Illamasqua Human Fundamentalism Collection Spring/Summer 2012 Swatches and Review

Another gorgeous release from Illamasqua. But, can we expect any less from them? I'm sure you've seen all the images by now, but this one was one of my favorites:


I love the white-painted brows and the white eyeliner, the hair, the lipstick and nails, the gloves and especially the lizard bracelet.

Plus, something about the hairstyle and the facial expressions makes me think Frau Schneider:


Aaaanyway, I have a couple of the items from the collection to review:

Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Nomad, Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Stance, Illamasqua Precision Ink in Scribe, Illamasqua Sealing Gel and Illamasqua Powder Eyeshadow in Burst.

Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Nomad. This is a lovely light green/turquoise creme. Illamasqua calls it Jade and I definitely agree with that description. It is intense- not a faded/bland looking pastel. The closest thing I can think of to compare it to would be MAC Peppermint Patti. Really beautiful color.


Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Stance. This one is described as "bright fuchsia violet gloss" and that's also spot-on. It makes me think of every neon purple nail polish I have (think Essie Perky Purple), but it doesn't look identical when I hold the bottles together. This polish also seems to have a bit of a jelly finish- more opaque (less visible nail line) than most jellies, but still has a squishy look.

Illamasqua Precision Ink Eyeliner in Scribe

Precision Ink is a waterproof liquid liner formula. It goes on smooth and dries stretchy, doesn't run or smudge but peels off like latex with hot water. The applicator is a tapered sponge tip, firm but with enough give to conform to the curves of the eyelid. The color is an opaque white creme.

Illamasqua Powder Eyeshadow in Burst

Burst is a matte blue-green/teal. It's slightly darker on my skin than it appears in the pan, but it has a nice flash of color without looking too bright or getting muddy when blended.

Precision Ink in Scribe - Powder Eyeshadow in Burst


Illamasqua Sealing Gel

The Sealing Gel is a really handy product. It's a clear fluid that you can use with any powder product (like eyeshadow or loose pigment) to turn it into a water-resistant eyeliner. Mix a drop or two of this with an eyeshadow using a liner brush and it creates a creamy-textured eyeliner. It's better than using water because it has a stickier texture that keeps the shadow from flaking after it's applied. It does come in a very small bottle, but each box comes with two bottles.

What I liked:

• Polish colors are awesome.
• Polish formula is equally awesome.
  
• Shadow has good pigmentation.
• Scribe is probably the best white eyeliner I've tried.
• Sealing Gel is extremely useful.
• Awesome images and makeup artistry, as always.
• This collection also includes a teal lipstick that I have to have!

What I didn't like:

• Dry time on the polishes is slower than I'd like (when using three coats like I have on in these photos).
• The shadow didn't blend as easily/smoothly as I'd like. This is most likely due to the matte formula and it being such a heavily pigmented color.
• Scribe is the brightest and most opaque white liner I've used, but it still needs two or more coats to get the color even and completely opaque.
• Even though you get two bottles of sealing gel per box, it's still such a small amount of product. Each bottle is only 6ml/0.2 oz.
  

It's a very nice-looking collection and all the items I tried had great quality, so I'm happy with it. Illamasqua polishes in particular are always some of the nicest to apply and these didn't disappoint me. My favorite part of every Illamasqua collection is always the amazing art they create using the products, and I love this one almost as much as I loved Toxic Nature. You can see all the different images here, and I'd recommend taking a look if you haven't already!

The Illamasqua Human Fundamentalism Collection is available now at Illamasqua or Sephora.

(This was sent for review.)