28 February 2011

London Fashion Week: A Round Up From Alex Cummins, Junior Brand Manager ...

Wow, what a week! I always get so much more excited by the Autumn Winter collections than the Spring Summer ones, as there are always a few really dark, dangerous, surreal collections that appeal to me, so I was delighted to be invited to a smattering of shows that showcased a real celebration of individuality ...

Kristian Aadnevik

The wonderfully named Black Metal collection was a delicious mixture of leather, metal and feathers that, teamed with the biting cold but beautiful open-air setting of the Old Naval Club in St James Square and heavy rock music, demonstrated a cracking return to the international fashion stage for Versace protege Kristian Aadnevik.




The beautiful make-up was headed up by Illamasqua freelancer Kristina Theodoris, who blocked out the eye brows and focused on heavy, goth-inspired eyes. What were the key Illamasqua products she used? "Powder Eye Shadow in 'Gimp' and 'Lestat' blended out over the Medium Pencil in 'Sophie' for ultra matt black eyes," She tells me, "with no mascara."

Skin was pale, yet with a certain luminosity and hint of baby pink on the cheeks, with a soft lip colour pressed in to the mouth, to keep the focus purely on the eyes.




Thanks to Luisa Voia blog for the backstage shot and Christopher Dadey for the other images.


KRISTIAN AADVENIK A/W 2011-12 from KRISTIAN AADNEVIK on Vimeo.

 
Casette Playa

In the words of Monty Python, "and now for something completely different"...

Colour was the order of the day over at Casette Playa, with designer Carri Munden getting psychedelic with prints and playing a pumping track of grime, dubstep and hip hop as the models graced the catwalk for her MEN show, the quirky show spoke volumes about Carri's individualism and sense of fun. You can watch the show here.

Our make-up artists Sally Rose and Gavin Pickle had a great time supporting lead make-up artist Isamaya Ffrench with gilding the models head to toe with our Liquid Metal in 'Solstice'! Other models had vibrant hair courtesy of the lovely Charlie le Mindu [who is also setting the fashion world alight with his clothing designs as well as his spectacular hair designs... Lady Gaga's pieces in her monsters ball tour? Yep - that was Charlie]





Ziad Ghanem

This was a cracking show for pure theatrics and a stellar guest list including Boy George, Daniel Lismore, the lovely Munroe Bergdorf and just about every other mover and shaker on the London night-time scene. The fusion of eccentric models, floating fabrics and interesting prints [plus a fantastic soundtrack that took in everything from classical to 90s New York house] has made this one of the most talked about shows of the week.

I am going to let the pictures do the talking ... and on a side note, if anyone happens to own/ ordered the beautiful lilac A Line dress, I'm happy to take it off your hands for free, how generous of me ;-)











A Child of the Jago

Our Joint MD Joe Corre's other venture is the menswear label A Child of the Jago, who debuted their AW2011 collection at The Village Underground. Of course, Illamasqua provided the make-up for the boys, who Barnzley [one half of the design team with Joe] wanted to look like "anarchistic rebels, swines and bandits".

National Make-up Artist for Illamasqua Francesco lo Cascio headed up the team that also included Illamasqua artists Clare Lille and Helen Roche, and created a mixture of natural looks and more glossy eyed, seriously smoky eyes.




"I buffed out Medium Pencil in 'Sophie' all around the eye. The creaminess of the formula allows for manipulation with a brush much more easily that harder pencils. On top of that, some of the boys had matt finishes with Powder Eye shadow in 'Lestat' and 'Drama' whilst others had a glossier finish, achieved using Intense Lipgloss in 'Repulse' and some even had a reddier tinge with Intense Lipgloss in 'Femme'. The look was simple, as it had to look smudged and undone, so after creating the eye look, we smudged at it with our fingers to make it look more worn in."

At the end of a long, eventful week I think my feelings are pretty much summed up in Francesco's T Shirt below ...

