Introducing: Liquid Metal in Phenomena

One thing you may notice about the Dystopia collection is that all the product names are sci-fi inspired. 'Phenomena' is no different - and what a fitting name! The first time I tried this product I got very, very excited for here was 'Solstice' sent to the Antarctic for a couple of weeks and returning as a pure, molten silver...

For use on eyes, lips and cheeks, this shimmering pot of silver cream can be used as a sheer wash of colour or built up for a full on robotic look. As with the previous two cult Liquid Metals, this one is sure to be a sell out.

The general consensus at the Illamasqua Head Office was that we just had to create another Liquid Metal that would allow for alter egos the world over to paint the town silver after the gold sensation that Solstice brought.

On a side note, we recently gifted Lily Allen's personal make-up artist with 'Phenomena' and the very next day she was photographed rocking this look....

The Dystopia collection will be available to pre-order online from the 3rd September.

Little Boots at Nokia Skate Almighty

Here is Little Boots rocking Illamasqua False Eye Lashes in 16... and what looks like Nail Varnish in 'Propaganda'?! Debatable.

Introducing Dystopia...

After the phenomenal success of our first ever seasonal collection, Sirens, Illamasqua is now going back to the dark, evocative roots of the 1920s and conjuring up an Autumn winter collection that will have you salivating...

Shall I set the scene? The German director Fritz Lang’s masterpiece ‘Metropolis’ is a 1927 silent science fiction film that explored the civil unrest that was being felt by society in the 1920s and translated it into a metaphorical futuristic urban city. The cutting edge set design and directional styling has influenced a whole host of contemporary cultural references including Ridley Scott’s ‘Blade Runner’, Madonna’s music video for ‘Express Yourself’ and The Matrix movies. This dark and sinister world was a big part of the inspiration behind this collection.

So what does Dystopia mean? A dystopian society is the opposite of a utopian society – it is mysterious, edgy and unexpected – exactly like our directional new collection.

The products are a fusion of dark, twisted colours and hot, electric neons for surprising colour combinations; opening up a legion of possible looks.

We have brought back favourite product textures – including the cult Liquid Metal – and introduced some new ones, too. There are colours for the every day and products that your alter ego will want to revel in at night…

Swatches: Illuminators

I have had several requests of the past couple of weeks to do a swatch post for Illuminators, so here it is!

Illuminate your darker side with this intense colour that highlights and enhances wherever it’s applied. Goes on wet but dries quickly, leaving a high-shine reflective finish that lasts all night. Use it on cheeks, under brows, or on any other part of your body where you want to draw attention.

Fondle



I adore this colour; it's a bright peachy pink with gold flecks in it. Very pretty on most skin types and especially in sunny weather as the gold flecks reflect the light stunningly. What I like about this one the most is that you can sheer it down a lot so that the gold mixes with the pink to an almost unnoticable degree - great if you are wanting a subtle look with just a hint of sheer pink shimmer. However, if you want bold and sassy colour, it builds up incredibly well because it dries so quickly. It looks fab on eyes and lips as well for an unexpected sparkle.

Glimmer


Glimmer is half way between a gold and a bronze, in my view. I love to mix this with my Cream Foundation on the back of my hand before buffing in with the Highlighter Brush [which I have been using on a daily basis since February following Alex Box's advice, and it hasn't shed on me once...] if I have been using St Tropez [the new range is fragrance free, has anyone tried it? Magic!] and want a touch of colour on my face. It isn't glittery shimmer; it's very finely milled shimmer particles, which I much prefer myself.

Odyssey


Definitely the best Illuminator in terms of highlighting - this is a rich pearlescent white that seems to work well on all skin tones. Dab onto the centre of the eye lid to make the eye 'pop'or under the brow, down the centre of the nose, across the cheekbones, temples, cupids bow... you name it, it'll work beautifully there!

Halcyon


An ivory/ champagne coloured shimmer - almost like a liquid Pure Pigment 'Furore'. I love this slicked over eyes for a wet look, glossy eye. Like 'Furore' it picks up light beautifully and is universally flattering. [second from right]

Poised


This baby pink looks lovely pressed into the apples of cheeks or on lips for a cute splash of colour. I personally like to use it on the eye lids and then blend Powder Eye Shadow in 'Fatal' into the outer corner of the eye and along the socket for texture contrast.


