The Glamour Nazi

They’ve done it again.
Every time they release a new collection, I fall in love.
I know I’ve been sharing the Illamasqua love quite a bit recently on my blog but I just HAD to introduce you to their new collection.

I’mperfection. (See what they did there?!) is a celebration of our so-called “flaws”. Embracing freckles, birthmarks, gappy teeth – Illamasqua wants us to celebrate them, not hide them to fit into the beauty industry’s “perfect” mould. I love this concept. In fact, I love it so much I want to write it in caps lock multiple times for the length of this post. Although I wouldn’t be a very good beauty blogger if I did that now, would I?

Just look at this stunning woman above. They have turned her birthmark into art. Gorgeous. She’s not a model. She’s a regular person. Just like for Illamasqua’s last collection Generation Q which embraced normal people of all ages rocking whatever makeup they wanted – Illamasqua wants to appeal to everybody. A refreshing idea in the current beauty market where the “every woman” in the ad campaign, supposedly heading into a regular day at the office is in fact, a supermodel. Illamasqua, could I love you any more?!

Now to the products. What is this collection actually all about?

The most exciting launch is probably their nail varnishes. Five gorgeous pastel colours with a stunning Mini-Egg-esque speckled effect. These scream Easter to me and are unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.
From left to right, we have: Freckle (a speckled neutral), Speckle (a speckled lilac), Mottle (a speckled green), Fragile (a speckled green) and Scarce (a speckled pink). They retail for €17.34 each which seems pricey but these are so unique and I can testify that Illamasqua nail varnishes are of a stunning quality.

Next up is an Intense Lipgloss in ‘Shoot’ – a leaf green. Yes, a green lipgloss. It sounds insane and will definitely not be for everyone but that’s what I like about Illamasqua! A few seasons ago saw the release of their teal lipstick ‘Apocolips’ (Yes, they used the name before Rimmel!) and it was a sensational hit for those brave enough to rock it. I say more power to ‘em! I would love this to layer on top of other lip products for something really unique.

This collection sees a repromotion of their Blush Duo in ‘Lover and Hussy’ – two of their best selling blushes. If I’m not mistaken, this was released in the last collection so is still relatively new. It was their first time to sell a duo of blushes. ‘Lover’ is a soft apricot and I adore it. At one stage I actually had two of them on the go! A gorgeous peachy flush. ‘Hussy’ is a candy pink and one I have been lusting over since I discovered the brand!

New for I’mperfection is this Blush Duo in ‘Katie and Ambition’. ‘Katie’ is also referred to on the website as a candy pink yet looks considerably more like a pale baby pink in my opinion. ‘Ambition’ is described as a neutral but I’d call it a shimmery dark dusky rose pink. Both of these shades are not new and are available separately.

  I’mperfection also introduces us to this Blush Duo in ‘Beg and Bronzerella’. ‘Beg’ is a dusky rose and ‘Bronzerella’ is a copper bronze, perfect for use as a bronzer. ‘Beg’ is an old shade, also available separately while ‘Bronzerella’ is brand new to the brand.  The Blush Duos sell for €31.10 each which I think is pretty good value for two blush colours.

This Blush Up Brush is new for the collection and I find it so intriguing. Like all Illamasqua brushes, this is synthetic and if it’s like any of their others, it is stunningly soft! This has a unique ellipse shaped head for application directly under the cheekbone. I have never seen a brush like this which means I want it! It will set you back €34.09.

Finally new to Illamasqua is this stunning lipstick in ‘Immodest’ – a vivid matte pink. I am such a huge fan of really neon bright pinks so this is right up my alley. I’ve Googled some swatch images and this looks reminiscent of Mac’s ‘Candy Yum Yum’. I absolutely need this lipstick in my life and it costs €19.14 – not cheap but Illamasqua’s lipstick offerings are great quality.

All in all this collection is gorgeous and perfect for summer. From its premise to its new offerings, this collection just screams out to me to purchase all.

Here’s one more look at some of the stunning imagery used in the campaign, all done by make up artist extraordinaire, Alex Box:

If you’re new to the brand, read reviews of Illamasqua Medium Pencils here, Illamasqua’s Eyeshadows here and Illamasqua’s Sheer Lipglosses here.

What do you think? Is there anything there you can’t resist? Have you tried any other Illamasqua products I must have? What’s your favourite collection so far? Let me know in the comments!

Although we don’t have an Illamasqua in Dublin any more, you can buy online at illamasqua.com. The collection was released today! All images taken from the Illamasqua site.