Illamasqua Paranormal Palette, Review & Swatches

Before closing all the paranthesis I previously opened, such as reviews of Dior Summer Mix and Tom Ford  Quads, I would like to introduce another product I recently tested, eye shadow palette from Illamaqua's Paranormal Collection for this summer.

Being an avid collector and admirer of Illamasqua nail polishes, I had to have all the three nail polishes released with summer collection. How cool is that that they glow under UV black light! I was waiting for the right moment to order them and heard about a one hour midnight sale of Illamasqua. It was 50% off everything! Although the servers were very slow and it took me almost an hour to get the things I would like in the basket, I was lucky enough to be able to order the three polishes and the eye shadow palette from the same collection. I was not planning to get the palette but after seeing everything would cost less than what it normally does for just three nail polishes, I was sold.

Paranormal Palette from Illamasqua Summer Collection 2013

Eye shadow palette has the same name as the collection, Paranormal. It consists of four creme eye shadows, which are defined to be "water-resistent" by Illamasqua. They are also announced to be very long lasting, so I couldn't wait to try them out. When I received the palette, I was a bit disappointed to see that purple eye shadow was out of the metal housing and was stuck on the pink one. The green one was also loose together with its housing. I pressed the purple one back into the pan and stuck the green one with a double sided tape. I didn't complain about the issue and I was so taken by the colors once I applied them on my arm for the following swatches. The shades in the palette are: A pinkish red, a mid-toned orange, a yellow based green and a mid-toned violet. They have a gorgeous glow under the sun. I would define this as a pearly sheen, which slightly changes color once moved. I couldn't wait to apply it on my eyes.

Swatch with full sun: Paranormal Palette from Illamasqua Summer Collection 2013

This kind of colors are not easy to use everyday but on a gorgeous sunny sunday, I took my Illamasqua Paranormal Palette out and applied each color with my fingers. I used the orange on the inner corner, green on the center lid and along the lower lashes, violet to the outer half of the lid. The colors were a bit more sheer than I would expect them to be, so I applied these by layers, building up the intensity. I was happy with the result, especially under the sun the sheen was very pretty.

In Action: Paranormal Palette from Illamasqua Summer Collection 2013, fresh after applied

I was very excited to write this review until... I looked in the miror two hours later. Starting from my crease there was almost nothing left! All these layers I applied were all gone! I took the following photo four hours later just because I was at home by then. One more thing I have to mention is that, this is the first eye shadow which ever creased on me! I don't have oily lids and I never thought I would be mentioning creasing/fading issue on my blog.

In Action: Paranormal Palette from Illamasqua Summer Collection 2013, four hours after applied

Final thoughts: I love Illamasqua, I am crazy about their motto, their creative products and collections. I am also an avid collector of their nail polishes and I love each and every one of them. I was not expecting to get so disappointed with one of their products. You can say that I was caught off-guard with that one! Despite the beautiful sheen, Illamasqua Paranormal palette doesn't meet the premises, it is neither water-resistent, nor long-wearing. It is not even normal-wearing. A definite miss for me, even if it was 50% off!

Have you checked out Illamasqua's Paranormal Collection? What are your picks? Have you tried any other Illamasqua creme eye shadow, how did it perform?

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eye shadow, Illamasqua, palette, swatch