Hannah Marshall - Get The Look

I promised a Hannah Marshall SS2010 Get The Look a while ago so here it is. I just spotted Alex walking down Old Compton Street in Soho and it reminded me!

Hannah and Alex discussed the look prior to the show and agreed on a "very sexy, very desirable look. Something that was both soft and strong at the same time. I wanted to use minimal products and focus on the technique," Alex told me. "I wanted a real masculine, strong graphic from the front and yet when the model is on profile, it looks soft and ultra feminine." I have tried to source a profile shot, yet no such luck!

Face

Alex used Matt Primer to create a very matt, one dimensional base. This was then built upon using Cream Foundation to create a very real, but quite full coverage.

The strength of the look is based on the contouring. Alex told me she was going for a "slick goth" look. She used Powder Blusher in 'Rumour' to contour the temples, sides of the nose, cheeks and under the jawline and emphasised the hollowness of the cheek with Powder Blusher in 'Spite'.


Eyes

As previously mentioned, Alex wanted to use minimal products, so using an Eye Brow Cake mixed with Sealing Gel to create a strong line across the brows, she blended the colours down, mixing with a slate grey [try Powder Eye Shadow in 'Incubus'] concentrating the colour at the point where the side of the nose joins the eyebrow and fading down across the browbone and eye lid until there is minimal colour on the eye socket. Build up the concentration at the outer corner of the eye again. A touch of Pure Pigment in 'Furore', a nude champagne shimmer, on the centre of the eye lid added a touch of depth and photographed beautifully. This look used no mascara.

Lips

Alex painted over the lips with the Cream Foundation to tone down the colour of the lips and keep the focus on the brows and the cheek bones.

House Of Blue Eyes - Get The Look

The androgynous/ futuristic/ Cleopatra/ Babylon/ Blade Runner-esque make-up was a work of art in itself. Alex Box tells me how she created the look...


Face

Smooth, glowing, glistening skin was the way forward. "As there was so much gold on the eyes, I needed to complement this with sparkling skin." Says Alex, "I mixed a small amount of Powdered Metal in 'Bebhionn' with Cream Foundation for the paler girls and Powdered Metal in 'Thalia' with Cream Foundation for the olive/ darker skins."

The face was heavily contoured with the Powdered Metals - 'Thalia' was used for a golden highlight whilst 'Erzule' was buffed in to cheekbones for an 80s, sculpted look. "These are the most versatile products" explains Alex, "They can be used on the body, face, cheeks... mixed with lipgloss creating a wonderful sparkling lip colour."

Eyes

The eyes were liberally painted with Liquid Metal in 'Solstice'. "We used a template by cutting some tape to mask the areas we didn't want to cover and then painted over this template. We then piled on the Liquid Metal in 'Solstice' with a foundation brush to create a smooth, even base of colour with which to contour on top."

Contouring was done with the Powdered Metals and a mix of Powder Eye Shadow in 'Lestat', 'Wolf' and 'Fallen' to create depth. Illuminator in 'Halcyon' was used to highlight under the brows and down the bridge of the nose and on the cupid's bow to catch the light.

Alex's trademark brow completed the look. "Mix a drop of Sealing Gel into Eyebrow Cake in 'Vehement' and stroke over the natural line of the brows using the Eyebrow Brush. Then go back over it and take the colour above and beyond the natual brow for a real Cleopatra look." Explains Alex, "balance this with the strong eye. We used False Lashes in number 15 on top for the spidery effect, and number 13s below to create a very open, framed eye."

Lips

To soften the effect of the strong eye, the lips were painted with a mixture of clear gloss [try Sheer Lipgloss in 'Brilliant'] and Cream Foundation. Some of the models had extravagant head gear on, and these guys had Liquid Metal in Solstice painted on for a pure molten mouth.

New York Fashion Week Beauty Looks Part 1

Oh my goodness, is style.com just the best website ever for fashion?! All the looks get uploaded so quickly it's unbelievable! Anyway, I stumbled across the Doo.Ri show, who I have never heard of before, but this dress has my name written all over it. Actually, if that was true, my bank manager would chase me out the country... but I'm smitten all the same.

I love the make-up, too. Chiselled cheekbones give a nod to the trend of everything 80s and the purple lips give it a very cool, individual twist.

I'm not a big fan of winter - no more throwing-on-a-sundress and sunglasses moments, we now have to *gasp* layer...! - and I hate the rainy days and leaving my house in the morning [and it's dark] and leaving the office at night [and it's dark] and having to take an umbrella on nights out... you get my drift. However, the one thing I love about this season? More excuses to turn the make-up a notch! Dark, thick brows and smoky gothic colours are what winter is all about.

I would use Lipstick in 'Fetish' for this look and for the gorgeous, statement brows I would try mixing a drop of Sealing Gel with Eyebrow Cake in 'Vehement'.

Francesco's Personal Appearance at BT2, Dublin 27th-29th August

Francesco Lo Cascio is a ten year veteran of the beauty industry. He began his studies at the London College of Fashion, where he studied make-up artisty. On completion of his formal training, he lent his crative skills and expertise to such various projects as the MTV Music Awards, the Academy Award nominated film Billy Elliot and as a freelance make-up artist with a client stable including Christy Turlington, Eva Herzigova, Destiny's Child, Kate Moss, Isabella Blow and the Sugababes.

Francesco's artistic talents also extends to the world of fashion, where he was worked behind the scenes at Fendi, Alexander McQueen, Alessandro Dell'Acqua and MaxMara.
Francesco has also contributed his talents to creating beauty looks for editorial features in publications such as Vogue Italia, Marie Claire (Italy), Vogue Bambini, You Magazine and Vogue Espana.

