Illamasqua Nail Varnish Competition Winners Collection Swatches & Review
Illamasqua had a contest awhile back where people could submit their “dream” nail varnish color to them for a chance to have their color created by the company. Over 6,000 people entered the competition and today I have two of the three winning colors.
The colors that were posted in the press release did not really match the actual nail colors in real life, which was a little disappointing. The one I *really* wanted to see in person, Raindrops (a light blue/grey jelly with silver glitter) I didn’t actually get for review here, so I might be purchasing that one soon, since it looks amazing in swatches I have seen.
The formula was pretty good for these, but not perfect. Read on.
Shrapnel
Shrapnel is a bright copper/rose-gold metallic with small shimmery gold bits. It has a slightly frosty look to it, but not too bad. It does apply a wee bit streaky so you will see brush strokes here. But I actually really like the color, much to my surprise. I kinda dig rose/copper colors as of late since there aren’t that many of them yet. This covered really nicely in just one coat, but I used two. The promo pic of this one showed as it being very gold, not copper.
Eclipse
Eclipse is a deep navy blue bordering on purple with a silver frosty thing going on. Hmm. I don’t dislike it as much as I thought I would, but still not loving it. I think the base color is a little boring and not all that unique and the frost isn’t my cuppa tea. This one also is a bit brush strokey. The coverage again was pretty opaque, this is two coats. I was disappointed with this in the end mainly because the promo pic looked amazing, and it wound up being very different. I expected something much darker, more purple and maybe with green glitter flakes in it, but this was not that!
Overall:
I liked these but don’t think they are as interesting as the promo pics showed. The colors are both pretty, but maybe not that unique (at least to someone who owns as much polish as me) and I’m not loving the frosty finish.
How are you feeling about these colors?
-VV
Welcome! My name is Kelly and Vampy Varnish is a animal friendly beauty blog.
The third one that you didn’t review is the most unique and pretty I believe. But I’m still not tempted to purchase them . . .
Hi Tamika,
Yeah I know that’s what I think from the pics I have seen also.
I think the Shrapnel colour is gorgeous! Haven’t seen Illamasqua for sale round here, though
Hi Dawn,
Sephora does sell them, but not usually the new shades. You have to get them on Illamasqua’s website then pay UK shipping :/
I’m in the UK, and it would be great to be able to see the products first. Never heard of Illamasqua until I saw Americans reviewing it lol. We don’t even have a MAC store anywhere near – it sucks
That’s hilarious! I know they have it at Selfridges also. You guys need a MAC store!
Well. What to say? Your swatches are pretty, but these polishes aren’t very original or amazing to me. Not tempted either.
Hi SB_Sweetie,
Yeah I think a lot of people feel the same way you do.
Weird, those aren’t at all what I was expecting. The copper is… sort of close, I guess, but the other one? That’s… that almost looks like a totally different polish! Strange…
I mean, it’s pretty, but it’s not what I was expecting.
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Hi Laynie,
I know, I don’t know what they did with the promo pics!
I think the polishes are better in theory than the actual finished product
Any idea if they would carry these polishes at Sephora?
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Hi Belle,
I’m not sure if they will have them at Sephora.
These both just look *okay* to me…Raindrops appeals to me the most, but I’m not THAT tempted.
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Hi Zara,
Yeah, I hear ya!
Shrapnel is OK colour-wise but brushstrokes are never a good look.
Eclipse is a complete waste of £13.
Hugely disappointing.
Jen´s last post…Barielle Cashmere Or Loose Me
Hi Jen,
Yeah brush strokes are zero fun.
I was so excited for Eclipse and Shrapnel when I saw the initial artist illustrations…now I am just sad. I wonder how the creators of these colors feel?
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Hi Varnish Vixen,
Good question!
The only one that actually met my expectations from the promo pictures is Raindrops. And I couldn’t wait for all three of them. It’s a disappointment, and a great one, I worship Illamasqua, but Eclipse and Sharpnel were no where near to the uniqueness of the promo pics, especially the frosty finish is really not up my alley. And Raindrops, being perfect and all needs around 5 or more coats not to be sheer and see-trough. Big ouch. I’ll stick to old Illamasqua perfection and hope for the best in the future.
Ulmiel´s last post…OPI – Romeo & Joliet
I think Eclipse is pretty, but I’d be really interested in seeing Raindrops! I’m just kind of meh about these two colors.
I was also disappointed when I saw swatches of these. The only one I love is Raindrops, which is pure love. Great swatches (as always
)!
Maestra´s last post…Review and swatches- Illamasqua – Art Of Darkness collection
I agree with you on the finish, I love the colors though.
I was and am just so disappointed in this! I was so excited for these based on the bottle pictures that they released of how they would look. Raindrops is the only one that I can stand.
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They are interesting colors but not any that I would use.
marisol´s last post…Monday Weigh In – Week 3
Rather underwhelming for supposedly “dream” nail polish colors.
I really don’t think much of these. The first is a bit too frosty looking. The second doesn’t look unique at all. This is what they choose out of 6,000?
The first one is pretty, but not something I would expect from 6,000 entries, unless the rest of the entries were terrible.