Welcome to Jennifer!

We have a new team member at Illamasqua - say hi to Jennifer! Jennifer is heading up our Sephora account and will split her time between New York and London.

Jennifer was fortunate enough to be at the Sephora Times Square launch a couple of weeks ago, with Daniel and Adam from Selfridges Oxford St - they went to oversee the launch and to meet and greet some customers - I know some of you got to meet them!

Sephora is a very different retail environment than Selfridges, Debenhams and Fenwick in that there are no artists dedicated to one brand, so whilst the team were out there they met the Sephora Pro Team to educate and inform them of Illamasqua; who we are, what we represent and what products we make!

The Sephora Pro Team were really excited about the brand and according to Jennifer, there was much whooping involved at the end of the presentation! She sent me along this photograph and I will keep you all updated on the new from the USA as Jennifer keeps me in the loop on it all.

Powdered Metal Play Time!

The lovely Daniel has popped in to the Office today. He is one half of our training team [the other being the lovely Adam, both based in Selfridges Oxford Street] and is in to discuss the latest addition to the Sirens collection - the Powdered Metals -and how we can communicate it with the rest of our teams across the UK and Ireland!

This is always a really creative exercise; we want to be able to demonstrate the versatility of the product and a number of ways it can be used. As you all no doubt know by now, our ethos at Illamasqua is a strong belief that make-up application should be about free artistic license and creativity, so we are experimenting with ways to use the Powdered Metals. As I wrote below, they were born out of a necessity for a body product but it's great to be able to have a product that can be used in multiple ways.

'Erzule' looks gorgeous on olive and black tones, but also if you want an intense, temporary shot of bronzing - above is a pic of my arm to demonstrate - bottom arm doesn't have anything on and the top arm has 'Erzule' on - as you can see its quite a nice difference - and because the undertone is brown, and not red, there is no likelihood of looking orange! Always a worry with us pale skins! See below for a pic of 'Erzule' on Crispian - sorry again Cris!

I currently have 'Bebhionn' in my hair - it makes it a slightly pinky/ gold colour with a shot of subtle shimmer - the below photograph isn't picking it up as I had hoped - that would look amazing in the sunshine we have been enjoying here in London.

Daniel has remarked how 'Thalia' looks like a warmer version of the Pure Pigment 'Furore', which is my second favourite pigment [after 'Involve, of course!] and Kate has been experimenting by mixing it with Sheer Lipgloss in 'Brilliant' - it looks a bit like 'Utopia' Lipstick.

Above is 'Thalia' photographed with flash...

And above without flash...

These products can be used on both face and body and I'm sure our resident experimental Selfridges Oxford Street artist Amanda will be swiping it over her nails, too!

If you want to get on the waiting list for this product, just call your local counter or apply online - this feature will be added soon!

Ask An Artist

Daniel is one of our Selfridges Oxford Street artists and is also an integral member of our Illamasqua Training Team - few people know and love the brand more than Daniel!

Daniel was born in Malta and begun his make-up career in Maltese theatre before expanding into the fashion world. To read his full biography click here.

I thought Daniel would be the perfect person to get an answer for the following question, submitted by Rachel on Myspace:

What is the best nude toned lipgloss that Illamasqua offers?

Daniel: “You would think buying a nude lip gloss would be very simple, however there are a great variety on the market. We have a texture and a finish to suit everyone – for warm undertones, Sheer Lipgloss in 'Enchant' is gorgeous, for olive skins try Sheer Lipgloss in 'Provoke'.

If you are looking for a 1960’s lip, look no further than Intense Lipgloss in 'Lucid' if you are cooler toned. Warmer tones will love 'Embroil'. These colours will both tone down all your natural lip colour as they are so pigmented.”

Above I have swatched the colours that Daniel has referred to: From L-R, 'Enchant' and 'Provoke' Sheer lipglosses and 'Lucid' Intense Lipgloss.

Below Lynne [www.youtube.com/lynniiieee] has swatched Embroil...
To book a make-up lesson with Daniel, please call 0207 318 3788

To read a review of a make-up lesson by Daniel follow this link.

Lush Lashes

Katie, our wonderful Product Development Manager, is looking at False Lash samples for future collections today. We have had some great prototypes sent through, with some fabulous vivid colours, unique patterns and interesting, edgy shapes. [Below is a picture of her rocking False Lash no 13!]

Our False Lashes have been especially popular with our customers and so we are definitely going to keep developing some knock out lashes to keep you partying through the night! There is nothing like a sultry pair of lashes to give your make-up that ultra-glam final touch, or if you [like me!] frequently go from work to bar, then adding a pair of lashes will take your look effortlessly from day to night.

We road test all our lashes, so I will be putting my favourite prototype pair through a real test tomorrow - I am off to Royal Ascot so they will be applied at about 10am before we leave and will be expected to last until I take them off about 14 hours later! Hopefully it won't rain, but I'm sure Katie is half hoping it will because if they last through rain, they'll last through anything!

It's also a good test in terms of comfort; one of my pet hates is having to take off lashes half way through the night because they are itchy/ heavy/ getting in the way of my vision!

Our Summer collection - Sirens - had their own False Lashes [no 20] which you can see in action below. . .

My flat mate, Michelle [pic below] is obsessed by False Lash no 11 - I think she has gotten through about four pairs now!

See below for some pictures of our lashes in action, and who better to model them than the Trannies we made over for the Selfridges Centenary celebrations last month?!

What is your favourite lash? I love False Lash no 13, 14 and 17 are my favourites and I also loved the Victor and Rolf range for Shu Uemura!

For a video on how to apply lashes, check out this link. It features our wonderful Selfridges London artist Daniel. If you have ever had problems applying lashes, this is the definitive guide!

PS - Lush Lashes is the name of a horse running at Royal Ascot tomorrow, so I thought it tied in well with the subject!