Dystopia Launches On All Counters!

Yesterday saw the launch of the Dystopia collection nationwide across our counters in Selfridges Oxford St, Selfridges Trafford, Debenhams Belfast, Debenhams Glasgow, Debenhams Cardiff and Fenwick Newcastle.

I had a quick catch-up with some of our artists on counter to see whether the buzz that I have seen on the internet has translated on to the counters!

First, I called Cardiff where I spoke to the lovely Chetna. "We only have four pairs of the False Eye Lashes 21 left!" She tells me, "The customers have been absolutely loving the dark and dangerous feeling of the Collection. We have received lots of pre-orders and spent most of our day yesterday calling all our customers back to let them know the Collection had arrived."

Any tips? "I have been playing with the products constantly and have found that mixing a drop of Sealing Gel with the Intense Lipgloss 'Galactic' creates a gorgeous, shimmering glossy eye liner." Great tip. Unfortunately I have yellow and brown eyes today, so I couldn't demonstrate, but will definitely swatch this look one day soon!

The artists at Fenwick in Newcastle said that same thing "It's absolutely flying!" Leena excitedly tells me, "I am just loving it all - especially the Pure Pigment in 'Android' - I have never seen a product fly off the shelves so quickly. I am currently rocking a look of Nail Varnish in 'Velocity' with Pure Pigment in 'Static' scattered over the top for an irridescent effect, followed by a coat of glossy Top Coat. I have had so many compliments - it looks awesome". I love our artists, they are always exploring outside the box with how to use our products.

A great tip also comes courtesy of Krystle at Selfridges Trafford. Sharon, the account manager at Selfridges, tells me, "Krystle has been mixing the Intense Lipgloss in 'Galactic' with just about everything! Her favourite mix is with Intense Lipgloss in 'Petulant'." Intrigued, I followed up on this and absolutely LOVE the results. I was not expecting the pinky/grape colour or the finish - I think it would go a bit murky in truth! But I am loving this and it is making me love 'Galactic' more and more as the days go on! I was, like many I think, a little sceptical on its versatility but I was so wrong - this is not just a professional product as you can see it turns solid glosses shimmery and is very buildable, for a subtle silver gleam or full-on knock out Silver glitter lips. I am going to keep an eye on the fashion mags and their photoshoots - I think this could be big.

I also spoke with Sian in Glasgow whose favourite tip is "to start with Lipstick in 'Avenge' all over the lip and mix in Sheer Lipgloss in 'Explode' into the inner third of the lip. Add a pop of interest with Intense Lipgloss in 'Galactic'." See my version below!


Belfast have also been seeing some great interest from customers - "The new Pure Pigment in 'Android'. Wow. It has been absolutely flying!" Explains Nykkol, account manager. "I have been using the Liquid Metal in 'Phenomena' all over the eye lid and smudging in this Pure Pigment to create a dramatic smoky eye."

How about Selfridges Oxford St? I spoke to Francesco - "I had a lady come in this morning and buy the whole range." He says, "Everything is so beautiful - I am using Cream Eye Shadow in 'Wail', a muted, soft grey and then then Pure Pigment in 'Android' for a smoky effect with Pure Pigment in 'Static' in the inner corners. Perfect." So what are the best sellers in London? "The Nail Varnish in 'Obsess' and Intense Lipgloss in 'Galactic' are the standouts at the moment."

I have also been doing a little bit of experimentation myself - I took home the Sheer Lipgloss in 'Explode' to have a play around with it and discovered that when I put it on top of Box Lipstick, this look came out. This is so me - a red lip with a real edge. It also flashes bluey in some lighting and pinky in others.



To purchase Dystopia online, follow this link.

Ask An Artist: Foundation Shades

Hi Illamasqua! I wanted to try either the Cream or Powder Foundation and was having a little difficulty in choosing a shade. I am of Asian (filipino) descent and am medium complexioned. Usually when I test foundations from different brands I land right smack dab in the middle of whatever shade range I am looking at. I am yellow based but have a bit of beige undertones in my skin as well. I don't think I have as strong a yellow undertone as do a lot of asian women. Can you please help?


Francesco and Gillian from Selfridges London have helped me out with this query:

"We think she may be 320. This would fall closest to the competitor shade that she mentioned.
230 will be to muddy in tone for her and 215 may be a little to light.

We would also suggest the Matt Primer - Asian skins can tend towards oiliness, so this primer would help to smooth out that out and rebalance the texture of the skin."

Manchester Blogger Event

Friday 4th September saw the Manchester Blogger Event at Ithaca in central Manchester. This fabulous location mirrored the Dystopia collection superbly!



As I have very little knowledge of Manchester, I asked Krystle and Lucy [two of our gorgeous artists from Selfridges Trafford] to find me a suitable location and they really came up trumps with the dark, edgy and sultry atmosphere of this exclusive Manchester bar.

With a mix of modern and traditional pan asian canapes and some seriously cool looking cocktails, the bloggers who attended got to chat with Leena, Krystle, Lucy, Alex Box and myself about the new collection and the hero products within it.

Alex Box created a dramatic Dystopia look on Mizzworthy using the directional products from the collection.

