Review - Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Hollow.

I am on a product testing-palooza this week! Hopefully that correlates to a whole bunch of reviews starting on Saturday - It's finals week for me right now, so I'm definitely not spending a whole lot of time blogging this week, but after tomorrow I can finally get some reviews posted, bubble baths taken, room deep cleaned and books read (Even though I'm taking a summer semester again this year)!

I have skin with very cool tones, so finding the right shade in terms of contours and bronzers is kind of a pain in the tushie - they are almost always too warm for me, which in turn makes my skin either look orange or dirty. Not cute. In the past couple months I've been able to round up three different shades that work on contouring my face (and one bronzer! Probably the first bronzer I've ever purchased as well...a bronzer!), Hollow being one of them.

Hollow is in a plastic case with a clear bottom and black lid, and has the iconic angular shape that nearly all of Illamasqua products do. My one and only complaint is the lid isn't exactly stuck on there that well; it isn't a top that screws into place. I fear a bit that it will cause the product to dry out and at the price I paid for it ($26 at Sephora) I would literally be throwing money in the garbage. 

Hollow is unblended on the left (note - unblended, not build up) and blended on the right. Illamasqua describes the shade as a "toffee". Its quite a taupe-y brown as it has quite cool tones and a touch of gray; both of which make this one of the most perfect contouring shades for my skin. Ever. The pigmentation is out of this world - a tiny bit goes a long way, and even though I use this 3 or 4 times a week it is still going to take some time before I see even a dent. The consistency is creamy but it dries matte - no shimmer or dewiness about it.

The wear time for Hollow was a bit above average for cream products on my skin, but not quite as longwearing as an average powder product. It definitely wore a bit longer than I had expected it to.

Illamasqua's Cream Pigments are marketed for "face, eyes, lips and body" but I've only used it on my face as of yet. I'm not entirely sure if I'll use this as a shadow, as the consistency is creamier, and neither on the lips because I don't foresee the shade being all to flattering as a lip color for me. It is however, to reiterate, a fantastic contour. 

I have three contour shades that I alternate between, and one of them is a bit similar to Hollow - definitely not dupe territory, but similar. In the above photo, Hollow is on the left and MAC Taupe Shape is on the right. While they are similar in hue, Taupe Shape does have a sheen to it (not glittery, just a bit glowy) while Hollow dries completely matte. Taupe Shape is also a touch browner; I find myself reaching for the two equally (I wore Taupe Shape today, Hollow yesterday).

Overall:

Pros:

- Phenomenal Contour shade.

- Cooler tones.

- Matte.

- A good amount of pigment, not much wasted packaging.

Cons:

- Lid is not as airtight or secure as I would like it to be for a cream product.

I've previously heard a lot of people rave about this shade as a contour, and I see the hype. It's quite flattering and actually works for people as fair and cool toned as I am. The only place I could take points from is the lid - for $26 I would have expected it to be sturdier; but hopefully at the rate I'm using this I won't even have to worry about it drying out.

9/10