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Illamasqua Opulent Intense Lipgloss Review, Photos, Swatches

Illamasqua Opulent Intense Lipgloss
Illamasqua Opulent Intense Lipgloss

Dress Your Lips in Opulence

Illamasqua Opulent Intense Lipgloss ($20.00 for 0.20 fl. oz.) is described as a “rainbow beige.” It’s a golden-beige with multi-colored shimmer (almost holographic but not quite) that reads mostly champagne, gold, copper, and pink once applied. NARS Albatross looks a bit lighter on the lips. MAC Bubble Lounge is lighter, less beige. MAC Luxure has a similar sparkle but is more silvered.

Now, the tube I have (which is a sample) indicates this is a Sheer Lipgloss, but online, Illamasqua has it listed as an Intense Lipgloss and again on their Facebook (when they posted promos)–so I’m going to go off of their websites. Intense Lipglosses are supposed to be rich in color, non-sticky, and have a high-shine finish.  The color coverage is semi-sheer to semi-opaque; there’s noticeable sheerness in the color, but there is enough sparkle that it still delivers a noticeable change in lip color. I didn’t initially feel the glitter/sparkle, but after a half hour, there was a definite grittiness and I could feel the edges of the sparkles.  Opulent wore for four hours, which was good and consistent with most glosses. The texture was non-sticky, and the finish had plenty of glossy shine.

With Generation Q, I noticed that Illamasqua has changed the packaging on their lipglosses. They used to be slanted, squeeze-tubes, but now they’re clear plastic with a black screw-top that twists and reveals a brush-type applicator. Both of the glosses I receive with this type of applicator had several splayed bristles, which made application more difficult. The bristles could be a little softer, as they seemed to be a touch scratchy against the lips as well as created some brush strokes. I’m not sure if I just happened to get two exceptionally messed-up brushes or if a lot of them are going to be that way. For now, we’ll assume that because these were samples, they were an early run, and perhaps not pristine, but I don’t think the applicator is ideal for this gloss formula–a regular doe-foot would be easier to maneuver around the lips and be less likely to cause visible brush strokes. I also detected a fruity scent.

Illamasqua Opulent Intense Lipgloss Review, Photos, Swatches

B
9
Product
7.5
Pigmentation
9
Texture
8.5
Longevity
4
Application
84%
Total

Illamasqua Opulent Intense Lipgloss
Illamasqua Opulent Intense Lipgloss

Illamasqua Opulent Intense Lipgloss
Illamasqua Opulent Intense Lipgloss

Illamasqua Opulent Intense Lipgloss
Illamasqua Opulent Intense Lipgloss

Illamasqua Opulent Intense Lipgloss
Illamasqua Opulent Intense Lipgloss

Illamasqua Opulent Intense Lipgloss
Illamasqua Opulent Intense Lipgloss

Illamasqua Opulent Intense Lipgloss
Illamasqua Opulent Intense Lipgloss

16 Comments

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Yellowlantern Avatar

Hmmm…I’m having a hard time seeing the rainbow aspect. I see gold, silver, and pink shimmer. Too bad, the description sounds killer.

These Illamasqua posts have been disappointing. Seems more like the name of this collection is Generation Just Ok (except for the nail polish).

Kiss & Make-up Avatar

I don’t really like it. I’m not a big fan of gold on the lips, so this is not something I’d pick out for myself.

P.S.: I just realized I’ve been very critical of most of the lip products you’ve posted recently. It’s not you, it’s me, I swear! 🙂

Kafka Avatar

Completely random thoughts:
1) This (and the Illamasqua lip gloss that you recently reviewed) are *so* your colour!

2) Rimmel had a lip gloss like this one, only fully opaque and shimmery, not glittery. Rimmel has pretty good lip glosses, imo (to the extent that non-lipgloss me knows anything about the subject). The two I have are completely non-sticky and so pigmented/opaque!

3) Forget the makeup, I want your top!! This and the grey one with that draping around the neck that you wore in the video are gorgeous (and not just because of my obsession with grey). Also, as colours, both grey and magenta/fuschia look stunning on you! The elegant grey top…. mmmm. Do you mind if I ask where you bought it?

Kafka Avatar

You’re right, the mid-week video featured you wearing a blue-teal. A gorgeous, GORGEOUS colour on you. (I have NO idea how or why I remembered grey. I must be more obsessed with the colour than I had thought.) Anyway, I watched that video and mostly just stared at your top. (Er… I need to find a better word, as it almost sounds like I’m talking about your bosom.). Anyway, it looked great on you, esp. with that makeup. May I ask where you bought it?

Christine Avatar

No problem! I was trying to think of a gray shirt I’ve worn recently but was coming up empty.

I bought it from Nordstrom during their anniversary sale, but they’re 50% off now (go figure…) – the first teal top is Classiques Entier Seta Drape Neck Sweater, and the purple shirt is actually the same. I bought every color, just because the cowl neck seems to work for me! http://bit.ly/OuII9P

Wwendalynne Avatar

I love this and I’m not really a lipgloss gal, but I still love this. That and the Bobbi Brown Firefly you recently reviewed. I love the glitter in both of these which does not look at all tacky. I know you would recommend the Firefly over this one, but I may have to get both.
Oh, and I received my UD Super-Saturated high gloss lippie pencil in Naked and I LOVE it.. LOVE!! It’s so beautiful on and the shine and colour are the bomb!! I seem to be hooked on either intense colour or complete naked with a sparkle and sheen these days.

blueraccoon Avatar

I’m just not liking it. I’m not a huge fan of nude lips to begin with, and this is a shimmery nude lip, I guess. It’s just not doing anything for me, and I think it would give me shimmery corpse lips. However, I still want the Stranger gloss. No idea what I’d do wtih an opaque shimmery gold lip gloss, but oh, I want it.

Mar Avatar

A lot of the newer Illamasqua glosses are with the brush applicator. A few months ago I went to Sephora to buy Torture and I had grabbed one of the newer ones – I rushed back in to make an exchange for the older squeeze tube version. I’m not very happy about this, personally. These look exactly like the Calvin Klein lipglosses I had, shape and everything.

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