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Thursday 24 January 2013

Review: Illamasqua Liquid Metal Palette in Art of Darkness

I picked this little beauty up for just £10 when I went on my recent rampage through the amazing Illamasqua Sale (it's still on, go go go!) and it's probably the item that I was most excited for. It's a palette of four multi-use metallic cream pigments housed in sleek black plastic with a nice sized mirror. I don't usually include so many photos of a single product but I really want to show this off completely:

Top Left Clockwise: Stoic, Solstice, Superior, Resolute

I absolutely love Illamasqua's packaging. I love the signature shape and clean black plastic. It does get dirty easily because the plastic is just so smooth. I've already left a myriad of fingers prints and smudges all over mine but it's so easy to clean that it's not really an issue. The creams themselves are beautiful colours and I love the effort that Illamasqua have gone into with the pretty names. Stoic was the stand out for me and I was almost tempted to buy it on it's so I could have plenty in my stash. In the end I'm glad I didn't as Stoic is actually the least pigmented and the hardest to work with of all the colours.


I was so amazed and excited when I swatched these! Ahh, look at them! Beautiful, luminous metal. Solstice is definitely the most pigmented and being gold I feel that it's something that I'm going to get a lot of use out of. Resolute and Superior were about the same (very smooth and pigmented) and sadly, as I said, Stoic was a little more patchy and awkward. Still nice and well pigmented though. One of the things that I'd noticed when I was looking for other reviews of these products is that no one had really tried to push the limits of these products. When I was playing with them the first thing I wanted to do is start mixing and painting and see what they could do! Which led me here:


The pigments are very easy to blend and mix which means that despite there only being four colours in the palette, the colour possibilities are a lot higher! Superior and Resolute created a rich violet, Solstice and Resolute created a coppery/orange and Solstice and Superior created a pretty olive tone. Obviously these are just three options and there are a lot more (I'll let you know if I find anything else really special) but how exciting! There's such a wonderful capacity for experimentation and creativity with Illamasqua products which the company actively encourages. I am a happy bunny.

But of course, regardless of how good they look on my arm, it's how they stand up on my lids that matters. And this is where it all falls apart.


This is the first look I tried using Solstice and Resolute. I always try out any eye products without primer to begin with just to get a feel for the lasting power and quality. I'm very sad to say that this lasted even less than a single hour. The second I started blinking the pigments settled into my crease and started disappearing from the rest of my lid. The photo you see above is immediately after applying and you can already see the look dissolving. Not to be beaten though, I decided to try again.


I know this look using Superior and Stoic isn't amazing, it was simply thrown together to check lasting power. I applied e.l.f eyelid primer and used a little powder to ensure a completely matte base. And for a moment I thought it might work! It didn't immediately settle into my crease and it was still very easy to apply. However an hour later it was just the same. The look is fading away quickly and just looks an absolute mess. I look like I've been clubbing for twelve hours straight and suffer from extremely oily lids. As someone with dry skin I very rarely experience creasing like this. I knew that there would be some creasing due to the texture but this is ridiculous! I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I'll ask Illamasqua for advice and see if there's anything that will salvage my beautiful pigments. I'd be heartbroken if they sat in the back of my drawer for the next two years. Sigh.

What do you think to this palette? Have you got any secrets to stop creasing? I'd love to know!

Lauren

37 comments:

  1. Every color looks lovely on your eyes!! :)

    I just tagged you in the Beauty Bloggers tag, if you haven't done it already!!

