Illamasqua Melange Nail Varnish Review, Photos, Swatches
Illamasqua Melange Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Melange Nail Varnish ($17.00 for 0.50 fl. oz.) is described as a “golden teal [with a matte finish].” It’s a muted, medium-dark green with a hint of blue and gold and copper flecks of shimmer and sparkle. I thought it might be more a chameleon, but as I went from room to room (for different lighting), it was always a muted, dirty green to me. It had more of a satin finish where there was still some reflection, but it wasn’t glossy. I don’t know of any dupes for this shade really, but these were the closest I could think of: Zoya Stassi (P, $9.00) is much warmer, sheerer. China Glaze This is Tree-mendous (LE, $7.50) is more sparkly, sheerer. Cult Nails Grunge (P, $12.00) has less shimmer, lighter. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
It was fully opaque after two coats of polish, though it was pretty much opaque after one coat. The consistency was slightly thick, though it applied evenly and didn’t pool along the edges. It dried down quicker than the average polish. I normally get a full seven days with very minor tip wear with Illamasqua’s formula (I have worn some shades for as long as fourteen days).
It appears that Illamasqua is no longer available at any U.S. retailers, which means the only way to purchase their products is through their website. The press release I received for the Once… collection is for the US, and the pricing reflected what we saw in stores, but converting to “$ USD” on their website changes the polish to $23.53 (when I checked it). On top of that, nail lacquer is a restricted category for shipping, so to ship one polish is $24.34 (you can order up to 15 polishes, if you were doing some heavy-duty lacquer hauling). I’ve been such a huge fan of their Nail Varnish, so I’m sad to see it become harder to get (or justify).
Melange
PPermanent. $17.00.
See more photos & swatches!
Illamasqua Melange Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Melange Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Melange Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Melange Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Melange Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Melange Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Melange Nail Varnish
Illamasqua Melange Nail Varnish
That’s absolutely gorgeous! I want it so bad! But not being sold in the US WHY! *sobbing* Not sure I could justify buying even a really gorgeous shade 🙁
You can technically still get it, but it is pretty expensive with shipping 🙁
Nooooo I had no idea they pulled back from the US. >: I sure hope the brand would be picked up by another distributor in the near future.
They left very quietly 🙁
OMG no wonder I haven’t seen any Illamasqua product at Sephora stores these days and I wasn’t thinking about that! I got one white nail varnish from them last year, on the clearance shelf, for only $4. I didn’t know that could be a forever goodbye!
They certainly did. I sure hope they wouldn’t do the same in Australia. >:
I saw a few nail polishes on sale at Myer (I was in their Sydney City location, so that’s where the Illamasqua counter was). Mostly I saw the Shattered Stars Collection and Creator on sale. Not much of their other items were on sale (there were a few lipsticks and glosses, but from older collections). $10 each. I think they will stay in Aus for the time being, but pulling out of the US? Weird, but probably due to lack of exposure in Sephora (after Marc Jacobs came in, some Illamasqua gondolas were removed) and the only ones I saw were in Roseville, Powell St. (San Francisco) and Valley Fair (Santa Clara). I live in California.
I sure hope so. What’s weird about the US market is that Illamasqua was also being carried by Blomingdales, but only for a few months. On their website I saw that Illamasqua is still carried in the Kryolan flagship store in the US, but that’s super hard for most people to get to. :/
It’s pretty, I like it! It’s an interesting shade of green, and the gold shimmer looks so lovely against it.
It is a pretty shade!
Totally sucks as I wanted some of the new Glamore lipsticks and even £9 is so high…. One lipstick would be $45! I hope they come back soon….
Ouch!
It’s an interesting color…but not quite interesting enough to justify a Chanel level price!
I hear ya!
That’s such a shame that they’re no longer at any US retailers. This is a beautiful polish, but I doubt many people will be willing to shell out for the hefty shipping fee.
That’s my guess :/
It’s like a mermaid in a bottle!
That’s a great description!
Hmm, this is very pretty, but I’m worried it might be a bit similar to Butter London’s Two Fingered Salute. I think I’ll have to compare them before making a purchase.
That would be awesome! I’ll have to look for that.
My first thought was that it looked very similar to two fingered salute. I love that polish and wore it on my wedding day.. the big copper glitters make it look antiqued.
Anyone know whether this is similar to Butter London’s Two Fingered Salute? I have that and it looks pretty close…
Great review – shame about the shipping issue. It’s pretty much impossible to post nail polish overseas from the UK now, so I imagine that Illamasqua will have to use a specialist courier to do so.
