise with a greeny/gold shift. One of my favourites becuase it's such a pretty colour! (Along with coral, I have a strong fondness for teals/turquoises!) I have compared Chasm in a dupe test which you can view here!
Furore: A nudie/champagne colour. This is a good every-day colour. You could use it as a brow highlight, or also on the inner corner of your lid. One if my favourites due to it's versatility! You can see I have used this one the most!
Incite: This is the one that is no longer available on Illamasqua's website. It is an intense bronze shimmer and is the most pigmented of the lot, a bit sad that it has been disappointed becuase it's a lovely colour!

The packaging of these is not too bad but can be a little awkward if you're clumsy like me! The base is clear so you can see what colour you're looking for (I do very much like this!) and there is a sifter-like divider inside. It is not your traditional sifter, more a hole so you can get the stuff out but you won't lose the lot if you drop it! (anyone who has dropped a pigment knows you get colour from here to Timbuktu... absolutely everywhere!). However, if you throw these in your makeup bag and they get shaken around a bit, quite a bit of pigment can settle above the sifter/divider and can get messy when you open it! (I know this from experience so just a little FYI! lol). The lid can also be tricky to get off if you've got no nails (also another tip from experience! haha).

Value wise, you get 1.3g of powder (not the most generous but still reasonable) for GBP£15.50 (that's about AUD$25). However, the Illamasqua website (www.illamasqua.com) often have them reduced and I've picked up most of mine for less than full price! In Australia, you should be able to get these from Myer, but for some reason the Myer website refuses to show them. I am sure I have seen them in store recently but I can't be 100% sure. If you are after them and are making a special trip, ring your Illamasqua counter first :)

My picks: Alluvium and Chasm (for the colour) and Furore (for the versatility).

Until next time,
Happy shimmering!
Love,
Your PM x

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