London College of Fashion and Amnesty Installation...

You may have wondered where all of that used and unwanted make-up that was collected from Illamasqua’s Amnesty had gone…

Illamasqua are now working with the London College of Fashion to create something truly unique as a representation of the success of the Amnesty campaign.    Each day the students of LCF will be creating and evolving Illamasqua creatures as an Installation and Set from the products collected from the Amnesty. These characters will then walk up and down the streets of Soho as a moving Installation.



To catch a preview of this inspiring and inventive installation, head down to the pop up shop over the next week at No.8 Kingley Street, W1 - the venue for this unique piece of art.



These ‘creatures’ will be handing out cards to an exclusive 15% offer to be redeemed at the Beak street store only…so pop down to receive your card!

24 February 2011

Color Collision...Illamasqua's US exclusive Spring collection!

Featuring boldly clashing intense colour for looks that are fresh, vibrant and daring…we introduce Color Collision…an exclusive US collection for our retail partner Sephora



Warm  tones smash against sky blues and cool lilacs, allowing for audacious colour combinations and textures that provide contrast and defy the status quo. 


This stunning collection consists of three unique colour stories, and includes the world-wide debut of the Nail Varnish in Gamma, an electric neon orange. 


“I love the drama that is created by pairing warm and cool tones,” says Daniel Busuttil, Illamasqua International Make-Up Artist, “Blood red lips with soft peach cheeks, or neon orange nails with cool lilac eyes are modern and striking. It’s so brazen and the mismatch of colors makes this look so arresting.”



     Warm Story

Warm peach and soft pink tones sit against neon oranges, in a color story that is as luscious as it is feminine…

Powder Eye Shadow in Shiver, $20
Powder Eye Shadow in Heroine, $20
Intense Lipgloss in Mistress, $20
Lipstick in Obey, $22

Lipstick in Obey


Cream Blusher in Rude, $24

 Cream Blusher in Rude


False Lashes in #21, $16



Nail Varnish in Gamma, (EXCLUSIVE), $14

Nail Varnish in Gamma - thank you to Edita of Allyoudesire for this beautiful swatch

The Nail Varnish in Gamma has been revealed exclusively for Sephora to feature as part of the Color Collision collection!



Cool Story

From glacial to intense, this color story captures the icy coolness of sky blues and lilacs, touched with a vivid pink …


 Powder Eye Shadow in Anja, $20
Powder Eye Shadow in Creep, $20
Intense Lipgloss in Fierce, $20
Lipstick in Liv, $22
Cream Blusher in Laid,  $24
False Lashes in #13, $16
Nail Varnish in Load, $14







Dangerous Red Story

Intense and seductive, accents of true blood red create a striking counterpoint …

Intense Lipgloss in Succubus, $20

Intense Lipgloss in Succubus

Lipstick in Sangers, $22


Lipstick in Sangers

Nail Varnish in Throb, $14







The Illamasqua Color Collision Spring Collection is available exclusively in the United States at select Sephora locations and on Sephora.com, click here to visit

23 February 2011

Ada Zanditon - Make-up by Illamasqua's National Make-up Artist Mika

Beautiful yet dangerous, delicate yet powerful - the ice princess is back!

Ada brought the theme of electric blue eyes and cheeks coupled with an exaggerated 3D blue lip to the forefront with the "Cryoflux" collection.


Ada Zanditon - The CRYOFLUX AW11 from Andrew & WIlliam Ho on Vimeo.

Mika created the look seen in the above video: "The hyper reflective make-up palette reinforced Ada's vision of the empowered alien girl from the cold ice planet arriving on Earth. To create the holographic lip, I used Lipstick in 'Disciple', with Liquid Metal in 'Superior' - a metallic sapphire - to create the metallic sheen with Intense Lipgloss in 'Repulse' pressed on top. This layering made the lip the focal point, and with a dab of Sheer Lipgloss in 'Soul' in the middle, created an electric 3D feel."



