Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Illamasqua Neutrals eyeshadow palette review + swatches


          Lately, nude and neutral seem to be used synonymously. Leave it to Illamasqua to come up with a neutral palette that is anything but nude! The Illamasqua Neutrals eyeshadow palette (Illamasqua Human Fundamentalism - Spring 2012 collection) is more befitting of Cleopatra than the girl next door.



          The colors in the  Illamasqua Neutrals palette are neutral, but of the dramatic sort. The stark white and black alongside the rich gold and chocolate become a striking combination when worn. I can't help but recall the scorched earth tones found in the cooled lava beds I saw in Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii. If you looked closely, there were golden, rusty, and iridescent tones mixed in with the coal black. Volcanic rocks really come fascinating shapes, sizes, and textures!


          Illamasqua has actually named the four colors in the quad, clockwise from the top left (Stealth, Vintage, Obisidan, Wolf). Stealth is soft off white, Vintage is a metallic old gold, Obsidian is a matte black, and Wolf is a matte chocolate brown. The colors are quite neutral, but striking. When I wear this, I typically apply the white as a sheer base and highlight, the gold as a lid color, the chocolate as a crease color, and the obsidian as a smoked in liner. The texture of the shadows is really beautiful, pigmented, and smooth.



          I love the Illamasqua Neutrals eyeshadow palette and I normally don't wear gold or chocolate. The colors run fairly neutral, with a hint of old gold warmth. It's perfect for my warmer summer skin as it fades into fall. I continue to be impressed by both the vision and execution of Illamasqua products. While the ad campaigns may be wild, the products I've tried thus far are of great quality and well nuanced color. Thanks for reading! Have you tried the Illamasqua Neutrals palette? What are your favorite items from Illamasqua? What is your current summer eyeshadow palette?

Love, Dovey.

36 comments:

  1. Ahh the colors are so beautiful! This reminds me of an Avon quad I used to have that I literally wore every single day for months.

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    1. Hi Amanda, Thank you! Th sounds like you had one well loved quad :)

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  2. The bronze looks awesome. I am sure this will look glowy on the eyes and I really like it :)

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    1. Hi Memoiselle, you're right, glowy describes it quite well!

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  3. I want this palette BAD. I just wish so much that Illamasqua would sell in Canada! This palette is basically my every day shadows into one! I love it!

    Thanks for the great review! You always write them so well!

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    1. Hi Annick, Thank you so much! :) I had no idea Illamasqua hadn't made it to Canada yet; hopefully it will land there soon!

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    2. It's on the Sephora website and they ship to Canada :-)

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  4. Such beautiful shades... It's kind of hard to make neutrals interesting, but Illamasqua did it beautifully with this palette.

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    1. Hi Dani, Thanks! I loved how it's a little edgy too :)

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  5. Whoaaa so pretty! I do think I own similar shades already, but still it's a fun quad! My summer palette is Dior Aurora. It can be wearable or REALLY fun!

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    1. Thanks Sunny! They're not 'original' colors, but nice together. Dior Aurora is gorgeous!!

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  6. Lovely swatches, Dovey, and as always, your photo inspiration is spot-on! I really like this palette, actually, but I'm sure I have shades like that by the bucket full already ._.

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    1. Hi Larie, Thank you so much! I know what you mean about shade repeats though (sigh!)

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  7. Gorgeous palette, especially the metallic old gold shade, love it! The mat shades seem to be very pigmented for a mat shade, great job from Illamsqua! :)

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    1. Thank you BellaChique! I was surprised by how nice the mattes were too. I think a good matte is the mark of a good brand :)

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  8. I want this palette soooo badly, why won't Illamasqua come to Canada?? Thanks for letting me live vicariously!

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    1. Hi Procrastinator, Thanks for visiting and commenting! It seems like Illamasqua needs to expand already!

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  9. I love the looks of this palette! Sigh. Wish Illamsaqua would just sell in Canadian Sephoras already.

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    1. Hi Tracy, From the sound of it they should! Thanks for visiting :)

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  10. Arrrgh, I've been hoping to avoid tempting swatches of this palette!

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    1. Hi Mopsy! *Oops* will warn you next time :)

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  11. I WANT THIS!!! I haven't tried anything from Illamasqua (I know--I am ashamed...) but their blushes are so beautiful and this eyeshadow palette is perfection! Great for a lover of neutrals (like me) and so pigmented!

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    1. Hi Becca, I know!! It took me forever to try Illamasqua too. I just started and can't stop (so maybe it's better not to start? :P)

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  12. Oh my goodness... that's fantastic. Based on their somewhat out there ads I figured Illamasqua wouldn't be a brand I'd ever buy from. Boy was I wrong. Everything of their brand you've posted on here has been very beautiful and wearable. I typically sick to Nars eye shadows, but I may make an exception for this. I know I would reach for this often.

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    1. Hi RileyMariesMom, I felt exactly the same way about those ads. Sometimes crazy-colored ads (a la MAC) means the collection just won't work for me. Somehow, though I've found that Illamasqua's colors are actually nicely made. High-five for NARS eyeshadows. They're an absolute staple of mine :)

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  13. Gorgeous colours indeed...gold and brown are one of my fave combos. Fave summer palette....gosh you wouldn't believe this but it's Wet & Wild's Walking On Eggshells but have been using the Naked 2 a lot too.

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    1. Hi Beauty Box! I've seen walking on eggshells--- that's the WNW trio that consistently catches my eye! I've used Naked2 so much I'm tired of reaching for it, and yet I keep reaching for it!

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  14. Gorgeous palette! The shades are neutral but still dramatic like you said. Love the look of that goldy-bronze shade. :)

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    1. Hi Liz! Thanks for stopping by :) I'm glad you get what I meant by the neutral + drama part. It's really different from some of the other neutral palettes I have in that way!

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  15. I love this palette (even though my packaging broke!) but I find the gold colour a bit too warm for my skin tone x

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  16. I've never even heard of Illamasqua before I read your review! The palette is very warm and nice. I particularly like the white shadow the most because I don't have anything like it. This palette reminds me a bit of a Chanel one I have - lighter colors and then a rich, blacker one with a hint of brown and gold. It's one of my favorites. (:

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  17. This is a gorgeous palette! I agree with you - there is nothing nude about this palette! Haven't tried Illamasqua yet but as I have similar colors will pass on this. I love the picture of the lava bed that you included!

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  18. It's a beautiful palette! I am so tempted by this one :) Illamasqua really does have some great items.

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  19. I love nude and neutrals, sometimes I think I have so many dupes but at the end it turns out they are very different. I really like Illamasqua blushes and their intense lipglosses. I am still looking for my perfect gold eyeshadow, never thought it would be that difficult to find one! Oh, and their nail polishes are quite good as well.

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  20. This is gorgeous. Normally I'd pass up a neutral quad like this without a glance, but I love Illamasqua. My daughter calls it Llama Soup, lol.

    I agree that good matte shadows are a definite sign of a good product. I wish more companies would carry more high-end mattes (looking at you, Urban Decay).

    My favorite summer palette is a Pro sized Z-Palette with a lot of dark, smokey colors for nighttime/dramatic looks, light, warm neutrals for the daytime, and a couple Tarte Amazonian clay blushes. I love that those are de-and-repottable.

    Thanks for the swatches!

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