Illamasqua matte lip liquid and velvet blusher review

Illamasqua are one of my favourite makeup brands, so any new launches from them always get my heart pumping! As well as their recent Skin Base Mixers (full post on these here), they’ve recently added a matte version of their fantastic Hydra Veil to their primer line up, which is perfect for anyone with oiler skins. 

But on to the main points of today’s post: the Matte Lip Liquids* and new Velvet Blushers*. Illamasqua originally launched their Velvet Blushers last year as part of the Sacred Hour collection and created two shades that felt like a cream blusher, but dried to a powder finish. Perfect for anyone who has found that cream blushers often slide off or disappear too quickly, or those that have found powders a little chalky at times, the Velvet texture merged the best of both worlds. 

Surrender and Exotic Matte Lip Liquids

Flirtatious blusher, Surrender and Exotic Matte Lip Liquid swatches

There are two new Velvet Blusher shades to choose from in the summer collection (although I believe these are permanent) – Flirtatious and Conviction. Both are highly pigmented, long-lasting and work well when applied with your fingers or a brush. The colours do look a little bold in the pans, but don’t let that put you off – they blend very well and look very natural once applied. Each one is £21.50 and can be found in Illamasqua stores, Selfridges and online. 

The Matte Lip Liquids are a totally new launch for Illamasqua. Matte lips are the in thing at the moment and there’s a lot of competition around to choose from. In the range there are 3 shades to choose from: Surrender, Exotic and Forbidden. I’ve tested out Surrender (peachy pink) and Exoctic (orange) which are both perfect for summer.

Now, before I go any further, I need to tell you that these are seriously matte. There’s no hint of sheen once they’re dry, so if matte isn’t your thing, you really aren’t going to like them. For matte lovers like myself – prep your lips well before application. You’ll need to exfoliate and add a bit of balm for the best results, but it will be worth it in the long run! 

The first time I used these, I applied straight from the wand onto my lips and had a bit of a disaster – the brush added far too much product which dried out and looked a bit clumpy. On take two, I decided to dab the product onto my fingers and then apply to my lips which gave me exactly the finish I wanted (although with messy fingers afterwards!). You’ll need to leave a minute or two drying time, but once these are fixed on your lips, they really aren’t coming off until you want them too. I had dinner and drinks wearing Surrender and experienced hardly any transfer and it was still going strong 5 hours later. 

I have to be honest, I prefer the creamier, semi-matte texture of the Glamore lipsticks to these, but if you’re looking for a full matte lip, then this is definitely the product for you. Each Matte Lip Liquid costs £18.50 and is available online and from Illamasqua counters.

Do you like the look of these new products from Illamasqua? Are you a matte lip fan? 

*PR samples