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Following my last post, I thought I'd run through some of the recent Illamasqua releases that I've had the chance to play around with and use in the time I haven't blogged.

As you may well know, Illamasqua is a brand close to my heart; I love that they push boundaries and cater for all skintones.
Lately, Illamasqua have been releasing more neutral and toned down products compared to their previous collections with more daring colours (as in the Paranormal and Human Fundamentalism collections).
I like that they are producing more everyday-friendly products however the artistic streak in me hopes they pull a wild card soon and make something eye catching again.

This post will feature a round up of my favourites from the recent releases, hope you enjoy!

Nude Glamore Lipsticks 

Since the release of the Glamore Satin Finish Lipsticks in February this year (blog post here), I have to say I was really impressed with the formula and longevity and was looking forward to the release of any new shades.
July 2014 brought the release of 7 Nude Glamore Lipsticks in the same formulation as the original Glamore with a range of shades for all skintones, including rose, earthy rose and nude corals. 
I picked the nude coral in "Cherub" (above) as I tend to wear MAC Crosswires almost every other day, which is definitely my go-to lip colour. Below I swatched Cherub and Crosswires together to see the difference and you can see Cherub is a slightly less-pink coral.

International Season Collection

 
August saw the release of the International Season Collection, exclusively in Selfridges.
It consisted of the above items; a new Sculpting Duo shade ("Illuminate & Nefertiti) and a new Gleam/highlighter ("Mirage"), a Brow Gel ("Strike") and a nude-pink lipstick in "Bare".
I have to say I loved every single item in this collection. 

If you remember my blog post from the Holiday 2013 Collection, you would remember me gushing about my love for contouring products and how I wished Illamasqua would release more shades. Well they did and this particular Sculpting Duo's contouring shade (Nefertiti) suits my skintone gorgeously, so much so that I use it every day for a subtle contour rather than a darker, heavier one. I do prefer a lighter highlighting colour so I tend to use the "Lumos" highlighter from the previous Sculpting Duo as "Illuminate" was quite golden and warmer than I am used to (see swatches below).
Illamasqua need to now make an even darker Sculpting Duo shade and my contour collection will be set; chiselled perfect face here I come!

My next favourite product had to be the Precision Brow Gel; up until now I've been using the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade in Ebony and I wanted to use a lighter colour so I thought this Brow Gel in "Strike" would work perfectly for a less darker brow.
Weirdly, the shade looked darker than I anticipated and in fact can be used really lightly for lighter coloured brows or heavier for darker brows; amazing!

The lipstick in Bare added to this collection was also a pretty nude-y shade that I love; I do have to wear it with a lip liner as my lips are dark but I must say I love this rosey nude shade for my NC30/35 skintone.

Finally, the Gleam highlighter is a gorgeous addition to the collection, however I found it too dark for my skintone to use as a highlighter and instead found it useful as a bronzer or used on the décolletage for a subtle glow.

Autumn/Fall - Once Collection

The Once collection released at the end of August really captured the tone of Autumn/Fall with the antique-y hues and gold shimmer running through the products.
I have to say the packaging on the new Vintage Metallix Cream Eyeshadows stole the show for me; rose gold just exudes elegance and luxury.
The formulation of the Vintage Metallix Cream Eyeshadows blends smoothly when applied but once the product sets it won't budge which is always a plus for me. I loved this moss green shade "Bibelot" but now have my eye on the brown shade "Embellish".
The sheer lipgloss in "Exquisite" would look good on top of a colour lipstick for me as alone it would be too light. The teal/gold nail varnish in "Melange" is such a pretty two toned colour, perfect for Autumn days. 

Holiday 2014 - Facets Collection

And last but certainly not least, the Facets Collection released for Christmas 2014 features 2 multitasking (or multi faceted) palettes in "Semblance" and "Aura", 2 lipsticks (Salacious and Starkers), a brush set and a makeup bag and an eye trio gift set.
I was surprised to see the packaging wasn't in the iconic Illamasqua shape, but in an ordinary square shape but aside from that, I have to say I love multitasking palettes like this; they make condensing a makeup bag or even my makeup kit so much more easier, meaning less space taken up by unnecessary packaging; perfect for holidays too.

