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9 of My Must-Have Illamasqua Nail Varnishes

9 of My Must-Have Illamasqua Nail Varnishes

I love, love, LOVE!! Illamasqua’s Nail Varnish formula. For me, it’s one of the best (possibly, the best) formulas; long-wearing, great range of colors, nice consistency, and innovative. You can check out the shades I’ve reviewed in gallery format here. My all-time favorite shade is Raindrops, which was discontinued (go figure!).

What’s your favorite Illamasqua Nail Varnish? Or what shade would you love to try first?

39 Comments

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Barbara Avatar

Scarab is my first Illamasqua nail varnish and I LOVE IT. It is an amazing autumn shade, the formula makes me look like a pro when I apply it, and it has lasting power. So far only this and Essie’s Go Overboard are the two polishes I have been using over and over. But I have to check out Charisma, Viridian, and Galaxy based on the photos.

t_zwiggy Avatar

I don’t have that many Illamasqua polishes yet. Because they’re so expensive I’m not able to hoard them (read: buy 20 at the same time, lol) like I often do with brands like China Glaze. My favorites so far are Jo’mina, Nomad, Charisma and Faithful. I think I’m gonna get Scarab, Phallic and Milf next. I really want some of the brighter colors (like Gamma and Collide), but I don’t wear brights and neons during fall, so I guess I should wait a few months.

Anne Avatar

Illamasqua is my favorite nail polish, too. I don’t know how they do it, but their formula lasts five full days on me before it chips, which is spectacular–every other brand I’ve tried, high-end and low, chips within a day.

I have two shades now, Phallic (dark blue) and Rampage (dark green creme). The Phallic I have is only barely shimmery, while the ones in Sephora today are very shimmery. I prefer mine. When Sephora has its next F&F sale (November, according to the SA I asked on Thursday), I plan to get Jo’mina, and maybe others.

Jennifer Rivera Avatar

Hey Christine, I love all the colors you chose as a must have. They are all beautiful! Especially Creator, which btw you put “galaxy” as the name.

Nichole Avatar

I bought Viridian a few weeks ago, but haven’t worn it yet. I’m eyeing Scarab and Creator. Do their square caps still pull off? I tried with mine and it’s on there pretty tight if it does. Is there a trick to getting it off. What annoys me more is not having the cap line up with the bottle (OCD).

Kafka Avatar

“What annoys me more is not having the cap line up with the bottle (OCD).” – Oh My God, you too?! It drives me nuts and it’s a problem that I’d never encountered before Illamasqua. Closing the top tightly all the way really does make the bottle & cap go out of alignment! Each and every bottle. God, I’m so relieved I’m not the only one who gets all twitchy at that.

Laura Avatar

They changed the bottles recently. I’ve got some older bottles which line up perfectly (which makes my OCD very happy) but I bought Creator, Charisma and Boosh the other day and none of them line up! Its soooo infuriating!x

Kafka Avatar

Viridian. Hands down not only my favorite Illamasqua nail varnish but one of my favorite nail varnishes, period! I love Stance too and get a lot of inquiries when I wear it. What I want to buy next is Scarab.

KF Avatar

I love Stance…I’m not really a pink/fuchsia wearer normally, but I really like it! I just got Prosperity, and I’m really looking forward to trying out the rubber finish.

Christine Avatar

Fair warning – not much chips on me (the last thing I can remember was a matte polish). Illamasqua is definitely impressive and lasts longer and better than other brands on me – like I can wear them for 10-14 days with hardly any tip wear and no chipping.

Helen Avatar

I’m a big fan of Illamasqua nail polish, except those which have rubber finish. Phallic is my favourite. It reminds me to the highly coveted Essie Starry Starry Night (which I don’t have).

Tania Avatar

I think it’s funny, I have Viridian practically new (in fact I only used it once) and I hate it! Why does it look so nice in your pictures? ;___;
Charisma looks pretty cool though, I might try it.

LJ Avatar

I actually only have one polish by them because the one I bought chipped after less than a day- and I do not put my nails through enough for them to chip. I keep giving it a try but it just always chips – perhaps I just got a dodgy bottle? It’s just put me off buying anymore, even though I do love their shade range.

shelly Avatar

I have Scorn and Propaganda (latter was recently discontinued). Scorn lasted five days on my nails with minimal tipwear, and I’m currently wearning Propaganda (applied last night). Generally, most less expensive nail polishes last closer to two days on me. Needless to say, I’ve fallen in love with Illamasqua’s nail polish as well and want MORE! Creator, Baptiste, and Stance are next on my list.

Melissa Avatar

I have Scarab just got it recently, was my first ever Illamasqua polish cause one of my hubby’s friend had bought one and I asked her what she thought cause I was considering get one when I was at Sephora one day picking up a Dior, she told me not to bother. I pretty much put it off but then a had a couple on my wishlist and got lucky cause a dear friend of mine who works for a salon, her sister works at a beauty store sent me some samples of makeup and beauty products. I was delighted that she sent me two Dior shades I wanted and then this gorgeous Illamasqua color. I love it and think the polish is great. I guess everyone has their own tastes, to each their own. I love Viridian and Charisma, going to check out your post with Raindrops. Love your blog=).

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