Illamasqua Load

I just received two products from Illamasqua, the nail polish Load being one of them. I was instantly taken by the name (and description) of this polish, gutter-minded as I am, and I decided to try it out immediately.

Back in October I tested another polish from Illamasqua, and I loved it. Unfortunately I didn't love Load as much, simply because I found it to be hard to apply, difficult to work with, and it took quite an amount of effort to look somewhat even on my nails even though I didn't fully succeed.

Load is described as a "rich cream" which is quite accurate. It has a glossy finish. I might go as far as calling it a very subdued yellow against my skin, which might have to do with my yellow undertones. I applied three coats, the last coat being quite thick, and I had to work quickly to avoid streaking.

The Verdict:
I'm kinda sad to award Load with only three brushes, but the difficulty applying it did disappoint me a bit. By all means, I'm no nail polish guru, but I was hoping for another Jan (nice and easy to work with). On the other hand.. it's a light color, and I think lighter colors are harder to apply flawless in general. As I said I love the name and description of this nail polish, and I do like the color as well. I'm also giving it another plus for drying quickly, despite of the third coat being a bit thick. Load receives three brushes from me, but all-in-all it's a strong three!

Picture was taken indoors in artificial lighting.

Photo © Shamini Thevarajah '11