Illamasqua Faux Pas & Havoc Review
7th September, 2011 - Posted by Emily - 7 Comments
A few days ago I received a package from Illamasqua in the mail. I came home to find a beautiful black padded envelope waiting for me. Inside I found a nail varnish by the name of Faux Pas and a precision ink eyeliner called Havoc. Both are products from their new collection called Theatre of the Nameless. It’s the new Illamasqua Autumn/Winter 2011 collection inspired by 1920s Berlin.
“Illamasqua is for the bolder person hiding inside all of us. It is an act and an attitude. A symbol of tolerance. A celebration of idiosyncrasies. A confident statement of self-ownership.”
First off the nail polish of course! This collection has 4 autumn colours, I received the purple called Faux Pas. There’s a picture of the other 3 colours down below.
Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Faux Pas, a blue violet.
If you read my blog you might know that I’m not huge on purple, it’s a colour I don’t wear that often. However the finish on this is a bit different, it gives a really nice twist to a colour I’m not usually fond of. Illamasqua describes the finish of this polish as waxy “rubber-look” which is pretty accurate. It’s a dull kind of finish, it’s not like matte polish either so it really is something different. I absolutely love the finish but if it’s not for you just add a topcoat and you will get a stunning shiny purple!
I needed just one coat to get complete coverage! I added a second purely because I had to take a macro shot of my nails. In other words the formula is absolutely amazing. I think I might even go as far as saying that this is the best formulated polish I have ever tried. Big words eh? Great formula isn’t the only thing, what makes this polish so outstanding is the brush. Once you apply this you can immediately tell that the quality of the brush is miles away from drugstore brands. With quality comes a price of course! They are a little pricey at £13,50 for a 15ml bottle but if you find quality very important this is the brand for you.
The others shades in the Theatre of the Nameless collection. From left to right: Faux Pas, Vice, Taint and Kink.
Illamasqua Precision Ink in Havoc, a burgundy red.
A simple and quick winged eyeliner.
It’s a liquid eyeliner which might be a struggle for some (including me!) but because of the felt tip and the formula it is actually quite easy to work with. It’s also waterproof so once you’ve let it dry for a few seconds it will stay put the entire day. I love wearing a winged eyeliner but unfortunately because of my somewhat unusual lids it usually ends up transferring and smearing after a few hours. I applied the Precision Ink in the morning and by the end of the day it was still as perfect as though I just applied it… I am honestly blown away! Once I run out, I will have to repurchase because it’s such an amazing product.
The Precision Ink I received was in the colour Havoc, which is not a black even though it might look black at first glance. Illamasqua calls it an aubergine, I would call it a dark burgundy red. It’s really unique, I’ve never seen an eyeliner in this shade so I’m definitely intrigued. I think it gives more depth than a normal black eyeliner, so I would definitely recommend getting this one, instead of the black eyeliner they have called Abyss. Illamasqua Precision Ink retails at £17.
Here are a few images of the other items that were inside my beautiful package, a gorgeous booklet and a handwritten note. It really shows how much Illamasqua cares for its customer. It made me feel really special so thank you to Illamasqua and most specifically Hayley!
A beautiful black padded envelope which protected the items during shipping.
Envelope with handwritten card and booklet.
Beautiful imagery inside of the booklet.
Envelope (with a wax Illamasqua logo seal!) with a gorgeous card inside. The artwork of the card is the same as the one on the outside of the padded envelope which is a really nice detail. I love little things like that!
And finally here are some of the amazing Theatre of the Nameless imagery Illamasqua created to go with the collection.
I was kindly sent these products by Illamasqua to review. I am not in any way affiliated with this company nor am I being paid by them! All opinions stated are honest and my own, as always.
Tags: eyeliner, Illamasqua, nail polish, Review
Posted on: September 7, 2011
Filed under: Make-Up, Nail Polish, Nails, Review, Swatches
7 Comments
Manon
September 7th, 2011 at 6:17 PM
Gorgeous nailpolish!
Llama
September 8th, 2011 at 12:28 AM
This was painfully wonderful to read – those the two things I really, really, REALLY want from the entire new Illamasqua collection. I'm not sure whether I want to thank you for the review or mug you
Emily
September 8th, 2011 at 1:18 AM
Haha
I can honestly totally recommend both of them. Especially the precision ink, it's so wonderful! Illamasqua is somewhat out of my price range but honestly the quality is so worth it, I would actually want to save up for items like this since they are so great. Miles away from anything else I have ever tried. Receiving these for review is both a blessing and a curse! I love them but now I want more 
My poor wallet…
Agatha
October 11th, 2011 at 10:11 PM
None of the pictures are on the page, for any of the make-up posts
Emily
October 11th, 2011 at 10:52 PM
Please read my latest post. I am sorry for the inconvenience.
Latoya
November 4th, 2011 at 10:57 PM
I ordered Havoc a few weeks ago and am totally in love with it! I agree it's such a unique shade, and I think it would bring out anyone's eyecolor so well. I find the newer versions of liquid liner are a lot more user-friendly now too, this being no exception. You did a great job!
Emily
November 4th, 2011 at 11:01 PM
Aw thank you so much Latoya! Isn't Havoc amazing? I would NEVER think of using that colour as eyeliner but it works extremely well and it's very easy to apply. I use it so often!
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