Introducing IMAN Cosmetics! Haul & Review
Hello everybody! I promise I’ll address my one month break soon, but the short of it: Dissertation *shudders* Anyway, today I’m sharing a haul from IMAN Cosmetics, a brand which I had heard of here and there but never tried out myself. IMAN Cosmetics is a brand founded by the model Iman (who was married to David Bowie). She created the brand because she recognised the desperate need of makeup for ethnic WOC and the best thing about the brand by far is the extensive shade range, especially for the deepest of skintones! Starting from the ‘sand’ range, to ‘clay’ and finally ‘earth’. I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to try out a selection ^_^ This post is going to be a haul and a review of the items, I’ve been testing them for over six weeks and feel like I can you a well rounded review. Unfortunately I don’t have swatches for two of the things, but I will be going into more detail in future posts. So on we go..
IMAN Skin Tone Evener BB Creme SPF 15 | £20.95
I was excited to try this because I had seen the BB cream pop up on a few other blogs and read positive reviews. If I’m not mistaken, this was created around the same time that the BB cream hype started, which was a good couple of years back. Since then they’ve also created a CC cream, I’ve not tried the IMAN one, but I do own and adore the Bourjois one (reviewed here). Anyway a BB cream is designed to have a very light coverage, which this one certainly does have. In terms of evening out the skin tone, I can’t say it did this enough for me to wear it alone. Normally with a lighter base I’ll still have to go over redness around my nose and of course my under-eyes, but with this base I was using twice as much concealer, to cover not only the usual areas but also the pigmentation around my mouth. I like the packaging a lot, the little window is good to see what shade it is, however the coverage for me is just too light. I’m a medium coverage kinda girl, however if you have pretty awesome skin as it is and you’re looking for a dewy base you may want to check this out. Especially if you’re a woman of colour, they have a great shade matching tool on their site and app (I’ll discuss the shades I was sent below, along with the swatches).
IMAN Second to None Stick Foundation | £20.50
I was also kindly sent two of the stick foundations, which was exciting for me because 95% of my foundations are liquid and I’ve never looked into stick foundations before. This particular foundation provides medium to full coverage and has a thick consistency, though it does blend well. Personally I don’t like such a full coverage on myself, but I do enjoy using this as extra coverage in smaller areas. Sand 3 is the best match out of the two for me, although I would have preferred it to be slightly more yellow. However if I use this on area such as redness or blemishes, and then applied my foundation of choice on top it blends really well. Also the shade ‘Sand 4’ is rather orange in tone, which means it makes a pretty decent corrector for my dark circles! Although it’s a little drying, so the undereyes must be very hydrated for it to work. I really like the packaging of this, sleek and classy looking with the golden lettering on the side. I also appreciate that there is a little cover over the foundation, when you take the lid off. This acts as more protection from the product drying out or being contaminated by germs. I have enjoyed using this as a corrector so far and I will keep you updated on it in future posts.
Swatches
IMAN Foundation Stick Sand 3 – slightly beige tone, blends quite well with my stromboli skintone but doesn’t have any yellow tones like NARS Stromboli does! This is the one I’ll use under my normal base.
IMAN Foundation Stick Sand 4 – Look at that orange tone, yaaay!
IMAN BB Cream in Sand Light – This is the closest match for me, if a little light. Again, it’s not really yellow toned but I don’t mind this too much.
IMAN BB Cream in Sand Medium – This shade has a lot more yellow in and is too dark for me. I’ve passed this on to my mum, but when I was testing them out, I mixed both shades together.
IMAN Eyeshadow Pencil in Desire | £11.95
I adore these kinds of chubby pencils and if they’re golden I am even more drawn to them. Quick and easy, you just pop the lid off, apply a little and blend it out with your fingers. This particular formula is lightweight and buildable, so you won’t get a strong amount of colour with one swipe. I personally like this, as it makes it a lot more wearable for work, whilst still giving me some life on the lids. Also the fact that it’s twistable, means no sharpeners to worry about, which is always a plus!
IMAN Cover Cream in Sand Medium | £12.95
I have a sample size for this concealer and I am 80% sure I will be purchasing a full size! Sand Medium is a pretty awesome shade for correcting my dark circles, especially when they’re particualrly dark which they really have been recently. A little goes a long way and when I only apply this in the darkest areas under my eyes, it works well. The only little issue I have with it, is it’s a little drying so again a lot of prep is needed. The plus side to this is, I found there was less creasing under the eyes in comparison to a more creamy formula. So pros and cons, though this one is in my top three!
IMAN Luxury Moisturising Lipstick in Baby Doll | £12.95
And last but certainly not least, the IMAN luxury lipstick, in the shade Baby Doll has to be one of my all time favourites lipsticks EVER. The shade is beautiful, a gorgeous nude for medium skintones which is so refreshing because a lot of ‘nudes’ in the drugstore really do wash out women of colour. Babydoll is a stunning mix of peach, pink and brown and it is super flattering. The formula too lives up to the name, ‘luxury’ and ‘moisturising’ tick tick tick, I am a big fan. Lovely pigmentation, feels super comfortable and creamy on the lips and the packaging matches the price in my opinion, I love the golden detailing, as well as the clear window for the top of the lid!
It has been so much fun playing with this brand and I have been loving the last three items in particular! If you’re a woman of colour and you’re looking for a perfect nude lipstick, you NEED to try out the IMAN range! They have their own UK website now here, you can also find some of their products on www.feelunique.com aswell as Debenhams!
Have you tried anything from this brand? What has caught your eye?