How is everyone today? Looking forward to the weekend I hope. Looks like more bloody rain…why oh why are my weekends plagued by rain?
I just wanted touch base and say I have gotten such lovely comments lately so thank you very much. I’m about a week or more behind on comments sadly. I’m not ignoring you but I just haven’t had a sec to post and reply to them. Please forgive me. I sometimes find it difficult juggling life, blogging, and work lately so posting normally comes first and comments get a secondary place in my time line of things to do. But please know I’ll get to each one very soon and reply personally.
If you left one already and it was posted and never replied to it that would mean I lost track, sorry! Feel free to leave it again and I’ll happily reply! As for ones not yet posted I’ll be moderating them shortly and replying to each and every one.
Thank you for making all my hard work worth it. Comments are a huge payment back to me as I know what you are loving and of course I adore discussing makeup, life, or anything really with each of you!
Have a great day!
Look out for new posts coming shortly.
P.S. Is Musings loading slow for anyone today? Seems a tad slow for me. Must look into that!
Matte is a difficult medium to work with and not one I’m fond of. I admire those who can work with matte shades and create gorgeous looks because honestly I stink at it. If matte is your game you must be over the moon that Illamasqua has made it’s way across the pond and now resides at Sephora.com and Sephora Times Square.
Jump ahead for my first impressions and review of a few Illamasqua Eye Shadows I got to test out this week!
I’ve read a few reviews comparing Illamasqua to MAC but for myself personally I think they are considerably different brands. Packaging, pigmentation, and price are a just a few things that set Illamasqua apart from MAC.
For the most part my adventures in Illamasqua Eye Shadow has so far been a tad on the disappointing side since I’m not a matte girl. The formula of the shadows is weak in pigmentation and a tad on the chalky side. I haven’t applied on my eye as of yet but so far they prove difficult to blend just on my arm. The swatches I did take had to be built up with several swipes. I did take note that wet or applied with a base they seem brighter and more intense but without they aren’t anywhere in the same vicinity as the pigmentation of a MAC eye shadow. Colors appear buildable which redeems the fact that at first swatch you aren’t going to jump up and down in delight at how pigmented the eye shadow is. I tried two shadows out so far which were Moan and CanCan. Moan is an olive green and CanCan is a pretty violet.
I did enjoy the interesting, unique packaging. It’s a square cut curved design that’s quite chic. This is 2g of eyeshadow for $20 where as MAC is 1.5g and $14.50. Obviously, the design isn’t only larger than a standard MAC shadow but it actually proves to hold more product. Remember looks can be deceiving sometimes and packaging can appear large but not contain a large amount of product but these prove to in fact hold a bit more shadow.
So far I can’t say that Illamasqua would replace MAC for me. I expected more for the price tag and was a tad shocked I wasn’t doing cartwheels around the room as it’s been very hyped up by makeup lovers far and wide so I did think I’d fit right into that groove. I do have to try these on my eye before making my final decision. So far I’m not too impressed but I will reserve judgment as I plan on purchasing a few of the shimmer finishes for myself because my current review could be a bit bias since matte really isn’t my medium of choice and I don’t have the skills to work with it.
So far Illamasqua won’t take over MAC for me as the price is higher and the pigmentation so far isn’t nearly as up to par. But we shall see….I need to explore and test further. If matte is your finish of choice you’ll be thrilled with a majority of the offerings from the line. In a sea of shadows dominated by various finishes, matte is a unique offering in the makeup world especially a collection of cosmetics that caters to such a finish.
Stila’s Precious Pearl Palette from the Spring Collection is available for 50% off at Sephora. The palette contains six vibrant shades of color in a slim line compact case. I loved this one on it’s release this past Spring and must say that $20 bucks is a steal for this!
Indulge in all of Urban Decay’s newest primers for $65 with the new Urban Decay Box of Potions.
This has to be the best value I’ve ever seen as it contains all full size products that are almost 50% off retail if you purchase them together (purchased separate you’d paid $114)!
They tell me the eyes have it. Armani obviously knows it as they introduced a brand new mascara entitled Eyes to Kill. Dude, doesn’t that so sound like a James Bond movie? This calls for corny theme music!
Keep it playing as you read the review it’ll really set the mood!
With all the bells and whistles in the mascara world lately one would think Giorgio Armani Beauty would decide to jump on board and create some crazy applicator. You know what I mean. Plastic applicators, brushless ones, slim line applicators, crazy medieval spiked ones….truly mascara has evolved since our mother’s started using it at our ages.
Armani though, they see the potential in the standard brush. There isn’t anything special about the Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Mascara applicator aside from the fact that it’s longer and fuller than many brushes. Aside from this the bells and whistles are left at the door. But don’t let that sway you because this mascara is incredible. Be it the formula or the brush one would have to guess at what made my lashes so full and so very, very long. Amazing!
Eyes to Kill Mascara is available in four shades which are the standard blacks, browns, and gray but they also have one entitled Rouge Iron which appears to be a pinkish red shade, very interesting choice for a mascara. I tried out Steel Black which is true inky black. The formula is very light and airy which creates a natural, softer lash look that still manages to be dramatic due to the incredible volume the formula gives lashes. It doesn’t clump up during application and glides on the lashes easily without creating a havoc of messy lashes in it’s wake.
As mentioned above the applicator is a simple brush that’s a fair bit longer than your average size but nothing too dramatic. The brush pulls lashes up and out while curling them and offering up supreme length and fullness.
Overall, count this Muse impressed with the new Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Mascara. Lashes like these don’t come cheap at $28 for a tube but you’ll be incredibly happy when you’re prancing around with crazy long lashes to go along with your smoky Fall eye look!
Overall, I’m quite excited and impressed with this mascara. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten so hyped over a US brand mascara (as you know I’m all over Japanese mascara). Truly a fantastic one and worthy of a try, the Muse thinks you’ll love it!
Excellent mascara and deserving of a Muse Approval!
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