Out of my recently received Korean products, The SaemSaemmul Aura Liquid Highlighter was one of the items I'd been most looking forward to. Finding a versatile highlighter is no easy feat; most highlighters are too sparkly for my taste.
The Saem is a natural Korean skincare & makeup brand that, like Innisfree, does not use parabens, mineral oil, artificial colours or animal ingredients in their products. I recently discovered The Saem after searching for alternatives to Innisfree, since I pretty much have everything that I want from them!
These Saemmul Aura Liquid Highlighter bottles caught my eye because they reminded me of Benefit's High/Moon Beam, which I used for a long time before making the switch to natural cosmetic brands. The shades available are #1 Pink Light and #2 Gold Light
As the names suggest, Pink Light is a warm pearly pink, whereas Gold Light gives a subtle golden radiance, both of which are very pretty on their own. Other than applying these on the usual areas as a highlighter, you could also mix them into foundations/BB cream for an all over glow. Swatches of Pink Light (left) and Gold Light (right)
Blended:
The SaemSaemmul Aura Liquid Highlighter retails at 8,000 KRW each for 8g - excellent value for money if you can get it for this price or less!
I would have posted this review earlier, but I visited family and forgot to take the pics with me so it has been delayed.
I have now had quite some time to play with my Illamasqua goodies and I have to say I love (most of) them - I say most because I wasn't thrilled with everything purchased.
Illamasqua Sheer Lipgloss
I got this in the shade Electrify which is baby pink with beautiful micro shimmers. Not very pigmented, consistency wise it's somewhere between MACLipglass and Lustreglass - sticky enough to last a few hours but not so much your lips glue together.
The tube it comes in is great, as it's hygienic and the slanted applicator making it easy to apply directly. Has a very light fruity scent which I like too. I took a gamble and picked this out according to the inaccurate online swatches on their website, but it turned out to be the perfect choice ^^
Illamasqua Illuminator
Odyssey is a shimmery white with pearly finish, great to use on cheekbones, brow bones, lips and anywhere else you want to catch the light. Easy to blend and lasts throughout the day, but it's easy to accidentally squeeze out too much from the tube since it's relatively runny in texture. It has a slanted tip applicator just like the lipgloss and I apply it with fingers then blend. I like this so much I want to collect the other shades too (6 more to go!)
Illamasqua Volume Mascara
Harness is black, Lewd is navy blue. Both are shockingly average and toally below my expectations.
Lewd
Harness
There's nothing spectacular about this mascara I have to say, it creates slightly more volume, doesn't clump, but length wise both make next to no difference (for me anyway) and weighs lashes down after you've curled them. They flake a fair bit and smudge like crazy by the end of the day, and are not waterproof at all; great if you want to look like a panda in the rain though. The brush is also a little weird and to be honest they might as well just removed it completely because it is that horrendous for applying mascara.
Not even worth £5 in my opinion, let alone the £15 price tag. Whoever came up with this formulation must have been from a different planet and landed on their head in the travelling process. Seriously we expect more from a mascara these days...
Illamasqua Liquid Metal
I thought about giving this its own dedicated review because it is simply awesome, but the mascara was such a disappointment that I'm going to throw its Liquid Metal Solstice friend here too.
Solstice is part of Illamasqua's limited edition Sirens Collection; it's basically a very rich and extremely pigmented metallic cream. You can apply it pretty much anywhere, or even mix with some moisturizer for a subtle golden glow; it literally lasts all day until you remove it, its creamy texture makes it easy to blend and the colour doesn't fade either. It feels very smooth & soft to apply, and has a sweet vanilla smell very similar to MAC lip products. A quick swipe of this with my finger picks up more than enough product.
It was quite difficult taking pictures of this and seriously the pics don't do it justice - it's one of those shades that look way better in real life.
Will I buy this again? Probably not because this will last so long that by the time I'm done with it, I will undoubtedly have found something I like more :p
