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Illamasqua Fusion & Perseid Nail Varnish Reviews, Photos, Swatches

Illamasqua Fusion Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Fusion Nail Varnish

Illamasqua Fusion Nail Varnish (£14.50 for 0.50 fl. oz.) is described as a “khaki gold glitter.” It’s a deepened, muted, olive brown with golden olive shimmer and sparkle. It was mostly opaque in two coats, and the consistency wasn’t too thick or too thin. It dried a little faster than average, but it still had a naturally shiny finish without a top coat. Chanel Mysterious (601) (P, $27.00) has no shimmer and is greener. Rescue Beauty Lounge Scrangie 2.0 (LE, $20.00) is lighter. Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Ripley (P, $10.00) is lighter, greener. SpaRitual Lithophonic (LE, $10.00) has green shimmer, is greener overall. See comparison swatches.

Perseid Nail Varnish (£14.50 for 0.50 fl. oz.) is described as a “galactic black glitter.” It’s a blackened purple with green-teal micro-shimmer and larger holographic, hexagon-shaped glitters. It’s nearly opaque after two coats of polish, but the consistency is quite thick. It’s a polish that tends to pool along the edges. About half of the glitter seems caught underneath the polish, so it gives the finish a more uneven/bumpy look. It took two thick coats of top coat to smooth it out, and it still didn’t seem entirely smooth. I think this polish looks very interesting in the bottle, and on the nails, less so, but I only saw some of the dimension on the nails when I was outside and the sun was shining–otherwise it looked very black and lost a lot of the character.  The good news is that I don’t have anything like it, so it is a more unique shade from what I can tell–but the formula needs work.

Illamasqua’s Nail Varnish formula wears as long as ten days with minor tip wear but no chipping–it’s one of the longest-wearing formulas I’ve come across.

Fusion

LELimited Edition. $17.00.
A
A
9
Product
9.5
Pigmentation
9
Texture
10
Longevity
4.5
Application
93%
Total

Perseid

LELimited Edition. $17.00.
C
C
6
Product
9
Pigmentation
6
Texture
10
Longevity
3
Application
76%
Total

Illamasqua Fusion Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Fusion Nail Varnish

Illamasqua Fusion Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Fusion Nail Varnish

Illamasqua Fusion Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Fusion Nail Varnish

Illamasqua Fusion Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Fusion Nail Varnish

Illamasqua Fusion Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Fusion Nail Varnish

Illamasqua Fusion Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Fusion Nail Varnish

Illamasqua Fusion Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Fusion Nail Varnish

Illamasqua Fusion Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Fusion Nail Varnish

Illamasqua Perseid Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Perseid Nail Varnish

Illamasqua Perseid Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Perseid Nail Varnish

Illamasqua Perseid Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Perseid Nail Varnish

Illamasqua Perseid Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Perseid Nail Varnish

Illamasqua Perseid Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Perseid Nail Varnish

Illamasqua Perseid Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Perseid Nail Varnish (with 2 coats of top coat)

Illamasqua Perseid Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Perseid Nail Varnish

Illamasqua Perseid Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Perseid Nail Varnish

21 Comments

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Nads Avatar

I just got my Perseid today and I don’t really regret it. I agree with you completely that the formula is off (for illamasqua) but I think its unique enough to add to a collection

Carrie Avatar

Bummer about Perseid. Potential to be so pretty! But I’m with you on this one: at this price point, originality isn’t enough, the formula needs to be great too!

Danielle Avatar

Perseid is one of those “admire from afar” colors.XD Looks like Illamasqua bottled a galaxy and threw in hex glitter but the texture really kills it. I know Raindrops has this sort of flaked glitter, so maybe Illamasqua isn’t quite used to using hex glitters? I can’t name any shades of theirs that have hex glitter aside from this one!

morepolishplease Avatar

Perseid deserves an F for being so deceptive in the press photos and in the bottle. It is bumpy, and the glitter gets completely lost in the polish. It’s the biggest disappointment for such a high price. It is definitely one of the WORST products I’ve ever purchased, EVER.

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