Illamasqua to me is one of those brands that you keep eyeing but don't hear much about. I bought these two products on a whim. I was just about to leave the mall before I started hearing some serious Naija music and I don't mean old school Naija music, I mean some serious hard core ish belonging to wizkid. Trust me to immediately seek out the source! The Illamasqua stand was blasting some badass Naija mix tape on Selfridges's ground floor, there was no way in hell I was walking past them.
I went straight to their lipstick display because I'd heard the most about them. I immediately picked up their matte lipstick in Kontrol and just as I was about to pay, I spotted their powder foundation in 325, it looked like a nice color that I could contour with so I grabbed it as well. Illamasqua is a pretty high end brand, their products are way more expensive than Mac, they are probably around the same price range as Black Up so I made sure to get things that I was really impressed with.
Illamasqua powder foundation in PF325 - Like I said earlier this is a powder foundation but I bought it to use as a contour color. 325 is the darkest shade in Illamaqua's range of powder foundations and a good contour color for me. It is a neutral toned brown which is a welcome relief because inasmuch as I love my Cover girl queen collection bronzer in ebony bronze it can look a bit too red sometimes. The cover girl bronzer is a red toned brown so it is usually a bit difficult to tone down if you are going for something neutral but the powder foundation in 325 just looks like a darker version of my current powder so it is perfect for  when I'm going for a very subtle contour.
Illamasqua lipstick in Kontrol - Gorgeous blue toned violet. This is one of the best lipsticks that I've tried, EVER. The shade of purple is stunning, it's like nothing that I've seen before. It is not drying and It applies like a DREAM. I'd like to say that it is comparable to Mac's amplified finish but please let me not even misbehave, this is better. It is so so so so pigmented, I was shocked at how opaque it was after one swipe. If you love purple lipsticks, heck if you love lipsticks, HUNT THIS LIPSTICK DOWN. 

Products: 
Illamasqua powder foundation in PF325- £26
Illamasqua lipstick in Kontrol - £18.50
Where to buy: Selfridges (Selfridges delivers to Nigeria)

"It was you who brought me safely through birth, and when I was a baby, you kept me safe." Psalm 22:9