wildcard: illamasqua esp

illamasqua esp lipstick: £16.50*

I bet you'd never thought you'd see me rocking a vivid purple lip? Not exactly a LLYMLRS trademark now is it! But for some reason I've been looking at it longingly all week and thought I might as well at least give it a wear. Thus a new category on my blog has been born. Wildcard. I tend to play it safe with the things I try out on this blog because I know what I like at the end of the day. I turn down things I know I personally won't like because I don't like to waste products. But I've decided it's time to give things a go that are a bit out of my comfort zone! Let's see how it all pans out!

Illamasqua ESP is a bright matte violet lipstick which is unlike anything I've ever seen before. Zoe always tells me about how much she loves Illamasqua Kontrol and how awesome purple lips are but lets face it. I'm hellla girly when it comes to makeup. I'm all about the natural eyes, slick flick of liner and a peachy pink lip. But all in the name of giving it a go, here is me in a purple lip. Makeup is all about experimentation right?

The colour itself is absolutely stunning, a bright purple. The formula is a very old fashioned chalky matte, very similar to another Illamasqua lipstick I recently reviewed. It's quite stiff if I'm being honest but I quite like matte formulas like this. You could probably get away with just patting it on rather than applying straight from the bullet. A gloss on top would also probably make this a little bit easier to wear too. I like the colour on my skintone and it does contrast well with my eyes. While I think it's something I could probably pull off in theory, I cant see it being something I'll be wearing all that often. In a strange way Illamasqua ESP is werable but I can tell you now that it's not going to be it be something that everyone is going to love. Hats off to Illamasqua for always being creative and innovative with their collections. Illamasqua Paranormal is on counters now.

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boss orange woman edp

Boss Orange Woman Eau De Parfum: £45*

The fragrance opens with notes of apple and then the heart notes are described as fruity and floral with notes of white and orange flowers. The base has notes notes of creme brûlée, vanilla and sandalwood. I find the scent quite sweet but not too synthetic. Ive not tried the EDT version of this but the scent is very strong and pure, maybe a little heavier than some perfumes I've tried before. It's fairly creamy and uplifting and in line with it's blurb claiming to capture "A woman of youthful spirit, characterised by charm and passion". To me feel it's a little bit glamorous than youthful, with a bit of a vintage feel to it. I feel would be the kind of scent that would be perfect for spring. Personally I feel it's a bit too floral for summer for my personal tastes, we all know I love Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess! I like the notes of sandalwood and vanilla but I personally don't get many notes of orange or fruitiness. Which I felt were disappointing as I imagined it to be slightly more fruity and less floral. Maybe I shouldn't have read so much into the name. Also I feel like sometimes it can smell just a bit TOO sweet which I didn't like. The packaging is quite nice, it's rose gold which looks very pretty on my desk top (not that that should sway a perfume purchase!) In all I think this might be a bit too heavy for my taste, so I only apply very sparingly. I think that could be because it's an EDP rather than a EDT.  While I do like it I have to use it quite sparingly and only one or two spritz's max!

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mavala chilli and spice

Mavala Bamako, Jaipur, Trinidad, Bali, Samarkand & Cuzco: £4.50*

I've not really tried much from Mavala before but they stock loads of shades in their collection which are forever growing. I've looked at the polishes before so I was pretty excited to acquire some of the Chilli and Spice Collection. Inspired by travels in "far off lands" forming a collection of vibrant hues which will be perfect for the summer. Mavala nail polishes come in half the size of most typical nail polish sizes at just 5ml. However I quite like this. I know I'll rarely go through a whole nail polish (although I have on Models Own Utopia!) there really is no need for such large polishes. The bottles are quite small but I found the brushes easy to hold and the brush applies the product evenly.

Mavala Bamako is my personal favourite from the bunch and I've actually painted my nails twice in this shade since I got these last week. It's a pretty emerald green with nods to turquoise and blue going through it. Surprisingly I didn't own anything similar to this shade so I was very impressed with it. Mavala Jaipur is a typical bright orange with a creme finish. Mavala Trinidad is a strange shade for a summer collection as it's a darkened muted blue navy shade. It fits well with the overall collection but I'd probably expect something a littler brighter for summer. It is very nautical though so I suppose it fits. Mavala Bali is a bright pink, again kinda stereotypical for a summer collection but it is a lovely shade. Mavala Samarkand is a really lovely purple shade. I've never really got into darker purples as I tend to go for lilacs but there is something about Samarkand that makes me think it would be perfect for a holiday. Finally Malvava Cuzco which is a really nice apple red.

In all I love a few of the shades and like the rest. I think Bamako, Cuzco and Samarkand are my personal stand out shades while the other three in the collection are fairly forgettable. Bamako will definitely be gracing my nails over the next few months as it is a unique and wonderful shade. While you are getting less product than other nail polish brands for the same sort of price I feel it's less wasteful and you are more likely to use a bottle up. You can purchase them from Boots, Debenhams or John Lewis or online and retail for around £4.50.

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this or that: radiance primers

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer in Radiance: £28.00* (mini size shown)

Makeup Atelier Paris Eclat Makeup Base: £18.50*

I've been quite into a bit of radiance at the moment. I'm very much into that glow from within look so in comes the radiance primer. I've been testing a few and I've come across two that I thought were very similar so I'd do a "This or That" post on the two. A bit about my skin is quite odd, I have a very olive skin tone but because I'm fairly pale it can often look sallow or lack brightness. Primers often give that soft focus, blurred out look at the skin which really makes a huge difference to the way the skin looks.

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer in Radiance is a a very pretty glowing primer that smooths out the face and provides a flawless base. It has a slight tint to it and provides a natural sheer dewy finish. It clocks in at a whopping £28 for 30 ml so it is on the pricer side. I prefer to use this with alongside a smoothing primer (such as the Clarins Instant Smooth) as I feel it doesn't smooth as much as I like. It's slightly on the watery side I feel which feels nice on the skin but prefer something a little thicker. It does bring a lovely amount of glow to the face and enhances the complexion. It blends seamlessly into the skin and gives a non-glittery, radiant base. I like to mix this with my Laura Mercier Silk Creme foundation as well because it blends so well.

Makeup Atelier Paris Eclat Makeup Base is a new brand to me so I've been trailing a fair few of their products out. Make-Up Atelier Paris is a a professional makeup brand. The products are exported globally from France and used by professional make-up artists and consumers all over the world. It's packed full of light enhancing and reflecting pigments to reflect light off the surface of the skin. The Eclat base is very similar in colour to the Laura Mercier Radiance Primer but with more of a pinky, lighter base compared to the peachier Laura Mercier one. It's a little thicker too and less fluid on the face which in turn smoothes out the skin a little more. It can be used before or after makeup to create a radiant, glowy base.

I think they look very similar when used on the face and do a great job of adding radiance and brightness to sallower skin tones. I think i slightly prefer the Makeup Atelier one if I'm being honest because it smooth out the skin a little more than the Laura Mercier. Also the price of the Laura Mercier one is about £10 more than the Makeup Atelier one for the same product!

Which would you choose? Makeup Atelier Paris Eclat Makeup Base or Laura Mercier Foundation Primer in Radiance

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