Illamasqua is a brand that almost instantly appealed to me as soon as I got wind of it. Weird and wonderful but certainly not appearing to compromise on quality, the bright colours and crazy looks the brand creates automatically caught my eye. I like to make a statement. I like a neutral eye and a nude lip as much as the next girl, but I like to get a little colourful too. That being said, I’m not sure why it took me until April this year to make my first purchase.

On a day trip to the Bullring with my sister (we like to meet there because it’s half way between our respective cities), I was in search of a new foundation with a good level of coverage. We took to Selfridges to hit the Beauty Hall. It being a Saturday and me looking like a deer in headlights, I was instantly targeted by many a determined MUA. I’d read a few reviews on the latest Illamasqua foundation, Skin Base, so I sat down at the counter to check it out. The lovely MUA knew her stuff and when I told her I had dry skin prone to redness, she picked out some products for me. I left half an hour later, cheerful as anything with a lighter heart and a lighter wallet. It was love.

With the foundation that I purchased that day, I had also been won over by the cream blusher the MUA had tried on me. Promise was its name, barbie pink its game. I’d barely tried cream blush before. In fact, I only discovered blush at all about 2 years ago, pretty late in the game at 23 years young. I love powder blush but I find that with my skin (often flaky and oh so dry) it looks a bit patchy after a whole day of wear, so I need to keep an eye on it and reapply, blend, yadda yadda. When the MUA swept Promise on to my cheeks, it instantly felt very soft and cooling. My skin had been particularly dry that week so I was worried it would make me itch. I thought it would be claggy and difficult to blend, but it glided on like a dream.

It’s the perfect pink. Cool, blue toned and buildable. I find I can wear it alone and my skin looks flushed and healthy, or I can use a sheer layer as a base with a more shimmery or bright toned powder blush on top for a bigger impact, say for a night time look. My skin feels hydrated when I wear it and it stays put all day long with a lovely sheen. As someone with dry skin and minor eczema, I didn’t think it was possible for my skin to look dewy, but this blush is really helping with that!

Because of the success of my first purchase, I’ve been determined to get my hands on another. Last week I went in to the store (Leeds, Victoria Quarter if you’re wondering) with the Naked Strangers collection in mind, but found on swatching that a peachy shade was more for me. This shade is Rude and looks really quite shocking in the orange stakes when you look at the pan, I’m not really sure what tempted me to pick it up. On application though, it leaves a glowy peachy flush through my cheek and has all the creamy, hydrating qualities of Promise.

It’s buildable, so it’s perfect to take you from day to night in a work make-up bag kind of way. I’ve worn it a few times already and plan on pairing it with lots of gold/bronze eye looks and minimal lips for the summer. I’ve mainly steered clear of peach tones before, not sure why, perhaps for fear it might be weird with the ginge tinge of my hair. This blush has definitely changed my opinion on that and I’m looking to branch out with peach and corals a little more now.

I apply these with a Real Techniques Blush Brush (£9.99) and they apply like a dream and wash out very easily. I was really nervous about applying a cream blush as the only one I’ve tried before was much dryer and harder to manipulate (Topshop Blush in Neon Rose). However, because they blend so easy I can just sweep it on and blend any bits where it may be too heavy or not where I want it. Easy peasy! It stays put all day and I’ve found it looks fantastic on camera.

The packaging is good too, I’m not sure the shape of the compact is my absolute favourite to look at but it’s very easy to handle and chunky enough that it can’t slip out of your hands or get lost in your make-up bag. The blushers smell absolutely gorgeous too which is not something I usually care too much about, but it’s lovely to catch a whiff of first thing in the morning! It’s also worth noting that I’ve used Promise nearly everyday since mid-April and I’ve barely made a dent in the 4g pan.

These blushers retail at £16.50 each and in my opinion are 100% worth it. Get them from the Illamasqua website or ASOS.

Did you guys enjoy reading this review? I love writing about beauty! Let me know if a review of the foundation is something you’d be interested in.