Illamasqua May Queen

There’s a lot of history to May Day, from pagan festivals embracing fertility (couples slept together in the woods to wake up covered in morning dew which is where the tradition of washing your face in May Day dew comes from – good luck with that!), to days of action and a break from industrial grind. Very far from the traditional vision of May day flowers and maidens springing around in floaty dresses round a May Pole, Illamasqua has used the darker side, the one more connected with activism and nature, as inspiration for their collection. I like it. Starting with the new Beyond Powder (£34), it’s a white gold with a light green shift – absolutely amazing pay-off in the shift.

Illamasqua May Queen

However, I think this is the star of the May Queen show – one of three new Powder Eye Shadows (£17.50), in Maiden; a soft, golden shimmer. It’s just beautiful – so much glimmer and one of the best shadows I have seen in a long while. It’s light catchy, kind of shifty in shade – sometimes more silver than gold – and a dream to apply. I didn’t find it droppy either.

Illamasqua May Queen

Pigments (£17.50) aren’t my thing at all – you really have to work to get them right and they drop like crazy, but you can mix with blush, shadows or highlighters for ultra-sheen. The new one is in Muse which is a pink based shimmer show.

Illamasqua May Queen

It’s really hard to get the green shift to show up in the swatch but Beyond in Deity is the first swatch followed by Maiden and then Muse.

Illamasqua May Queen

The lipstick is an existing Antimatter in Hot Pink.

The Illamasqua May Queen collection launches on 4th May.

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