A VHTF Illamasqua gradient – ‘Destiny’ and ‘Propaganda’

Illamasqua ‘Destiny’ and ‘Propaganda’

I’ve been dying to show this manicure, but PR commitments have gotten in the way a little (I’m not complaining), but in the spirit of my post in which I explained my desire to blog for myself and myself alone, I’m posting this now because I’m sick of looking at it in my backlog! I have already posted about Illamasqua’s Australian exclusive ‘Destiny‘, and when I picked up a discontinued colour called ‘Propaganda’ I knew a gradient would be happening.

I believe ‘Propaganda’ was a UK exclusive from 2012 but feel free to correct me on that one. It’s a dark blue jelly that is often compared to Nars Midnight Express, which I don’t have so I can’t provide a comparison unfortunately. My new rules also mean that I won’t buy a polish purely to write a post about it. There isn’t really room for two identical basic blue jellies, so perhaps someone else can provide a comparison if there isn’t already one out there. Interestingly, this polish shares its name with the branding consultancy founded by Julian Kynaston, the founder of Illamasqua, which is a nice nostalgic nod.

This gradient did take a little while to build up, it is a jelly polish after all. But the patience was worth it I think. I love the murky lake feel to this manicure, and the gold glitter peeking through in some places.

Illamasqua ‘Destiny’ and ‘Propaganda’

Illamasqua ‘Destiny’ and ‘Propaganda’

Illamasqua ‘Destiny’ and ‘Propaganda’

Illamasqua ‘Destiny’ and ‘Propaganda’

I can’t really say much about the application of ‘Propaganda’, but from what I experienced, it is great. Whether it’s worth the prices it can command as a discontinued polish I’m not sure. I was lucky to pick it up really cheap but I’ve seen it go for much more. If you’re a fan of dark jelly polishes, and particularly love Illamasqua I’d recommend checking eBay every now and again.

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