When the Illamasqua Human Fundamentalism collection was released, there was one piece that especially caught my eye – the Neutral Palette. As soon as I swatched it in Sephora, I knew it was an absolute must for me – the colors are exactly my style, and the quality is amazing.
The Neutral Palette is packaged very similarly to most of Illamasqua’s products, in their signature-shaped black compacts. Unlike their blush (which has a clear lid), it has a solid lid with a mirror. I prefer the clear lid so I can see what’s inside, but this way is fine too. It is very sturdy and lovely. Here is a photo next to a blush (Hussy, which I will review soon), so you can see the relative size.
The Neutral Palette contains four eyeshadows – three mattes and one metallic. The mattes are ivory Stealth, cool brown Wolf and matte black Obsidian, and the fourth shade is a metallic / shimmery gold Vintage. Vintage is exclusive to the palette, but the other three shades are available as singles on the Illamasqua site. I see Wolf on the Sephora site, but Sephora doesn’t carry the full Illamasqua line, and they don’t seem to have Stealth or Obsidian at this time.
The quality of all four eyeshadows is fantastic. They are incredibly smooth and pigmented. The mattes remind me of Inglot’s mattes, only perhaps even better, and Vintage reminds me of the best of Urban Decay eyeshadows. They apply and blend beautifully. I haven’t tested out wear extensively, but I always wear a primer and I never have a problem with anything creasing on me – I’ll update this review if I do have a problem, but I can’t imagine that I will.
Although it only has four shades, this palette seems quite versatile as well. You could use Stealth all over the lid and to highlight, then use Wolf in the crease to define the eye socket for a very subtle look. You could use Wolf on the lid, and add Obsidian to the crease for a smokey eye. You could add Vintage to any look, either lightly just to add some shimmer, or heavily (or wet) to add an intense metallic look.
The Neutral Palette is $42.50 at Sephora, or £30/approximately $47 at Illamasqua.com, and I think it is worth every penny.
This post contains affiliate links. For more information please see my disclosure policy.
This post is from Project Swatch. All rights reserved.