Illamasqua's Cream Pigment in 'Mould'.

Recently, I've been playing it safe in the makeup department. Some mascara and a wee bit of blush and I'm ready to go. But the other week I decided to challenge myself. I decided I was going to buy a piece of makeup which would completely be out of my comfort zone, but yet wasn't going to make me look ridiculous and could be worn day or night.
In the end, I chose Illamasqua's Cream Pigment in 'Mould' (I already have 'Androgen', which is the loveliest cheek and lip colour). I fell in love with the colour, it was unlike anything I had in makeup drawer and I felt it was the perfect shade to match my grungy and weird fashion sense (this character is my fashion icon. Says it all really), and was versatile enough for day and night wear.

'Mould' is described as 'grape', and I would agree, it's a very dark purple shade. It's also a matte finish, which is great for me since I'm not particularly fond of anything shimmery or glittery. The matte-ness also lends to it's multipurpose properties: these cream pigments can be used on the eyes, lips and anywhere else!

Because it is a cream product, it is so easy to play around with. It glides on so smoothly, and blending this product is an absolute dream. In the pan it is quite hard, but once you warm it up with your fingers then it softens up and has quite a lot of slip.
As a lip product, it is beautiful. It isn't very appropriate for wear during the day (for me anyway), but it does look absolutely fantastic, especially on an evening out. It is such a comfortable texture, some lip products can feel quite heavy on the lips, but this is so light you forget you have dark purple lips! It is quite a long lasting lip product, and even when it fades on the lips you get left with a light purple stain on the lips.
It's not necessarily a moisturising lip product, and I can imagine some people might find it quite drying on the lips. I would also take care to make sure your lips are buffed and moisturised before wearing this shade, any dry patches are instantly shown up!
If I'm wearing 'Mould' on my lips, I keep my eye makeup quite neutral, since I'm not a fan of bold eyes and lips worn together.

On the eyes this shade looks and feels fantastic. It's more appropriate for day wear (I think purple eyelids are much more 'normal' compared to dark purple lips!). I think 'Mould' especially suits people with dark brown or hazel eyes, it really seemed to make them 'pop'.
This product is also great for intensifying eyeshadow; apply an eyeshadow of the same sort of shade over the top of 'Mould' and it really makes the colour look so much more intense, richer and have much more depth to it.
My only disappointment with this product is that I felt it creased on my eyelids really easily. I have quite oily and wrinkly eyelids to begin with, so those of you with normal eyelids might find that this doesn't crease! It is probably because the product is more of a cream than a powder product, so it creases easier. Any ideas on how to prevent this would be much appreciated.

The packaging of Illamasqua's Cream Pigments are great: understated beauty, simplicity and practicality rolled into one. It's not gonna be a product I'm going to avoid getting out of my bag for touch ups...

This product cost me £15 (RRP £17 - I love my loyalty discount) from the Illamasqua website, which I think is a really great price for such a versatile product. Plus it is such a long lasting product because you only need the tiniest amount to get the desired effect!

Overall, I do love this product. I love how multi-purpose it is (one day I will fully embrace the purple lip and go out in public). I am totally in love with the shade, and when I wear it I feel like I'm channeling my inner Sooz. Obviously, the fact that it creases annoys me immensely, but I think I might have to get surgery on my greasy lids to prevent that...because I love it. When I do finish this product I will repurchase, for sure.

Illamasqua Cream Pigment in 'Androgen'

I bought this back in July because I really wanted a good-quality cream blusher, after using some cheaper products which left me disheartened. Illamasqua had a sale on at the time, and after picking up some bits (including this concealer and these lipglosses) I decided to go with Cream Pigment in 'Androgen'. It seemed to fit the bill perfectly, and I have a great relationship with Illamasqua products so I hoped the product would be as fantastic as I expected it to be!


I am so sorry for the fingerprints you can see, just after I had opened it and before I had chance to photograph it, my mum had taken it and was using it on her cheeks before she went to work! Naughty mummy.