* Thanks to Kraseybeauty for swatches*

Sophie Lancaster Press Release

As Monday approaches, I thought you might like to see the Press Release to mark the second Anniversary of Sophie Lancaster's death, written by the Sophie Lancaster Foundation.


A Unique Mark Of Respect For A Unique Woman
The Death Of Sophie Lancaster - Two Years On

Sophie Lancaster was a Goth. She was also an intelligent 20 year old woman with a bright future. She was beaten up and killed simply for looking different in August 2007. Now, two years on, to mark the anniversary of her death on Monday 24th August, make-up artists across the UK are celebrating the girl who loved to experiment with her looks.

Top make-up brand, Illamasqua - the UK based premium make-up brand that has rapidly grown a cult following worldwide after launching with Selfridges London in November last year - has supported the charity set up in Sophie's name, The Sophie Lancaster Foundation, since the day it launched.

And, to mark the anniversary of Sophie's death on Monday, the brand has announced this as its official day of mourning. All of the staff working on Illamasqua's seven national beauty counters - in leading department stores in London, Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, Cardiff, Belfast and Dublin - will be showing their respect and promoting tolerance by wearing black silk arm bands.

All of the counters will be showing bold and beautiful on-screen imagery of Sophie, with messages about the foundation's work. Anybody who buys the SOPHIE black pencil on the Illamasqua counters on this day will also receive a SOPHIE wrist band, enabling all who wear it to show the world they believe in tolerance and respect for all cultures - including sub-cultures.

Illamasqua, which has its roots firmly based in tolerance and self expression will also show its respect and support for Sophie's family, by closing down its website and web shop, which receives over 4,000 worldwide hits a day. Instead, the site will display the charity's haunting advertisement, with a smiling picture of Sophie and a poignant message that reminds everyone to be more tolerant of each other.


On this day, visitors will be able to purchase just one product online - the Illamasqua SOPHIE pencil, where £3 goes directly to the charity.

Sylvia Lancaster, Sophie's mother and driving force behind the Sophie Lancaster Foundation comments, "I want Sophie's story to be an inspiration to us all to live in tolerance and to celebrate everyone's right to be who they want to be. The Sophie Lancaster Foundation and Illamasqua are intrinsically linked - both promote and fight for the freedome to self-express.

"I applaud Illamasqua on its day of mourning for Sophie. It is simply about reminding people that they must take a stand and be exactly who they want to be, whoever or whatever that is - and that is also one of the main ovjectives of Sophie's charity. She would be thrilled."

Nail Competition Update

I have received some great entries for this - but we still want more! If you went on a great night out and got creative with your nails - then send it in! This is all for a bit of fun - we will put the winner on to the website and you can win some as-yet-unreleased Autumn Winter collection Nail Varnishes, which will be exclusive to the UK stores and online upon release - so if you live abroad, time to get those entries in!

For inspiration - here is Sophy's idea of creativity! I love how the girly tips contrast with the tough, structured ring she has on!

A Very Special Meeting

Today I went to a great meeting today between our PR Agency and representatives of the Sophie Lancaster Foundation, who work for the creative agency, Propaganda. To read more about the Sophie Foundation, click here.

The plan was to discuss how we can get the Sophie Lancaster Foundation [and the work done by her Mother, Sylvia] into the media spotlight where it belongs. Sylvia has worked tirelessly since the murder of her daughter and met with influential politicians such as Jack Straw and Michael Gove to work towards changing the law that would see thugs who target sub cultures get sentenced under hate crime laws. I was astonished to discover today that most cases of violence towards people for looking different is not classified as a hate crime - ie, being attacked for your race or sexual orientation.

After the meeting, I went with Emma and Claire [who work closely with Sylvia and recently redesigned the website and the Myspace page, as well as launching a twitter] for a coffee to talk in more detail about the foundation and where the money raised goes.

"The bulk of the donations that the charity receives will be ploughed back into national educational workshops. The S.O.P.H.I.E workshops have been created to educate young people about subcultures and teach them how to be tolerant and accepting of everyone.

Money will also be spent on the promotion of tolerance via events, sponsorship and materials.
The Sophie Lancaster Foundation is actively lobbying parliament to drive a change in the hate crime legislation to support and protect subcultures, and some funds will also be used to facilitate this ongoing drive." Says Claire Anderson, charity representative.