"The brow was inspired by a combination of Bride of Frankenstein and rockhopper penguins, this was a very Antartic inspired collection and there are such great ideas in the wildlife".

Lucy Gibson, freelance make-up artist for Illamasqua, added "for the look book, we took out the brows by using Cream Foundation in shade 100, and frosted them with Pure Pigment in 'Static' to evoke a feeling of an arctic winter. The make-up was very beautiful; the lips, the brows and the contoured eye was fun to create, and it was an enjoyable experience working with Ada whose sheer dedication to her designs and passion for make-up are a make-up artists dream!"

Introducing...An Evening of Creativity with Mannequin Make-up Art

 As the success of Illamasqua’s School of Make-Up Art grows in the heart of the business; our flagship store in London’s Soho, our professional team are ever developing bespoke courses to offer further expert, artistic education and guidance.

…Introducing the ‘Evening of Creativity with Mannequin Make-up Art’ course!



Open your perspectives on the fine art of make-up and watch a close up demonstration of the specialised hand crafted painting skills of mannequin make-up art! World leading mannequin company Rootstein's experts will talk through the process and technique with demonstrations to inspire…this promises to be a truly fascinating evening!



An Evening of Creativity with Mannequin Make-up Art
Thursday 17th March 2011
17:00 - 19:00
£50 with £25 redeemable against products

Strictly limited places available and booked on a first come first serve basis.
Get in touch quick to reserve your space!

T - 0203 4323276
E - school@illamasqua.com
W - www.illamasqua.com

22 February 2011

Illamasqua's Regional Masterclasses continue...

 Just a little reminder for our wonderful Illamasqua followers…our regional teams are continuing to host their intimate and inspired masterclasses throughout the next couple of weeks after the success of Belfast and Glasgow's examples!

Debenhams Glasgow: 0141 221 3889
Thursday 24th February - National Make-Up Artist, Mika, will also be in-store!




Fenwicks Newcastle: 0191 260 2900

Friday 25th February                  5.30 – 7.30       
"Brigette Bardot Babes" (classic glam make-up   inspired by Brigette and Racquel Welch).

Saturday 26th February             10.30 – 12.30    "Fairy Fantasy" (soft, pastel colours).
                                                       4.30 – 6.30       "Plastic Fantastic" (lashes and bright colours).



Selfridges Trafford Centre: 0161 629 1187
Thursday 17th March - celebrating the launch of Illamasqua's SS11 Collection
                     6-7pm Night Time Diva with Leena      
                     8-9pm Dare to be Different with Philip


To book your place on one of these creative courses, please ring your local counter now as the spaces are filling quickly!

Illamasqua and Patricia Field's Valentine's Day Ball

Iconic Sex and the City wardrobe stylist, Patricia Field celebrated her birthday, Fashion Week and Valentine’s Day all in one with her annual WITH LOVE Costume Ball.  Her 2011 extravaganza was held at Capitale in New York on February 11th.   Illamasqua worked together with Kelly Cutrone and Susanne Bartsch to support this extraordinary event.



Guests arrived in extraordinary costumes inspired by their alter-egos all vying to win the annual costume contest judged by Michael Musto.  DJ Cassidy was set the tone with music, while burlesque dancers, positioned on tables and on-stage were performing in provocative costumes. 





Each dancer wore an Illamasqua heart shaped look inspired by Alex Box’s Throb collection campaign images.  Kim Anderson for Illamasqua re-created these avant-garde harlequin girl for each dancer.  



It was truly an incredible, and of course fabulous event!



21 February 2011

Sultry Selection ...

Intense Lipgloss in 'Hermetic' is a transeasonal gem of a lipgloss; a sparkling, deep burgundy wine red and Liquid Metal in 'Resolute' a rich russet red are the perfect tools to empower your inner seductress, and we are offering both best-selling shades for just £25.50 [saving £5 RRP] for a limited time only ...