Illamasqua Icons: Karen O

Lucy, our Product Development intern, has chosen Karen O as her beauty icon.

We are all massive fans of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's at Head Office [we frequently have the amazing 'It's Blitz!' playing through the speakers] and their lead singer, Karen O, has become a style revelation with her unusual half polish, half korean looks and unmistakable voice.

With her dark, tom boy hair cut and pale skin she can pull of a variety of make-up looks but tends to rock her trademark red lip.

To recreate a Karen O look, prep your skin with Matt Primer + SPF20 to help even out skintone and lightly mattify oilier areas. This will also allow your foundation to sit on top more evenly and achieve that flawless finish that Karen O has. For a nod to the 80s, apply a contour colour [Illamasqua has a great selection of contour specific Powder Blushers for all skin tones] such as 'Mischief' Powder Blusher just under the cheekbone to define and sculpt.

This is a very matt look, so dust some Loose Powder in '010' for a translucent finish to the skin. Add a little more to the lips to help lip products 'grab' on. Line lips with Medium Pencil in 'Spell', a gorgeous, rich pillar box red and fill in with Intense Lipgloss in 'Besotted' for a rich, edgy red that is both intense in colour and juicy in finish.

Line all around the eyes with Fine Pencil in 'Classic' which is a lovely dove grey and then smudge with Illamasqua Eye Liner Brush to break up the line and give it a Rock N Roll edge. The look is very matt, so try Powder Eye Shadow in 'Incubus' all over the lid and contour under the lashes and in the crease of the eye socket with Powder Eye Shadow in 'Lestat', a very buildable matt black.

Three coats of Volumising Mascara in 'Harness' will give you dark, fluttering lashes and apply a touch of Sealing Gel with your Eye Liner Brush around the lash lines to give the colour ultimate staying power. Add some False Eye Lashes in '17' if you want maximum impact.