Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Stance Review, Swatches and Photos

Jill's been encouraging me to try Illamasqua polishes for awhile so we made a point to stop at Sephora while we were in NYC in May. Illamasqua was the first section I headed to and Stance was the first polish to catch my eye. 

Stance is a bold purple-pink, much more the former than the latter. It's described as a fuchsia violet by Illamasqua. 

Unfortunately, Stance is one of those shades that cameras just don't capture properly. I tried a few times, in different lights and with different cameras but the colour in the photos just didn't match reality. In some lights, it looks more pink and in some it looks more purple. Check out the images when you Google Illasmasqua Stance and you'll see a variety of shades as well. It's just one of those colours. 

 

The photo below is the best one I could capture but it's definitely not quite the right colour. What drew me to this polish was how vibrantly purple it was. In the photo it looks pink.

Stance goes on beautifully, creamy and rich. It's a luxurious feeling polish, a bit on the thick side but not challenging to work with. It's a little streaky on the first coat, but in two almost completely opaque. I used at least three coats because I'm an impatient manicurist and can't get a perfect nail in only two coats. Also, the colour deepens with more coats, the purple is more intense. 

The sheen and colour of the dried polish on my nails is impressive. It's almost like it's lit from underneath and glows. It's like wearing a neon colour that's not an in-your-face shade, but has that electric effect. 

 

The texture is almost like a latex rubber - shiny and thick. It's really cool looking. Stance wore pretty well - about three days (with a top coat) before it showed signs of wear. That's about typical for me with most polishes. 

 

I'm totally enamoured with this colour and I'd definitely buy Illasmasqua polishes again. They are on the pricey side - $22 CDN a bottle - but the quality and colour choices definitely make it worth considering. 

Illamasqua can be found at Sephora stores and online. 

Grade: A

C.