"Semblance" palette swatches

I do already own a few of the shades in this "Semblance" palette; I actually own the blush "Hussy" twice already (one single blush, one part of the Hussy/Lover duo palette) and now this one; the Gleam in "Mirage" is also mentioned in the above International Season collection and I own the black eyeshadow "Obsidian" because I needed the Illamasqua Neutral palette in my life of course!
I would have loved to see limited edition/new shades in an exclusive palette, however seeing as I already have a few of these shades in the palette, it just means I don't have to carry half as much makeup and can just pop this palette in my makeup bag.

If I'm correct, I'd say the Aura palette is aimed at fairer skintones and the Semblance palette aimed at slightly deeper tones, but this judgement is based on the Gleam Creams - the Aura palette has the Gleam Cream in a lighter shade "Aurora". 

I'm now looking at the rest of the Facets collection and definitely have the "Embellish Eye Trio" gift set on my wishlist; it has the Precision Brow Gel and Gel Eye liner as well as the Embellish Vintage Metallix in it, and all in a limited edition rose gold packaging... love!

All Illamasqua products (aside from the Selfridges exclusive products) are available to buy in store or online at Illamasqua or Debenhams.

Which of these collections caught your eye this year? Did you buy any products from any of the collections?
 

Recent MAC lippies including Reel Sexy & Hey, Sailor!

If you follow me on Instagram you've probably seen me swatch a couple recent MAC lippy purchases.

I've come to realise that I have a thing for coral lippies as I seem to have more of a selection of these shades than any other colour!

MAC Crosswires - Regular lipstick (no collection)

Colour & Pigmentation: My favourite lipstick of all recent purchases! It is a very wearable coral-pink with reddish tones to it and I've been carrying this around as my go-to lipstick. Pigmentation-wise I find it gives just the right amount of colour- not too much, not too little! (You can view it in this makeup look).
Texture: Being a cremesheen lipstick it's semi-sheer and has a great moisturising texture with a slight shine.
Longevity: This lipstick doesn't last as long as a matte lippy, however I tend to blot and apply again to make it last longer and it certainly does stain the lips after this.
Scent: As with all MAC lippies, this one smells lovely and vanilla-y (no taste/flavour).
Price: At £13.50 it's a bit more expensive than your regular drugstore lipstick, but MAC do offer a great range of lippies with different finishes and colours to suit anyone. Plus if like me you're addicted to the scent, it's a no brainer.

FrootiFactor: I love this lippy so much, I give it a 5!

MAC Sail La Vie - Hey, Sailor! collection

Colour & Pigmentation: An orange-red veering more towards the orange side. Compared to Illamasqua Liable it looks orange. Compared to MAC Morange it looks red-orange! Pigmentation-wise it's highly pigmented.
Texture: Sail La Vie is a Satin finish lipstick so is very creamy but I do find them slightly dry so always wear lipbalm or Vaseline underneath
Longevity: Satin finishes do last long, Sail La Vie lasted a good 3-4 hours.
Scent: Vanilla scented.
Price: £14 (50p more than the usual MAC lipsticks).


FrootiFactor: I quite like this lippy, especially for Summer so I give it a 4.5:

MAC Watch Me Simmer - Reel Sexy collection

Colour & Pigmentation: A coral-pink leaning more coral than Viva Glam Nicki that's more of a salmon pink coral; It does look very similar to Toxic Tale from the MAC Venomous Villains collection, but Watch Me Simmer is Amplified finish whereas Toxic Tale is Satin finish and I find it drier in texture (see swatches below). Pigmentation-wise, it's highly pigmented and opaque.
Texture: Watch Me Simmer has an Amplified finish, meaning it has a creamy consistency but with slight shine. As with Satin finishes, I find myself having to wear lipbalm underneath.
Longevity: Amplified lipsticks usually last fairly long; I find this shade to last around 3-5 hours.
Scent: Vanilla scented.
Price: Although part of a collection, the price remains at £13.50; I'm guessing because the packaging is the same as normal MAC lippies.

FrootiFactor: I do like this lippy more than my Toxic Tale as it's less dry, so I give it a 4:

So here are the swatches of all my similar coloured coral-ly lippies:

And with Illamasqua Liable lipstick (blog post here) in comparison to Sail La Vie:

Have you bought any of the new collection lipsticks? What are your thoughts and which would you recommend?