As an artist, Francesco acts as a liaison between the high fashion and consumer
worlds. His immense talent and experience enables him to understand and
exemplify all that makes Illamasqua truly unique, and his technique and
understanding of this brand trademark style make him an integral part of the team. I grabbed a quick word with him to find out a little more about him...

So Francesco, what is your favourite Illamasqua product, and why?

I love the Cream Foundation, as you can use it day or night because of the variable coverage. I buff it into the skin using the amazing Highlighter Brush.

Sealing Gel, used with the Eyebrow Brush with any coloured Powder Eye Shadow creates a great coloured mascara. Stroke the brush through the lashes to seperate and colour.

Who are your inspirations in the world of beauty/ fashion/ popular culture?



It would have to be Sophia Loren, Madonna, Gwen Stefani and Linda Evangelista. I have been very influenced by artists that I have had the pleasure of working with; Alex Box, Pat McGrath, Topolino... they are true artists.

What is your top tip?

I use the Medium Pencil in 'Sophie' thickly across the lash line. I then take some Pure Pigment in 'Fervent' and smudge all over the eye lid with the Eye Shadow Brush to create a smoky, elegant sparkling eye.

I also love to mix the Medium Pencils with Pure Pigments on the back of the hand prior to application - this creates so many new colours!

What would you say is your personal style?

I am a very minimalist make-up artist - I like to use as few products as possible to create a lot of different looks. I like products that are versatile and I love to use vibrant colours.

I have had many inquiries as how to best use the Illuminators. Can you give our readers some advice?

Yes - you can mix the Satin Primer with the Illuminator in 'Halcyon' to create dewy, glowing skin. On it's own, I would recommend smoothing the Illuminator down the cheekbones, nose and across the T zone to pick up and reflect light without making you look 'greasy'. I also especially recommend 'Fondle' [the peachy pink colour with gold particles] for black skin. It's the best!

Francesco will be making a personal appearance at the Illamasqua counter at BT2, Grafton Street in Dublin from the 27th - 29th August. To book, call +353 1 (0) 6056666 and ask for the Illamasqua counter.

Cabaret On Counter!

On Tuesday 7th July, the Illamasqua counter at Fenwick Newcastle welcomed a very special guest - Samantha Barks, who is playing Sally Bowles in the theatre tour of 'Cabaret' - currently showing at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle from 6th-11th July.

Samantha Barks shot to fame when coming third in the BBC TV Show 'I'd Do Anything' last year.

I spoke to Ursula, one of our brilliant Fenwick Newcastle artists, who created the signature Sally Bowles look on Samantha before her show began. "Samantha has a naturally gorgeous face that is strong enough to take a lot of make-up."

What products did she use? "Samantha has a peaches and cream complexion, so I used Cream Foundation in 215 and Loose Powder 135 to pale her skin tone down. I used Powder Blusher in 'Tweak'.

After using Eye Brow Cake in 'Thunder' on her brows [great for dark brunettes, see the Whatstyleistonickel video below for an idea of consistency and colour], I concentrated on vivid blues and greens to capture the essence of Sally Bowles. I used Powder Eye Shadows in 'Fiasco' a light greeny teal, 'Stalk' a darker teal, 'Anja', a creamy baby blue and the black 'Lestat' to create depth."
"Samantha wanted dark, dramatic lashes, so we went for False Lashes no 17 on top and no 14 on the bottom."




"On the lips I used Lipstick in 'Maneater' for a true, pillar box red. I topped this off with Intense Lipgloss in 'Fume' so a bright, lacquered finish."

"I also created a similar look on one of the supporting cast members! Samantha had a great time and loved her look. Chronicle magazine came down to interview her on the counter and this should be out sometime this week

*Thanks to Karen for the image of Lestat!*

Illamasqua Icons: Maggie The Cat

This series will be homage to the great female icons of history. From Boudicca to Bridget Bardot, Zsa Zsa Gabor to Zeta Jones, this compilation will look at the life and style of these colourful characters – chosen by our Illamasqua team, both counter artists and Head Office.

First up this week? Well – me!

Alex Cummins, marketing assistant chose Elizabeth Taylor as Maggie The Cat…

Out of all the gorgeous women in the world, my favourite has got to be Elizabeth Taylor. From sassy child star [always seemingly playing second fiddle to an animal star… Lassie Come Home and National Velvet were among her early hits!] through to sultry starlet, Elizabeth was the media darling of the 50s and 60s for her stunning looks and turbulent love life. I particularly love her in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof [1958].

Get The Look

As Maggie the Cat, Elizabeth played a woman who was frustrated by her husbands complete disregard for her on a personal and sexual level even though she was undeniably beautiful and spent time perfecting her beauty. This was mirrored in the make-up that Elizabeth wore for the role.
Dark, arched brows [try Eye Brow Cake in 'Vehement' mixed with a drop of 'Sealing Gel'] were created using an angled eyebrow brush [try Eye Brow Brush]. A dark, smoky look enhanced her bright eye colour. Powder Eye Shadow in 'Lestat' and 'Gimp' would be perfect.

A contouring blush enhanced killer cheekbones; I love Powder Blusher in 'Create'. Add a light dusting of Powder Blusher [try 'Tweak'] for a sexy flush.

Strongly lined lips were typical of the 1950s. Medium Pencil in 'Ascend' is a very similar to the colour on Maggie’s lips and with a dab of similar nude coloured Sheer Lipgloss in 'Enchant' completes the look. Blend with a Lip Brush.

“If someone's dumb enough to offer me a million dollars to make a picture, I'm certainly not dumb enough to turn it down.” – Elizabeth Taylor