    V
    PeanutLovesLipstick.Blogspot.Com

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  2. What a shame! I didn't think much of them in the palette but the swatches on your arm are beautiful.. I bet you're gutted :( there has to be something that can be done to save these beauties from dissolving :(
    Gem xx | Miss Makeup Magpie

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    1. I honestly am. I really hope there's something I can do :/ I mean they'll make nice liners but I'd love to be able to use them properly! x

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  3. ooh I like this! I wasn't going to get it but looks really good on you, I might just have to get it x

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    1. They'll make lovely liners! I hope I can figure something out for them :) I hope they work for you! xx

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  4. This looks gorgeous, it's such a shame a couple of the formulas don't sound great. The gold shade is beautiful on you though! xo

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    1. Thank you so much :) it's really lovely x

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  5. It's such a shame that they crease! If they fair well as eyeliners maybe you could just stick to using them as that? x

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    1. I know :( true! They do make nice liners :) x

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  6. Oh no, what a shame!! You created such beautiful mixed shade as well... I suppose the only thing I can think of is sticking to using these as liners (mainly on the lower lash line) and as a highlight on the inner corners or brow bone. I hope you can figure it out!!

    Cassie
    thriftthick.blogspot.com

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    1. Agreed. Highlights would be lovely too! thanks for the suggestion x

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  7. I remember having same problems with other brands liquid-cream like eye colour, but after some time it seems to dry up a bit and then they were perfect. So maybe they dissappear because they're new...

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    1. ooh maybe! Thank you for the suggestion :) I'll see if I can get them to solidify a little bit x

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  8. Such a shame, it's such a beautiful palette, the pans are fantastic! I find exactly the same with two NYX palettes, they start creasing the second I've applied them :/ I always use MUA's eye primer as well as a Maybelline Color Tattoo underneath shadows to make sure they stick for the day, works with everything but NYX! xx
    Zombies Wear Eyeliner

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    1. it's a nightmare. I'm so glad I didn't pay full price £34 for something I can't use properly is ridiculous x

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    2. Hi im going to try the maybelline color tatoo underneath and will letu knowthe outcome. thanks for the suggestion

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  9. I have the exact same problem with these products, which is a crying shame because they are so beautiful :( If you find anything that works I'd love to know!

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  10. Oh wow, these colours are amazing. So much pigmentation in them! It's a shame that they aren't agreeing with your skin though, definitely ask for advice :)

    Laura x

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    1. they are utterly gorgeous. I was so happy when I swatched them :) gutted x

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  11. The swatches look amazing! Such gorgeous colours xx

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    1. Tell me about it! I love that you can mix them x

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  12. This is probably the worst idea, but maybe put them in the fridge then try? Xxxx weird I know! Xx

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  13. I can't get over how lovely those colors are. I could never pull them off, but they are absolutely gorgeous.

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    1. I'm sure you could! :) the red is quite rusty so it's very wearable x

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  14. I have this palette and managed to do a lovely rainbow on my lid but (like yours), the colour faded really quickly. I'm sad to say that I haven't used this palette much as it gets second bested to my Urban Decay eye shadows which holds the colour. If you do find a way to make it last, please let me know as I'd love to revive the set!
    Roxy's Box of Tricks  

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    1. ooh that's sound gorgeous :) it is such a shame. Definitely need some urban decay in my life. I'll let you know if I figure something out x

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  15. I got Superior as part of the mystery selection and I loved the color and how it looked on my skin but the formula was such a disappointment. It creased within seconds for me. I am shocked they would even put this on the market.

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    1. I completely understand what you mean :/ it's surprising coming from a high end brand x

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  16. Such a shame about how long they last, as these are gorgeous colours!

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  17. Lovely colours I especially like the gold x

    1stepclosereveryday.blogspot.com

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  18. Such beautiful colours it's such a shame they fade away so quickly. I know it's slightly expected a little with these forumulas but not that quickly. I hope you find a solution but I do agree with one of the comments about putting it in the fridge, I have done this with lipsticks x

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  19. The colours are gorgeous, maybe you could use them as bases for powder eyeshadows? Xx

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  20. I got the palette in the sale too - same problem. Tweeted Illamasqua and they said use a primer. Tried Too Faced Shadow Insurance - same thing. Tried Illamasqua Matte Primer - its all gone in an hour! I am cross that I even spent £10 on it. I've got a full-sized silver one too, it's the same. Such a shame!

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