Illamasqua Summer 2014 - preview

OK so I'm a weensy bit late with this one.  Illamasqua's Summer launch is all about matte this year.  I love Illamasqua, they're ever-directional, don't follow trends, fly in the face of the norm, and definitely no stranger to all things theatrical when it comes to makeup.  So, instead of the usual golden-bronze shiny dewy skin of most summer collections, we see, interestingly, matte, matte, matte, and a majorly-inspired-by-the-80's campaign.

Four matte blushers, three matte lipstains, a matte primer and a matte nail top coat.  Lovely hurling.  Let's delve in...

According to Alex Box, Illamasqua's outré creative director, the collection is derived from a time when the 80's eye makeup was still soft and blown out (before the lines became hard and everything was blue!), but the electric colours so definitive of the period were starting to peek out.

Matte Lip Liquids

At €18.50 a pop, there are three of these:

• Surrender (new) - warm peach
• Exotic (new) - vivid orange
• Forbidden (new) - soft blue-based medium-light pink

These are completely new products, launching as part of this collection.

Velvet Blushers

These are cream-to-powder blusher that'll set you back €21.50 each, there are four of these in the collection:

• Flirtatious (new) - soft peach
• Conviction (limited edition)* - hot pink 
• Sleek (re-promote) - dusky coral
• Peaked (re-promote) - dusky rose

* Conviction, for some reason, is only available online.  I have a bunch of Illamasqua matte (powder) blushers and hands-down, they are the most pigmented and longest-lasting of all powder blushers I own.  Curious to try these out...

Matte Veil

I'm already using, and loving (especially in the summer time), Hydra Veil (readallaboutitoverhere).  Matte Veil is Illamasqua's mattifying primer, great for giving you a shine-free base to start from, and helping to control shine (by means of a product which dissolves some of the skin's excess oils), this will set you back €30 for a 30ml jar, and should be used in the same way as Hydra Veil, between your skincare products and your cosmetic products.

Nail Matte Top Coat

Was this the first matte top coat out on the market?  Perhaps, perhaps not, either way, I have it and it's brilliant - one of the better ones to be honest.  Some of these matte finishing/top coats go a bit gloopy after a while, this one maintains molecular cohesion (it could be I'm watching too many Star Trek re-runs at the moment).  Either way - it doesn't gloop-ify.  This is a re-promote and costs €12.  It is as its name suggests: a clear top coat that you apply over your usual nailpolish to give it a matte finish.  I love using this to give a one-shade "French manicure" - using the matte topcoat either over the tip of the nails, or the rest of the nail, with the tips remaining shiny.

Look (buy) here.  I have a major, serious, oh-so-not-funny want on me for the LE blusher.  Not just because it's LE and I have a problem in that regard, either, before someone funny makes a comment ;-)