Illamasqua Pure Pigments

You asked for it, you got it! I haven't worn these for a full day of wear yet as I'm not sure how daytime these two shades are, but I will be using them in an eye of the day soon so I can remark on their wear time and application ease.

The two Illamasqua Pure Pigment shades I bought from asos were Incite & Conquer. These retail for $24 for a mere .04oz of product at Sephora, but I snagged them for $8.43 each from the asos sale. Now these aren't shades I would usually purchase but I have been wanting to try Illamasqua for quite some time but the prices put me off.

These are the same concept as MAC pigments. Loose products that can be used alone on the eyelids or mixed with various products for application all over the body. I bet Incite would be great mixed with a little lipgloss for a middle of the lip pout or mixed with lotion or even foundation for a little shimmer and glow. The only major difference is the price.

Illamasqua Pure Pigment, $24 for .04oz = $600/ounce
MAC Pigment, $19.50 for .15oz = $130/ounce

It is obvious (even with the MAC reducing the size of the packaging) that MAC is the winner in value for money here.

A few photographs to show the slightly odd packaging featuring the shade Incite, a bronzy gold. I initially couldn't figure out how to open it as I had thought it was a twist off sort of top. No, instead you need to carefully lift up the cap (I used my nails) and then carefully pry off the lid. Now I know why so many bloggers have complained about accidentally flinging the packaging, losing the product and their general frustrations! Sure, it looks really cool, but it is not for those that are slightly clumsy.

This is a horrible swatch but it looked like liquid metal once applied (I sheered it out a little). Really pigmented, the pigment's texture was super smooth (not anything close to some of the chunkier MAC ones) and at first I could barely feel it against my finger. I was really impressed by how easily it adhered to the skin on my hand even without a base. Just a guess, but I bet it would stay on very well through the day.

Conquer is a brilliant emerald green and even with obvious shimmer/glitter in the product, it was still super smooth!

And here are two swatches of them side by side. Conquer on the left, Incite on the right. Second is blurred to show the shimmer (actually that wasn't intentional but it does show the shimmer so there!) .  Again, these swatches were done without a base.

So I'll be testing these guys out over the next week or so but I can assure you it won't be in the morning when I would invariably knock one of them over all over my bathrooms sink. Maybe I'll decant a little into 5g jars though then what's the point of having pretty packaging?

Have you tried the Illamasqua Pure Pigments? What did you think?