Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Illamasqua Human Fundamentalism Collection Spring/Summer 2012 Swatches and Review

Another gorgeous release from Illamasqua. But, can we expect any less from them? I'm sure you've seen all the images by now, but this one was one of my favorites:


I love the white-painted brows and the white eyeliner, the hair, the lipstick and nails, the gloves and especially the lizard bracelet.

Plus, something about the hairstyle and the facial expressions makes me think Frau Schneider:


Aaaanyway, I have a couple of the items from the collection to review:

Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Nomad, Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Stance, Illamasqua Precision Ink in Scribe, Illamasqua Sealing Gel and Illamasqua Powder Eyeshadow in Burst.



Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Nomad. This is a lovely light green/turquoise creme. Illamasqua calls it Jade and I definitely agree with that description. It is intense- not a faded/bland looking pastel. The closest thing I can think of to compare it to would be MAC Peppermint Patti. Really beautiful color.


Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Stance. This one is described as "bright fuchsia violet gloss" and that's also spot-on. It makes me think of every neon purple nail polish I have (think Essie Perky Purple), but it doesn't look identical when I hold the bottles together. This polish also seems to have a bit of a jelly finish- more opaque (less visible nail line) than most jellies, but still has a squishy look.


Illamasqua Precision Ink Eyeliner in Scribe

Precision Ink is a waterproof liquid liner formula. It goes on smooth and dries stretchy, doesn't run or smudge but peels off like latex with hot water. The applicator is a tapered sponge tip, firm but with enough give to conform to the curves of the eyelid. The color is an opaque white creme.



Illamasqua Powder Eyeshadow in Burst

Burst is a matte blue-green/teal. It's slightly darker on my skin than it appears in the pan, but it has a nice flash of color without looking too bright or getting muddy when blended.


Precision Ink in Scribe - Powder Eyeshadow in Burst


Illamasqua Sealing Gel

The Sealing Gel is a really handy product. It's a clear fluid that you can use with any powder product (like eyeshadow or loose pigment) to turn it into a water-resistant eyeliner. Mix a drop or two of this with an eyeshadow using a liner brush and it creates a creamy-textured eyeliner. It's better than using water because it has a stickier texture that keeps the shadow from flaking after it's applied. It does come in a very small bottle, but each box comes with two bottles.

What I liked:
  • Polish colors are awesome.
  • Polish formula is equally awesome.
  • Shadow has good pigmentation.
  • Scribe is probably the best white eyeliner I've tried.
  • Sealing Gel is extremely useful.
  • Awesome images and makeup artistry, as always.
  • This collection also includes a teal lipstick that I have to have!

What I didn't like:

  • Dry time on the polishes is slower than I'd like (when using three coats like I have on in these photos).
  • The shadow didn't blend as easily/smoothly as I'd like. This is most likely due to the matte formula and it being such a heavily pigmented color.
  • Scribe is the brightest and most opaque white liner I've used, but it still needs two or more coats to get the color even and completely opaque.
  • Even though you get two bottles of sealing gel per box, it's still such a small amount of product. Each bottle is only 6ml/0.2 oz.

It's a very nice-looking collection and all the items I tried had great quality, so I'm happy with it. Illamasqua polishes in particular are always some of the nicest to apply and these didn't disappoint me. My favorite part of every Illamasqua collection is always the amazing art they create using the products, and I love this one almost as much as I loved Toxic Nature. You can see all the different images here, and I'd recommend taking a look if you haven't already!

The Illamasqua Human Fundamentalism Collection is available now at Illamasqua or Sephora.

(This was sent for review.)

18 comments:

  1. Hahaha JAAA RAMMSTEIN REFERENCE! :)

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  2. I'd not paid much attention to that white liner compared to the rest of this collection but I like the idea of it drying stretchy and peelable. Nothing worse than flaky liner. :-)

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    1. Hate flaky liner! This stuff doesn't flake unless you put a TON on (like 4+ coats over the same line), but even then it kinda peels off more than flakes.

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  3. Curious how you think Sealing Gel compares to Inglot's Duraline. Have you tried it? I have the Duraline but I always like to know how the competition is. :)

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    1. Still have yet to make my first Inglot order. I keep going there, filling a cart and then abandoning it! It's thicker than MAC mixing medium, similar to the old Pixi Eyeliner Sealer (don't know if they make that anymore, actually)

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  4. The nail varnishes are to die for!! The sealing gel sounds like a good idea, but i can't help but imagine a huge sticky/watery mess when using it. =X

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    1. Haha, definitely not! You only use a drop or two and it dries quickly, no mess at all to worry about :)

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  6. Love the review and nail polish colors especially! The woman is a bit oompa loompa-ish with the white eyebrows and crazy colored hair...

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    1. Hahahaha, totally! Especially in that first picture!! Now that you've said it, I can't un-see it lol

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  7. Wonder how the sealing gel compares to the one I have from Meow Cosmetics. That one is ok, not amazing. I don't use it with mineral makeup, though, so I guess that could be why it's not quite as amazing as I'd hoped.

    NEED that liner. The white liner was my favorite from the promo pics and it's definitely something I don't have in a liquid (and all the pencil ones I have tried are pretty eh)

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    1. Haven't tried theirs, either... I've tried a few from various brands but the only one I've used recently was by Pixi and this is comparable to that. It's not silicone-based like the old Smashbox one, and it's not watery like MAC water-based mixing medium. I think it's pretty good, just wish the bottles were a little bigger.

      I've tried a couple white liquid liners (and pencils) and they've always been really crappy, so I was surprised at how nicely this one applied. Not too sheer, not chunky, and actually a true bright white color, not a shimmery silver-white!

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  8. TOTALLY frau schneider - who, if they bring the MIG tour from europe to the states in its current form, will be making an appearance, I believe... and I cannot WAIT for that.

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    1. I'M SO EXCITED. I can't even tell you. Less than a month to go!!!!

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  9. Nomad is gorgeous! beautiful swatches :)

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  10. Spectacular collection. Not really 'everyday,' but beautiful nonetheless!!

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  11. I put white polish on and then only needed one coat of Stance over it and it is GORGEOUS!!!

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