Valentines Day At Selfridges...

Selfridges Trafford, Selfridges London and Selfridges Birmingham will all be hosting some fabulous Illamasqua theatre this coming Saturday 13th February.

For one day only [and between the hours of 12 and 6pm] we will have our top artists on counter creating some vivid and glam body art on some gorgeous male models. Those of you who are fans of Illamasqua on facebook may re call the voting procedure!

Using the classic Eye Liner Cake and Sealing Gel combinations to create some fabulous water resistant tattoos, our artists will be on hand to show off their calligraphy skills. Perhaps you would like to have a Valentine's message painted on for your loved one? Just come down to the counter and get artistic...

We will be giving away an exclusive Coco de Mer blindfold with every purchase of Eye Liner Cake and Sealing Gel.

Halloween Looks From Illamasqua!

I hope everyone had a great Halloween! I almost forgot about it as we had been concentrating on the first anniversary of Illamasqua, so I loved it when some of the pictures from Propaganda's [our creative partner] Halloween party started to sift through to my inbox!

I am loving what our Account Manager Natalie did - an evil ladybug! Inspired choice, Nats!


I gave the normally platinum blonde bombshell a call to find out what she used...

"Well, the lashes are from a fancy dress shop," she tells me, "but everything else is Illamasqua! I used the Cream Foundation in 100 and topped it off with Loose Powder in 100 for a semi-matte glow. I used Powder Eye Shadow in 'Forgiveness' on the cheeks to sculpt the look and defined my eyes and eye brows with Eye Liner Cake in 'Mislead'. I love mixing this product with the Sealing Gel for maximum longevity."

What about those high impact lips? "I lined them with Medium Pencil in 'Spell' and painted over the top with Intense Lipgloss 'Besotted' for a juicy red lip!

Natalie also spread the art to her fingertips, using Nail Varnish in 'Ruthless' for a rich red base and blobbing on Nail Varnish in 'Boosh' for the ladybug effect.

Here is Natalie with Jo, Julian Kynaston's PA. Jo is rocking the new Birthday Lashes in 'Decadence' as well as plenty of Dystopia! On her lips is the shocking pink Lipstick in 'Avenge' and she has Powder Eye Shadow in 'Matter' smudged around her eyes for a sexy smoky eye.

Dystopia Look On Counter

So, you've placed your first order of Dystopia and now you have them sitting in front of you at your vanity unit.

So. What to do?! Well, one of the beauties of this collection is the versatility that it provides - an array of looks from robotic, smokey and stylistic, romantic, soft and shimmery through to full on, glitz and glam.

Our lovely artists on counter are here to give you inspiration for your new products and Krystle at Selfridges Trafford has sent in some photos of her work - Leanne from the Newcastle counter was her model!

So what products did she use?

Eyes

Concealer in 350 as a base with Pure Pigment layed on top. This was then followed by Pure Pigment in 'Lust' on the inner third of the eye for a romantic effect. Pure Pigment in 'Furore' kept the shimmer levels on full and was lightly dusted under the brow and across the cheekbones. Powder Eye Shadows in 'Virus', 'Maybe?' and 'Sex' were also used to add a multi dimensional look and to mix up the textures. Eye Liner Cake in 'Mislead' was mixed with Sealing Gel and a bold eye line created both under and on top of the lash lines.

Cheeks

Cheeks were sculpted using Powder Blush in 'Primal' and a subtle flush added with Powder Blusher in 'Unrequited'.

Lips

The lips were shaded in using Medium Pencil in 'Titivate' - a bright fushcia pink and coloured in using Intense Lipgloss in 'Petulant' mixed with Intense Lipgloss in 'Galactic' - my new favourite combo - for a vivid 80s twist.

Nails

Krystle's nails are a mix of Nail Varnish 'Obsess' [as the base colour] Velocity, Boosh and Glory - don't they look fantastic?!

Anyway, hope this has given you some ideas and I will keep posting new looks from the collection!

Illamasqua Officially Launches With ASOS.com

Have you ever wanted to buy a dress, shoes, necklace and make-up all in one order? Well, we have been fans of ASOS.com for a long time at Illamasqua as it is the ultimate one-stop shop. In fact, I regularly shop there as do many of our artists - its the perfect online department store where you can shop High Street brands, Jeans brands, Boutique brands, Independant brands and designer brands at the click of a button.

Where else can you find the likes of Adidas alongside Acne, Spanx and Sonia Rykiel, Lipsy together with Luella and Puma along with Preen?

With an already established stable of cult and designer cosmetic, skincare and haircare brands we are proud to announce that Illamasqua is now available on ASOS.com!

What I personally love about this partnership is now when you shop for that hot pink lipstick, you can get a pair of hot pink sandals to match, or that perfect teal eye shadow will look amazing with that teal handbag... the possibilities are endless!

I frequently lose hours on ASOS.com and I've come up with some great make-up/ clothing matches just for you...

This cute ASOS own label Border Print Dress [£28] would look gorgeous with a cat-eye [try Eye Liner Cake in 'Mislead' mixed with a drop of Sealing Gel] and Lipstick in Blaze is a fiery red/orange that would accentuate the pattern of the dress beautifully; see swatch below.


I adore this Stud Lace Body Con Dress [£40] - it's so tribal and tough. I would consider a matt red lip with this and a heavily contoured cheek for a real nod to the 80s. What could be better than Lipstick in 'Maneater' and Powder Blusher in 'Create'?



Lastly, this casual dip-dye dress from the Diesel Black Gold label [£110] is perfect for day or evening and I would add a flash of neon brightness with Nail Varnish in 'Rare' - an amazing fluoro yellow, or Nail Varnish in 'Collide' - a hot, hot pink.

Illamasqua Icons: Sally Bowles

Part two of our Illamasqua Icon series and this week Kate Massarella, Marketing and Product Director has chosen Liza Minnelli as Sally Bowles in Cabaret.

"It was a close call between Liza Minnelli as Sally Bowles in Cabaret or Edie Sedgwick, but Liza Minnelli won because I just love her!”

Liza Minnelli was born to be a star as the daughter of legendary actress Judy Garland and acclaimed director Vincente Minnelli. Her most successful role was in the Academy Award winning film Cabaret.

Get The Look

With the strong cameras and harsh lighting of the stage, a foundation that really steps up the task, such as Rich Liquid Foundation would be needed to create a flawless canvas on with which to work this strong 40s look. Work a peachy blush such as Powder Blusher in 'Lover' up from the apples of the cheeks to the temples.

The strong eye uses a bluey grey as a base colour and lashings of eyeliner. Cream Eye Shadow in 'Amour' is a beautifully textured blue-grey. Contour heavily with a teal-green around the eye socket [try Powder Eye Shadow in 'Melodrama'] and apply lashing of mascara [Volume Mascara in 'Harness' is an inky black] and a set of false lashes for added impact. I love False Lashes no 15 and False Lashes no 04 for the bottom lashes. Mix a dab of Sealing Gel with Eye Liner Cake in 'Mislead' and generously line both the upper and lower lash lines using a fine brush such as Eye Liner Brush. Create a beauty spot, too!

Use a fine brow pencil to shade in a high arch in the style of Sally Bowles. Fine Pencil in 'Uncanny' is a similar shade to the one in this photograph.
Finish with a bold lip colour – I reckon Sally would have loved Lipstick in 'Scandal'!




“Audiences are the same all over the world, and if you entertain them, they'll respond.” – Liza Minnelli

*Thanks to bubblegarm.blogspot.com for the wonderful image of Lover!*