We also had a very special guest come to the event - Sylvia Lancaster. Sylvia is the Mother of Sophie Lancaster who was tragically killed in August 2007 by a group of thugs for simply looking different to them. As you all know, Illamasqua support the Sophie Lancaster Foundation by donating £3 from every Medium Pencil in 'Sophie' [our blackest black pencil] to the charity. Sylvia gave a touching speech on her life after the death of her daughter and what the charity is doing to raise awareness.

On a personal note, it was really lovely to meet Sylvia and I greatly admire her for the work she is doing and her selfless attitude. She is an inspiration to us all.

I would also like to thank the artists and the bloggers for attending and I hope you had fun checking out the latest collection!

Adam in Cardiff

One of our fabulous International Make-up artists [he flew to NYC for the launch in July] and personal make-up artist to The Pussycat Dolls whenever they are in London, Adam, will be in Cardiff today, tomorrow and Saturday to help launch the Dystopia collection in Debenhams Cardiff.

We are also offering a free minicure with any purchase of two Nail Varnishes - the perfect excuse for buying the hot new colours 'Obsess' and 'Velocity'. The lovely Helen described 'Velocity' as a grurple - grey/purple - which I think is the perfect way of describing it!

Here is a pic from Sophy Robson's blog of the nails she created for one of our Dystopia looks - these colours look great together and the yellow is our neon 'Rare' Nail Varnish.

Dystopia Film

London Blogger Event

After weeks of planning, Thursday 3rd September saw the London Illamasqua beauty event, held at the beautiful and historic Kettners in Soho.

We served Champagne and Guinness cocktails [you know how we love to push the boundaries!] as well as really delicious vivid orange Apricot and Rum cocktails and an abundance of yummy canapes, which Halimah, Katie, Helen and I had no trouble in finishing off after the event!


After the meet and greet aspect, I briefly introduced myself and the team and handed over to Kate, our Brand Director. She gave a great insight into the brand; the history aspect, the initial launch, the research behind the brand and to update everyone on our next steps as a company.

We then played a presentation of Dystopia that detailed the influences and the ideas behind this fascinating collection.

Alex Box, Illamasqua's Artistic Director and legendary alternative make-up artist, talked more about the collection and also about her influences as an artist and her background in fine art, fashion and beauty. It always fascinates me to hear Alex speak; she has such a brilliant way of explaining and describing things to make them sound really magical, for example - her descriptions of Dystopia as a "rebellion against perfection" and "a distorted, twisted concept of beauty".

One of the blogger who attended, Lydia, was picked as a model by Alex Box to demonstrate the versatility of the new collection and the number of different looks that could be created with the palettes of warm greys, charcoals, granites and shots of neon pink and smoky purples. It was a real transformation!

We encouraged everyone to mingle and have a play with the products and invited them to talk with Alex, Kate, Katie, Halimah, Helen and myself if they had any questions or just wanted a chat!


I would like to thank everyone who managed to come along for coming and sincerely hoped you enjoyed the event!

** Special thanks to Kettners, especially Stef and Fergie for serving some delicious cocktails! **

Saturday Night FOTD

I will get a full run down on the blogger events up tomorrow, including some great photographs - but I thought I would just share a tip that Lucy from Selfridges Trafford shared with me.

For a really inky black smoky eye, layer Concealer in 355 [the black one] onto the eye lid and press Pure Pigment in 'Android' [the gunmetal/black] on top. I then finished this with False Lashes in 14 [my new favourites] and a smudge of Medium Pencil in 'Sophie' all around the eye. I have never worn black all over before, but I absolutely loved the effect, even if it did take about 6 Simple wipes to get it all off!

I also used Cream Blusher in 'Rude' [I think I need to join an addiction group for this blusher, I can't stop using it!] on my lips. It looks like an apricot/pink/nude on the lips for a 60s style finish.


What do you think - sorry about the dodgy camera angle!

Nail Art Competition Now Closed!

Thanks for everyones entries - we have had some great ones here through the blog and also emailed through to me - we will be working on deciding the winners all week so stay tuned!

Thanks again guys - and here is a pic of Sophy Robson creating the fabulous nails for the Dystopia collection!

La Roux is La Rude!

Here is a picture that Product Development manager Katie found online - the singer La Roux [whose album is constantly on replay as Brand Director Kate loves her!] having some Cream Blusher in 'Rude' applied to her lips! You all probably know by now that is one of my favourite Illamasqua products - I actually feel naked without it!

Totally loving the funky applique on La Roux's forehead - she has an almost Tilda Swinton swag which is really, really cool. Plus 'In For The Kill' is officially the most played song at Illamasqua HQ!

Alex Box Book Info!

Alex is extremely excited about her first ever extensive collection and exhibition of her work, which will take place at the Annroy Gallery in London NW5 from October 23rd until November 22nd 2009.

If you managed to get Style magazine this weekend [with The Sunday Times - I absorb it every week!] you may have read the two page story on the book; the creativity behind it, the inspirations, the influences, ideas... here is a sneaky peak image from the book. Keep an eye on this blog to as I will be having an interview withAlex tomorrow and she can't wait to tell me more about it!


The book is due for release at book shops from October 22nd.