No one talks about… Illamasqua Beyond Powder in OMG Burst – review, swatches

After I posted a review on the Marc Jacobs Jet Girl Luminizer, where I pointed out that no one was talking about that product – and I’m still dumbfounded about that – I got a lot of views on that post. Well – “a lot” at the scale of this blog, which isn’t very big, but still, it’s my most viewed post, by a long shot. That made me realise that I’m not the only one scouting the Internet for reviews of unpopular products, and I certainly have a fair share of makeup that I “blindly” bought because there was no one else’s opinion to help me in my decision. So I decided to start a series here on the blog…

No one talks about…” is a series of makeup reviews of products that have very few to no reviews online (reviews on online stores are not accounted for). This is so that if you’re searching for a bit more information before biting the bullet, you’ll at least have these swatches, photos, and my humble opinion :).

Let’s premiere it with the Illamasqua Beyond Powder in the shade OMG Burst:

If I had to choose a favourite makeup brand aesthetic, it would be a tight race between Illamasqua and The Balm, but Illamasqua would win. I love the goth yet classic theme. It combines the sleekness of a professional brand and the quirk of an avant-garde spirit.

The Beyond Powders from Illamasqua are baked highlighters and the OMG Burst shade is a marble of champagne and magenta. The powder has the type of sheen you typically find in baked products: it’s that very peculiar, translucent type of shine, that makes the skin more glossy than shiny. It’s like a glazed look, and the skin looks more plump. I personally love it, it’s my favourite type of cheek highlight.

Heavy swatches below, showing the glow and with direct sunlight:

Upon first application, the magenta tones of the highlighter are very visible, but you can blend it out almost into nothing. You can pick up the product with a dense bristled brush so that you won’t risk ending up with a clownish face.

Another aspect: I don’t think this is easily dupable. Rose and pink toned highlighters are usually lighter – this is very intense, there’s a lot of colour in it and yet, the product doesn’t really turn into a blush, which is pretty peculiar.

Blended swatch.

In terms of lasting power, it’s not superb. It lasts well up to 8 hours, but that doesn’t cut it for me anymore. My work day is at least 9 hours. After 11 hours, it’s totally gone. A setting spray doesn’t seem to change the lasting power, interestingly enough.

Info at the back.

Lasting time aside, I’m really happy with it. The shade is beautiful and unique, and the glow is just how I like it. I like to use a heavy hand with this, but being a baked product with 7 grams, I think there’s good value even if not used sparingly. I don’t think I would purchase it at full price, but I’ve seen it discounted frequently, so I’d say be aware of sales if you’re into trying it.

You may also like

5 Comments

  1. Illamasqua is such an underrated brand. Their lipsticks & lip liners are some of the best I’ve ever tried. I’d definitely be interested in giving this blush a go! Thanks for your review. 🙂 What an awesome series!

    1. Thank you so much! I got a lipstick from them a long time ago – basically when they launched – and I remember them being very matte and very dry, but they’ve since reformulated. I might be looking into those again! Any shade you’d recommend?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *