Paranormal Collection | Illamasqua | My Thoughts

A collection of products from the Illamasqua Paranormal Collection

Y’all know I love Illamasqua. There is a little shelf in my heart dedicated to this brand. My kit is bursting at the seams with Skin Base foundation, Brow Powders and let’s not forget my favourite Cream Blushers. The moment the Paranormal Collection hit the Beauty Blogger radar, I WANTED IT ALL! Typical, the week it launched, I was on a spending ban.


You can only imagine my state of shock, when a parcel arrived and I’d not only been sent one piece from the collection but ALL OF IT! (excluding the nail varnishes).  I was THAT excited by the collection, I didn’t touch it for a few days. I just stared at it, too scared to mess anything up. The shiny and new stage is the best stage right? A day of taking photographs later, I eventually tested a few of the products out. 
Paranormal is about a sense of something different, a sense of expression through texture and colour that shifts the expected and normal to be something from a different dimension, a paranormal part of our expressive and spiritual mind.Director of Product Development, David Horne.
Well, Mr Product Development guy, you certainly blew my mind and sent it to a parallel universe with these products.
My thoughts…
A photograph of Hydra Veil

Illamasqua Hydra Veil
Illamasqua Hydra Veil

Hydra Veil £27.50

This cheeky little fellow was the reason I went bad sh*t crazy over this collection. THIS is the reason my mind was burrrrrrrr-lown. I had seen and read reviews from various bloggers and make-up artists, but even so, nothing prepared me for what I was about to try out. THE TEXTURE IS WEIRD. The good kind of weird. It reminds me of jelly cubes, you know, the ones you get to make proper jelly with. It’s all gooey and slimey and FUN. I have never come across anything quite like it. So what is it? What is Hydra Veil?
A brand new innovation on the market, a first from Illamasqua, a product that is bordering on dare I say it – skincare? Hydra Veil is part hydrator, part primer. The unusual futuristic gel texture, is insanely lightweight, so unlike anything I have ever used before. Containing anti-oxidant marine algae, Hydra Veil provides an instant hydration boost, reduces redness and smooths the skins complexion. This product therefore gives you an optimal base for your make-up, like any good primer, is designed to ensure your foundation stays put all day long. 
As a make-up artist, I always prep the skin with the appropriate skincare first, then apply the make-up. Sometimes, someone will come along with “secret squirrel” skin, as I like to call it. Skin that appears normal, when actually it is dehydrated to hell and back. When foundation sits on the skin and instantly starts to sit into the creases and appear crusty, even with a primer underneath, you just know the skin is screaming for water. This is a result of the secret squirrel. Now, with Hydra Veil, this should theoretically conquer this problem. So thankyou Illamasqua.
To apply it, apply as you would a primer, at the very beginning of your make-up application. I still like to apply the appropriate moisturiser, eyecreams etc. beforehand, I do not skip this step. You can focus on the under eye area, a typically dehydrated area, for an instant eye brightening effect. The best way to apply it is with fingers, and even then this stuff is slippery, so be careful with it. I tried it with Skin Base Foundation over the top, my current personal fave, and LOVED the finish. My skin looked super healthy and radiant. 

Paranormal Palette £34.00

I am so lucky to own not one, but TWO of these palettes. The beauty that is Vicky from Beauty Blogging Brunette sent me the Paranormal Palette as a thankyou for doing her an illustration. I had no idea a week later another, along with other bits from the collection, was on it’s way to me. One sits happily in my personal make-up bag and the other in my professional kit.
Now, I have to be totally honest with you here folks, my initial thought was YAY LET’S GET CREATIVE, but then immediately after I questioned whether this colour palette was going to be for everyone’s taste. After all, the colours although they be strikingly beautiful, they don’t quite sit right next to my daily neutral palette…
That’s the point though. This entire collection is about the unexpected, being different and challenging your perception. After all, why be normal, when you can be Paranormal?
Everyone can wear this palette if they dare to, I have taken the typical swatch photographs for you to get a better idea of the shades and also included some examples of how you can wear this palette.

Here I am wearing Aura, the warm copper shade in the top right hand corner. Out of all the shades this is my favourite as it really makes my eyes pop with one single wash of colour. 
Here I am wearing Paranormal. a vivid pink! This colour is really pretty and I would never have thought to wear a pink before but after trying this I would definitely wear it more often.
Here I am wearing Possession, a cool green. I used it as a base for a smokey eye, the darker colours I just took from my Crownbrush Nude 88 Palette. I think the green on its own would work well on an editorial shoot or for someone confident with wearing bold shades. I chose to create a smokey eye to demonstrate just how wearable this palette is. 
Here I am wearing the final shade Trance, a soft violet. I used this as a wash all over, then blended the outer edges with Paranormal. I love this look, I think it is something you could easily wear through the Summer and even in Autumn.


Precision Gel Liner – Infinity £18

Hand me a pencil, a liquid liner and a pot of gel liner, every time I will pick a gel liner. I’m not sure why, I just prefer it. I think it’s the inner artist in me choosing to use a brush to apply a shape. So when this Precision Gel Liner popped into my hands I was very happy to play with it. The texture of this liner is perfect, it doesn’t dry the instance you put some on the back of your hand like some I have used, and it goes on like a dream – effortlessly. The black is a real intense pigment and stays on all day long without budging.




Gleam in Supernatural £18.00

 I have a bit of an addiction to highlighters! I already love Aurora, a champagne best-seller, so I had no doubt this copper-bronze shade would win me over too. The golden iridescent creamy highlighter lifts and illuminates the areas where it is applied. You can use this on the cheekbones, over the top of a matte lipstick, in the corners of the eyes or even across the brow bone. Simply beautiful.

Lipstick –  £16.50
Purple has been and always will be my favourite colour, so to get two shades of lipstick, Posture, a cool mauve and ESP, a vivid violet, made my day. I have said it before, I don’t really pull off matte lipsticks, both of which these are, but Illamasqua lipsticks have never had a drying effect on my lips. I personally don’t have the right skin tone to wear Posture. Being very pale, this shade just washes me out. I think it is a fabulous shade to have in my kit and I cannot wait to use it on a shoot. As for ESP, the intense violet, I LOVE THIS COLOUR. I love wearing bold lipstick on a night out and this one is just awesome. You can see me wearing both shades in photographs below.



If I had to pick just one thing from this collection, I would say Hydra Veil. A totally unique product that everyone of you should try! I hope you enjoyed this post and maybe picked up some inspiration for when you do your make-up next! Don’t be scared to play and experiment with colour, you may surprise yourself!

And not forgetting: A huuuuuge massive thankyou to Rose from the Illamasqua team for sending me these beautiful products!

See you soon!

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