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May 13, 2014

Illamasqua Lipsticks Collection, Review and Swatches

Lipsticks have always been one of my favourite beauty products. They transform a look so easily and whenever I'm feeling crappy and in need of a little retail therapy, it's a lipstick that I'll almost always end up buying. Over the past few months I've added a number of Illamasqua lipsticks to my lipstick collection. Some I've been sent, one I've been gifted and others I've bought myself. I'm quite impressed with the lipsticks, especially their pigmentation, so today I thought I'd share them with you all. I have two different formulas in my collection, satin and matte, so I also thought it might be good to compare the two and let you know which I prefer. 

To see what Illamasqua lipsticks I own, keep reading! 

My Illamasqua lipstick collection is a quite diverse though, of course, it could always be bigger. Am I right, ladies? I have a few bright colours, a few bright pastels and one or two that sit somewhere in between. Before I get into what I think of them, I figure I might as well as show you swatches of the colours I own and give you a little description of them. 


Glissade* | Luster* | Soaked* | Plunge | Fable | Climax

Glissade* // A bold pink with a satin finish
Luster* // A candy/Barbie pink with a stain finish
Soaked* // A vibrant orange with a satin finish
Plunge // A cool toned bright mauve with a matte finish
Fable // A bright coral peach pink with a matte finish
Climax // A dusty rose pink with a matte finish

The first three lipsticks (Glissade*, Luster* and Soaked*) are all part of a semi-recent collection from Illamasqua, Glamore. All three are incredibly pigmented and vibrant colours that have a satin finish that's said to be new to the brand. The satin finish is quite nice and, when applied, it feels a lot like a MAC Cremesheen Lipstick on the lips. They apply so smoothly and, although they're a bit more sheer than they appear in the bullet, they're really pigmented on the lips. Glissade*, Luster* and Soaked* are all really comfortable to wear and they last for a good few hours before they need to be touched up.

The other three lipsticks I own from Illamasqua (Plunge, Fable and Climax) all have a matte finish. If you have been reading my blog for a while now you may have noticed that matte lipsticks don't feature on here too often and that's purely because, to be honest, I don't really like them. I don't like the way matte lipsticks feel and these are no exception. I really like these three colours but I find that they're incredibly dry and tug on the lips when being applied. They accentuate any crease in the lips, as well as dryness, even when lips are really moisturised. As expected, these matte lipsticks last really well but I tend to always wear a lip gloss or balm over them which unfortunately reduces the wear time.

All in all, I'm a bit on the fence about Illamasqua lipsticks. I absolutely love the sleek black packaging - it's so sturdy and I'm never paranoid that a lid is going to come off in my handbag. I think the lipsticks are nice and, if you like a matte lipstick, the $30.00 price tag is definitely worth it for the amazing colour selection. My wish, however, would be that more colours become available in the satin formula as I think it is honestly lovely.


Have you tried the Illamasqua Lipsticks? What did you think of them? What's your favourite lipstick formula? 


*This product was sent to me, however all opinions are my own. I was not paid for this review

6 comments :

  1. Such pretty shades, I especially like Fable and Climax.

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  2. These look really pretty. I haven't tried them before. We've only just gotten an Illamasqua counter in Adelaide last month.

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  3. Lovely lipsticks! I think I need Climax in my life, it looks gorgeous!

    Kate | The Minted Beauty

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  4. i was at the illamasqua counter the other day and really fell in love with their line. esp the powder blushes! these llipsticks looks so good too! i think either fable or climax would be my pick.
    Jenn
    A Beautiful Zen

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  5. Do you sell these? I'm looking for a few tubes of "Fable".

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