Friday 3 August 2012

Illamasqua Mystery Box | Review


Something a little different today.

When shopping at Illamasqua in Debehnams I came across the 'mystery boxes.' I was always a sucker for a lucky dip, and at £38, this was another way to do it. Albeit a little more expensive than the 50p I would pay as a child.

There were two to choose one and I cannot for the life of me remember what they were called, all mine says is 'Alter Ego Mystery Selection'. I picked that up and handed over £38. The contents are worth £91.

There are two products which you are guaranteed to have in your box:
1 X Nail Varnish in Collide and 1 X liquid Metal in Electrum

I love both of these products. The nail varnish is the perfect hot pink for summer and the Liquid Metal is really easy to work with and looks great on.

However, the other four are completely random. My theory is that they threw things in the boxes that they weren't selling, and you'll see why.

What did I get?


Blusher in 'Create'
Blusher in 'Create':  A pretty hideous brown/orange colour. I was told I could use this for contour.. but believe me, you cannot. However, I have been experimenting with using this as a blush and have been googling 'orange blush pale skin' quite a lot for inspiration. I quite like it. I'm usually drawn exclusively to pink blushes, so it's good to mix it up. In terms of texture and pigmentation, this product is beautiful. It feels like I'm touching silk when I swatch it and it's heavily pigmented. You only need a tiny amount on your brush.

Eye Shadow in 'Lestat': A matte black eyeshadow. It isn't the most pigmented eyeshadow ever, which is honestly good in some ways when it comes to black. Nice texture etc. It gets extra points for having a cool name!
Lipgloss in: Name not on the product :/. I mean, really? On my skin tone? I'm not a fan. I did test it out and it was incredibly sticky. But I am not a lipgloss girl, and even if it had been the most beautiful colour on the planet, I wouldn't have worn it. So I'm glad the lipgloss was the worst of the bunch!

Lipstick in 'Blaze': LOVE this. Love the colour, love the name. I had been considering buying it before but never did. It's a gorgeous orange colour which is definitely a great alternative to a classic red lip.

So.. an orange blush, a matte black eyeshadow, a brown lipgloss and an orange lipstick. Apart from possibly the lipstick, I can't see that many of these products would sell well. Illamasqua have plenty of other pretty blushes, so people aren't going to be drawn to 'Create.' Most people have a matte black eyeshadow, and when they go to Illamasqua they're probably looking for something a bit more exciting. The brown lip gloss.. I just don't think it's a big seller. So I'm guessing they took all of these products and put them into mystery boxes. (other than my initial hunch, I have other reasons to believe that these would not sell well. After searching for reviews on the products, they are pretty much nonexistent)

Honestly though, I do quite like the products. The nail varnish is gorgeous, the Liquid Metal will make a great base, the lipstick is 'right up my street' and the only other matte black eyeshadow I have is in the Naked 2, so it's good to have an individual one. As for the blusher, I'm learning to make it work. The lipgloss is never going to be my thing.

Would I recommend it? If you want the thrill of a lucky dip, have £38 to spare and won't be easily disappointed, maybe.

Available exclusively in Debenhams stores.

10 comments:

  1. I love the colour of the lipstick and nail polish, but I don't know if I'd be tempted to buy the whole box?!

    http://sophietalksbeauty.blogspot.co.uk/

    xx

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    1. Probably a wise decision. The nail polish is really nice and it's good that you know you're definitely getting it, and I do love the lipstick too! Probably better off just buying the items you definitely want individually :) x

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  2. I had a similar reaction with my box! Bought it purely for the liquid metal and nail varnish. Received a lovely little red lipstick (which unfortunately didn't suit me!), a very obscure lipgloss in a lavender purple shade which i've actually grown to like, a reasonable light pink powder blush and the same "le stat" matt black eyeshadow. Overall not too bad for £38, definitely wouldn't pick any of those mystery items out at the counter though! x

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    1. It's great to hear from someone else who's tried it! Your box sounds a lot better than mine! Seems like they're putting pretty strange lipglosses into the boxes. I agree, I think for £38 I have definitely got my money's worth, but wouldn't have not most of these products myself! X

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  3. I want one of those!!!

    I've been loving your blog, so I've nominated you for the Liebster Award :) Check it out here!
    http://www.isobel-rose.com/2012/08/the-liebster-blog-award.html

    Isobel
    xx.

    www.isobel-rose.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aww, thank you! I love your blog and your YouTube channel so I'm so excited that you've read my blog. Haha, I sound like a stalker! I will definitely check that out :D x

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  4. Just came across your post when I too was looking for reviews for obscure shades in my mystery box purchase :-) Not sure what to do with the brown lipgloss (the only stinker!) - blend it with another shade?

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    1. I couldn't find any reviews on some of the products either. The lipgloss is... different. Thankfully I'm not a lipgloss girl so wouldn't wear it anyway, but I'm sure you probably could mix it. It might look good with a pink.. I might give it a go actually! Thanks for commenting x

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  5. I got this box too, I was quite lucky as I have none of the products that came in it. I was expecting to have at least one as I have a lot of Illamasqua products. Debenhams were selling them for £26 yesterday, so I got quite a good bargain. Love your blog. Check mine out too.

    bondgirlbeauty.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
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    1. It's good that you got it for cheaper, and got products you don't already own! I'll check out your blog :) x

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