Yes, they figured a way to do so, but it is a pricey method, unfortunately.
It’s bizarre how they still market to the US but no longer sell in the US. I really like this color, but the hassle to order it & the price makes purchasing it prohibitive.
I’m wondering if they didn’t anticipate leaving at this date, so they’re still in the process of withdrawing.
How pretty!
It is!
this is gorgeous! there’s an illamasqua counter in Vancouver but I just found out it’s closing (or maybe it’s already gone…..?) so I guess I’ll have to stock up :/
🙁
I didn’t know they had completely gone from the US. Tood sad because this collection has some nice pieces, and this nail polish is really beautiful!
I didn’t know until this collection!
I grew suspicious when Sephora all of a sudden no longer had their brand listed on the website a while back. :/
I love the cream shadows in this new collection, and I am so disappointed that Illamasqua is no longer at Sephora or anywhere else in the US. Melange is a beautiful polish, but with the high price and the difficulty in getting it, I’ll pass. Now, I must search for your review of the cream shadows!
I haven’t tested their cream eyeshadows, sorry!
So sad they’re not on Sephora anymore! I’m in LOVE with this polish but there’s no way I could spend that much to get it 🙁
I totally understand why the shipping cost is what it is (regulations, international shipping, etc.), but it makes it hard to justify.
Illamasqua isn’t sold in any US stores that I’ve been able to find. They’re no longer at Sephora.
Yes, that is correct. They were out of Sephora a year or so ago!
Such an interesting color and finish. Reminds me of what Marie Antoinette would decorate her room with. It is a shame Sephora doesn’t carry Illamasqua anymore and that shipping is outrageous.
I could totally see that!
I’ve never had the opportunity to try an Illamasqua’s polish, but this one looks a lot like ‘Mint me up’ by Catrice 🙂
Thank you for sharing, Massiel!
I thought they were going to be an exclusive at Bloomingdales but they’ve been pulled off their website. I hope this only temporary, this color is to die for!
Nope, they’re out of Bloomingdale’s now 🙁
A good dupe for this polish is Butter London’s “Two-Fingered Salute” in case anyone is interested, but doesn’t want to go through the hassle of trying to order through Illamasqua or paying for shipping. I THINK it might be Nordstrom exclusive color through so you’ll have to stop by Nordstrom’s to pick it up.
Thanks, Karen!
Thanks for the tip! I’m definitely checking out Butter’s version! 😀
I think this is gorgeous, but there’s no way I could even begin to justify paying $24 shipping on top of $24 for the actual nail polish.
lol so much nope.
They need to kiss and makeup with Sephora, stat.
Or if not that, then maybe make a deal with llarowe.
Something!
I think the only way you could justify is if you were ordering a ton of polishes, but even then it’s tough.
This is gorgeous. I’m so sad about Illamasqua being pulled from the US! Even during their sales I feel bad paying for shipping from the UK.
Me too!
I try to go for the free shipping option and place an order once a year. Shipping about $35CAN normally with the conversion of there basic shipping. £50 I spent was about $120CAN though. 😉 Probably not buying from them next year.
Wait, so Illamasqua isn’t even available at Bloomingdale’s anymore? Ugggh.
Correct!
Yeah I was talking to the sales associate at the MAC counter at Bloomies yesterday and she told me that location was supposed ot launch Illamasqua but then Bloomies pulled out most likely due to low sales. I guess they didn’t quite catch on in the US. Shame, I had been wanting to try their products and never got around to it.
Wow.. was Illamasqua even in the states for very long? I mean do you think they gave it enough time to get a following?
That color is amazing! I WANT it and I’m devastated that I’m not going to be able to get it.
A lot of readers have mentioned Butter London Two Fingered Salute as a possible dupe, which seems to be LE but still available through their website and Beauty.com 🙂
That’s so pretty. I wish it was physically possible to make the gold gather together in certain places on the nail more like it does in the bottle.
Illamasqua is one of the three polish formulas that ever seemed to perform well enough for my beat up nails. Also their brand philosophy was wonderful. I’m really sad to see it leave the US.
Me too, Elspeth! One of my favorite formulas of all time.
Such a beautiful nail polish! I can’t wait to add it to my collection. ^_^
Enjoy!
I only knew because last fall they started to discontinuing shades in the Skin Base online at Sephora. >_< I though it was just those less popular shade like the White which i was looking for but nooo.
🙁
This is gorgeous, though I’d argue it’s more sea-foam green than teal. Shame they left the States – I could never justify the shipping costs for a polish!