Next week is the second anniversary of Sophie's death on Monday we will be focusing you will be able to purchase S.O.P.H.I.E wristbands and the Medium Pencil in 'Sophie' - our best selling black pencil.

I hope you will support us in promoting this wonderful charity in remembrance of a beautiful, innocent girl targeted for nothing more than the clothes she was wearing. To read more about this, check out this previous blog post.

*You can also purchase S.O.P.H.I.E merchandise here.*

A Time To Reflect

I have been location scouting in Soho today, as we have an event coming up that needs to be as fabulous as our Autumn Winter collection. I cannot believe that it is getting so close to launch time!

Launching a new collection is never easy - how some brands launch 12 a year is unbelievable! After the initial idea has been discussed and evaluated between Alex Box and the Head Office team, Katie and Alex will spend several days locked away discussing colours, textures influences and product stories, from samples sent by our suppliers.

The initial samples will then be approved or sent back with comprehensive notes on how we think they can be improved or how they can fit the collection better. After all the samples have been approved, Katie and Alex will take a look at palettes and what colours will create an interesting yet unique combination.

After this process? Naming the products of course! This is always good fun and there are many rejects until [corny as it sounds...] the name just fits.

Once the final products are all sorted, then our PR team will come to take a look and have a meeting with Kate, Katie and Alex to understand the collection, the fundamental inspiration and to 'have a play' with them all to get a good idea of the texture and the looks that can be achieved.


The next stage [and this stage concluded about a fortnight ago...] is to consider the collection campaign. Models, hairdresser, photographer, stylist, location... all these individuals have to 'get' the idea behind the collection and be working towards the same goal - it's an extremely creative environment and there was plenty of working on instinct at the shoot.

Since the shoot, we have been whittling down the number of photographs taken [literally, hundreds] to about a dozen to use in the final campaign, for Point of Sale, advertising, leaflets, postcards, product books, website, duratrans...

So this is the stage we are at now! The deadline we are working towards is the beginning of September when all the blood, sweat and tears [I'm so dramatic...!] will be out for you all to see...

Illamasqua Icons: Lol

Julian Kynaston, Chairman of Illamasqua, has chosen the character of Lol from the film This Is England as his Illamasqua Icon.

For those of you who have yet to see Shane Meadows 2007 drama - an insightful portrayal into the 1980s Youth culture; in paticular the original skinhead subculture - it has a riveting cast, including Vicky McClure, who plays Lol.

Julian tells me more:

"With three essential parts of Illamasqua being ....1) Youth Culture 2) Professional Make Up for stage and screen and also...3) Human Fundamentalism [our term for respecting everyone no matter what their background] one actress sums this up for me more than any other.

Vicky McClure’s roles have always engaged me. As an actress I think she is simply awesome. Her portrayal of Lol in Shane Meadows This Is England is stunning. Playing a skinhead in the role Vicky stands for the beliefs of the original skinhead culture and is disgusted by the new wave of racism that is sweeping the country and dividing her gang.

In this role she delivers to me all what I recall from my own youth is best about youth culture and the amazing feeling that goes along with being part of something. Vicky is an amazing actress...what I would call a 'serious' actress.

Vicky's look as Lol is seriously Iconic for me. The skinhead girls looked and still look amazing... if ever their was a unique look... this is it for me.

Vicky...where are you? Come and play with us here at Illamasqua. We love you!"


Vicky rocked the Punk/New wave look that was popular in the 1980s, with an androgynous mix of skinhead and smoky eye make-up. The pale skin and sharply contoured cheeks was part and parcel of the 1980's makeup looks - try Cream Foundation in 110 and Powder Blusher in 'Disobey' would give a similar look to the image of Lol, above.

The lips are left bare [how would Lol smoke with lipgloss on?!] and the eyes are smudged with charcoal. Try Medium Pencil in 'Sophie' for a glossy black or 'Errant' for a navy/grey.

Leena's Shoot With Pure Essence

Our artists are such a talented bunch; Leena from Selfridges Trafford created these gorgeous looks for Pure Essence Hair Salon in Manchester - she used Powdered Metals on the cheeks, Powder Eye Shadow on the lids and False Eye Lashes 17 on both the top and bottom lashes.

Leena - will you please be my personal make-up artist?!

To book a lesson with Leena at Selfridges Trafford, call 0161 629 1187.