Illamasqua ESP Lipstick Review, Photos, Swatches
Illamasqua ESP Lipstick
Illamasqua ESP Lipstick ($26.00 for 0.14 oz.) is described as a “vivid violet.” It’s a rich, violet purple with pink undertones and a matte finish. Nothing that I could think of seemed to come very close–this is very purple; not pink, not fuchsia, and then not ultra dark/vampy. OCC Belladonna was the closest, but it’s lighter. MAC Potent Fig and MAC Fervent are much darker, less violet. MAC Violetta and MAC Heroine are both much pinker. Illamasqua Kontrol is purpler, grayer, and quite a bit darker. See swatch comparisons here.
Though it’s a more unique color, and anyone who’s been on the hunt for a brightened purple will be tempted by ESP, the texture is very, very unforgiving. It’s incredibly dry, which made application problematic, wear uncomfortable, and the color looked dry and patchy applied. I would highly recommend laying down a smidgen of balm first–just enough to make everything smooth over better–and applying the color with a lip brush.It’s very easy to break the bullet because of how much pressure you exert just to swipe the lipstick across the lips (it tugs, drags, and pulls). It will come as no surprise but this is uncomfortable to wear, because it feels like it is clinging to the lips and is somewhat drying (but not as drying as it looks). The upside, I guess, is because it is clingy, whatever you do apply will last quite awhile (six hours for me).
ESP
PPermanent. $24.00.
Illamasqua ESP Lipstick
Illamasqua ESP Lipstick
Illamasqua ESP Lipstick
Illamasqua ESP Lipstick
Illamasqua ESP Lipstick
Illamasqua ESP Lipstick
This looks like a F, not a D+
Have to agree!
I’m disappointed. I am in love with this color. I have MUFE Rouge Artist Intense in 15, which look similar in color to this so I will just stick with that.
I was thinking the exact same thing! I’m kinda sad that it wasn’t better quality though 🙁
I actually made a face when I scrolled down and saw that swatch. It just looks so painfully dry.
My exact reaction.
Me too! It’s so clumpy 🙁 For a company to have such great nail polish, their lipstick sucks.
It made me reach for some lip balm!
This looks like MEU’s rouge #15 lipstick. I think the MUE is prettier and has a better formula.
Came here to say the same thing. It looks like a nasty dry matte version of MUFE’s Rouge Artist Intense 15.
Yowch!
I love the colour, but I’m cringing at the photos- I can see how dry it is on your poor lips! Too bad.
i’m SO mad that the formula sucks because i’ve been on the lookout for a shade exactly like this. sighhhh.
well i mean, i’m looking for MAC Heroine but that’s LE and i never seem to have the money for it when it’s out. Violetta is too… frosty? shimmery? not sure, but there’s something about the finish that just throws me off. this one too a little but it’s forgivable cause it’s a PURPLE purple.
I have had problems with a few Illamasqua lipsticks in the past. They were so dry I had to toss them since all that tugging on my lips was simply not worth it. I stick to the glosses from now on.
Same here. Some I love, but others are so dry that they are impossible to wear.
What a gorgeous color-but you can see from the swatch how dry that is! I think if someone really wanted to make it work, you could cut off a piece and smush it with some balm/gloss/lanolin before applying??
that’s what i was thinking! it’d benefit from being melted together with a bit of coconut oil and put into a little lip balm pot and applied with a lip brush! if it was a more dupeable shade i’d say don’t even bother, but this shade is so pretty and unique that i feel like it’d be worth the money and time to make it usable.
It looks like chalk! :/
Brrrr…
Ugh this looks like a nightmare! I’d never think a lipstick of this quality would be possible from Illamasqua. Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Intense lipstick in #15 looks like it would be similar in color, although it is shimmery.
so sad the formula on this wasn’t good. i love illamasqua and this color is so unique. but the formula issues turn me off.
I love this trend of purple tone lipsticks. It’s so unexpectedly bold, but beautiful. really lusting after the Illamasqua paranormal shades!
It’s so dry, it looks like eyeshadow. You could probably find a similarly colored eyeshadow and mix that with some clear gloss or press it over a neutral lipstick to get the same effect, and it’d probably look better.