I agree – it’s not really teal!
I’ve always loved Illamasqua and wanted to try more of their products. But I’m not willing to spend $20-30+ on shipping. I absolutely love this color, but factoring in the cost of shipping, I now can’t see myself ordering it or anything else from this brand 🙁
For non-polish, you can get free shipping over 50 pounds!
That is sooooo gorgeous! The shipping cost is killing me. I just can’t… Darn it!
I hear ya!
Wow. I had no idea Illamasqua was leaving the US. Pretty disappointing. I hope they come back!
I hope they do!
so pretty, but I can’t justify the price, especially since their charging UK pricing and no longer in the USA (so SAD !!)
Yep, it is brutal!
It looks a bit like Butter London’s Two Fingered Salute, with a deeper base.
Awesome!
I would like to add another dupe “Glitter Gal Green Suede Shoes”.
Thanks, Sue!
That’s bizarre, I wondered why I hadn’t seen them in Sephora anymore. I wonder why the sudden departure?
Presumably slow sales, since it seems odd that Illamasqua would actually just want to leave if they were doing well!
I really loved the colour in the bottle, but now seeing it on your hands I don’t really like it. I wish it were more of a teal colour.
I’ve seen swatches where it looks really teal, but it is always green on me – like that patina, antique-y green. Even in rooms where I know the lighting runs cool, it looks green!
The color is really unique and pretty! Illamasqua is becoming more and more difficult to get and their shipping charges for international are generally quite high 🙁
I hear ya 🙁 At least on regular color cosmetics, it is free over 50 pounds.
This is so beautiful! I tried to look up that Butter London color others suggested as a dupe but it looks like it was LE 🙁 This is just too much with shipping.
It’s still available through butterlondon.com and beauty.com!
Oh thank you! The most obvious place, their official site, and I didn’t even check there!
my monitor may be off, but it reminds me of Zoya Yara 😉
Thanks, Brenda!
🙁 I’m to the point where it’s hard to justify getting a new nail polish unless the color is gorgeous and un-dupeable. Sadly, this is absolutely stunning and unique, and terribly expensive! Even with a great formula I can’t stomach spending that much on a nail polish + shipping. It’s too bad, because I love their blushes as well and was planning to order one or two for Christmas shopping, but it looks like I won’t be purchasing any more Illamasqua:'(
A lot of readers have mentioned Butter London Two Fingered Salute as a possible dupe, which seems to be LE but still available through their website and Beauty.com 🙂
Oh my! That is gorgeous!
Agreed!
They still have some products available at ASOS (though not polishes)
Thanks, Cara!
It reminds me of the Statue of Liberty.
I can totally see that!
asos.com carries this – at 20.63 eur it is not cheap, but at least they offer free worldwide shipping.
Thanks, Zhanna!
This is a stunning shade especially up close, i’m going to buy it tomorrow along with exquisite.
I’m so surprised you can’t get the brand in the U.S anymore, were they really doing THAT bad? They surely must have some other kind of distribution in the works ..
The only real reason I can think of is that they didn’t sell well here 🙁
Thanks for reviewing this, even if it’s really hard/_expensive to get in the US. I only hope they’ll ship to the rest of Europe, so to say. I think I must place an order soon, but our currency is quite low agains the £ at the moment, so it’s more expensive than usual. Might wait a mont or so. I do reall, really want this nailpolish though. I think it’s so gorgeous.
I hope they do… I would imagine shipping isn’t so bad that way? Or maybe they are distributed in-store or through online retailers for Europe (I think Selfridge’s has it?).
This is such a gorgeous, interesting polish! 😀 Unfortunately, I am 99% sure that on my vampire hands, it will look like I have moldy nails… 😛
That wouldn’t be a good look!
This one looks very similar to Two Fingered Salute by Butter London. I’m glad I was finally able to get that one since Illamasqua pulled out of the US (are they out completely yet, or do we still have time to stock up?)
Thank you, Tracy!
It seems like they’re just totally gone now!
I knew something was going on with Illamasqua because I couldn’t find it on Bloomingdale’s anymore. 🙁
It sucks their website is the only way to buy now. I was hoping I could still get it when visiting the US. The Bay in Canada is no longer carrying Illamasqua either. Everything’s 25% off at the Bay while they clear stock so I nabbed a few nail polishes. Sad it’s going when I just discovered their polishes through your great reviews. This polish looks so different and unique. I love the shimmering gold.
You are only making me want it more, stop that!