'Androgen' is a matte bright coral shade. It does look a bit bright and scary in the pan, but it really is such a practical, workable shade that could work with any makeup look. Even if I'm having a no makeup day but want to look less dead, a touch of this on the apples of my cheeks gives me a super-natural glow.
When using this product, I literally need the tiniest bit to get maximum impact. With other cream blushes, sometimes you have to reapply and reapply to get even a sheer finish, but with this cream pigment the quality and pigmentation is just so fantastic that I literally need the smallest amount to get the desired effect.
It is better applied and blended with the fingers, I have tried using it with a brush and it doesn't really work. The texture is quite hard and you need to warm the product in the pan with your fingers to really get the best out of it.
It is easily blendable so you can really sheer it out. On the other hand, because the pigment is so amazing you can really build it up to get that super-bright pink!
Because it is a cream pigment, it is one of those handy multi-purpose products! The pigment can be used anywhere on your face, including lips. I have used it on my lips, and it gives a nice matte finish and it glides on really well, but I have found it to be a bit on the dry side, and as a lip product, it's a bit too pink for my liking.

I love the packaging. It's plastic, which is really practical, especially if you're carrying it around in your handbag all day.
The design is so understated, you've got the gorgeous motif on the lid and the brand name on the side and that's it. I think the whole package looks so professional.

I got mine for £15.30 as opposed to the RRP of £17, since I get a 'loyalty discount' (you get this discount from when you place your third Illamasqua order.).! I appreciate that to some this might be a little bit steep for a blush, but I am more than happy paying that price because it is amazing.
You do only get 8g worth of product for that price, BUT I have had mine since July, and I have literally only scratched the surface, even though it being probably my most used cheek product! I think this makes it incredible value for money.

I think this multitasking little wonder is worth every single little bit of it's price. And when I run out, I will most definitely repurchase. It has become the cheek product that I cannot live without!
My mum is now an Illamasqua convert! She had been on the lookout for a new cream blush ever since they discontinued her favourite, and after using a No7 one (she hated it), and then using the cream pigment she just totally had to have one of her own!

Have any of you tried the other Cream Pigment shades? I'm so tempted by Mould and Hollow!

My Illamasqua mini-haul.

I just thought I'd share a very exciting package with you, since I was over the moon to receive it and wanted to share my happiness!
I love Illamasqua. They are so unique and different, and produce products of amazing quality that I struggle to find anywhere else.
Despite being very different and producing some eye-popping products, they also produce high-class products which can be used on an everyday basis. I have reviewed one of their products in the past, a Powder Blush in 'Tremble' that I have used every day without fail since I bought it, so it's no surprise that I have hit the pan!
They currently have a fantastic sale on right now, but things are going fast, so I'd hurry if you're thinking to purchase something! It might be gone tomorrow!

This is the Light Foundation in shade 210. I'm looking forward to trying this. I have high hopes - I haven't found any foundations in the history of ever that have suited my skin, so I have my fingers, toes, arms and legs crossed that I strike gold with this one! I actually haven't been matched for this foundation, so I took an educated guess! A bit risky, but I think it's going to be alright, I have some Skin Base in quite a pale white shade to pale it out slightly if it goes on too dark, so it's not a complete disaster.

This is a Cream Pigment in 'Androgen'. It's the thing I was most excited about receiving, since I have heard to many good things about Illamasqua's Cream Pigments!
I apologise for the finger-marks in the photo, as soon as I opened the parcel my mum delves her hand in and uses it whilst doing her makeup for work! The cheek of it! It did look absolutely wonderful on her though, and she's begged me to buy her one.

This is a Cream Blush in 'Brazen'. It is a very bright and bold shade, but I'm looking forward to using it! Surely it won't look too awful, and it was cheap and the only usable cream blush shade in the sale, so I couldn't pass it off!

This is a Powder Foundation in shade 210. I'm currently using a No7 Translucent Powder, which is fine at mattifying, but lacks coverage. Again, I didn't get matched, but took an educated guess so I don't think I've gone too far wrong!

I will do an individual review on each product soon enough once I get enough use out of each one, but I just couldn't wait to show people what I bought! It was like Christmas had came early!