I adore the colour but was waiting to see if you’d review it. Exactly as I feared. It looks horrifically dry even in the swatch, not nice at all. Reminds me to never ever be tempted by an Illamasqua lipstick…
Thank you for the honest review, finally! I’ve seen so many raves about ESP. I wanted it because the color is JUST what I’m looking for but I was surprised no one had criticized the formula yet so it made me wary. I’ve had such bad luck with Illamasqua matte lipsticks. So dry, almost powdery, they tug and the bullet breaks easily (everything you mentioned I’ve experienced).
I’m going to check out MUFE #15 instead as others suggested 🙂
xx
such a shame, because the color is amazing
SUCH a pretty color, bummer about the formula! Good to know, though — I might have considered getting it.
What a shame! When I saw the promo stuff for this I wanted to love it… but blimey that will look awful on my lips (prone to dry and flakey lips at the best of times!)
Is the other lipstick in the collection as bad??
Shocked, shocked, SHOCKED to see an illamasqua product with such a low rating! they screwed up on this one!
I want to find something nice to say because I love Illamasqua, haha, so… All things aside… That is a great shade of purple.
Drat the texture. 🙁 I was hoping this would be the purple lipstick for me. I expected better from Illamasqua.
Yuck! I’m so glad to see this as I was tempted to buy it after missing out on Heroine. That saves me some money. 🙂
This is so disappointing!! Do you have Posture to review? I was considering making an actual illamasqua website purchase, but I won’t if neither of them are worth it.
I have it and it’s completely different than on your swatches, it is indeed a bit harder to apply.
Try applying it on completely dry lips, it does the trick for me!
Hi Lucija,
I apply all lip products for swatching on bare lips – no balm, nothing. I always exfoliate prior, too, so there’s nothing interfering with the swatch!
I think occ belladonna was discontinued? I tried to buy it a while ago but couldn’t find it on the occ and sephora website.
Thank you!
Dry and patchy but also, I think the colour is really hideous. My auntie used to work with a woman who wore that shade of lippie and she also had brilliant orange hair. It was quite the “look”.
What a bummer! I had high hopes for this shade too!
How does the formula compare to MAC’s Ruby Woo? It is a beautiful colour, I’m wondering if it’s worth suffering for.
Ruby Woo is a walk in the park in comparison, LOL. They’re equally drying though Ruby Woo applies much, much better and doesn’t feel quite as dry going on.
Bless your soul .for wearing this for 6 hours!
I must have gotten lucky with mine. It’s definitely dry, but nothing like yours. I don’t find it anymore difficult to apply than MAC’s retro matte’s. There’s definitely none of the clumping and patchiness I see in your swatches.
Ruby Woo is a cinch to apply compared to this, lol!
Wow, the color is gorgeous (and looks awesome on you) but GAH – the texture! What were they thinking??? Thanks for your honest review!
this shade looks beautiful on the lips if you know how to apply it! the lips must be try without any lipbalm and put a bit of translucent powder over them and then apply lipstick with a brush, that’s it!
sorry, the lips must be dry, i meant.
Hi Iva,
I didn’t use any lip balm – they’re fully dry, as I exfoliate and always do one last blot before I put any lip products on for swatching.
Gorgeous color, but ack to the formula and how dry it looks! Sounds like there are some other, better dupes out there that I can check out.
So disappointing! I love this brand, and bought three of their lipsticks late last year because I loved the colours. Howevers, I can hardly ever wear them because they are just so drying. It really is like putting clay on your lips. It’s such a shame because they always have the different and unusual lipstick colours that I absolutely love 🙁
Oh dear 🙁 The color is amazing (makes me think of a lipstick version of Sugarpill’s Poison Plum?) but dang, that texture. Still, the color is so unique I’d probably try to do anything to make the application easier — melting it and mixing in some more oil, wearing it over a lip primer, anything. That, or wait for a similar color to pop up in their intense glosses line.
Wow, that review breaks my heart…. I love the color so hard but won’t bother since the formula is so craptastic. Sigh.