Busy Day!

Just a quick update on my day for you all! We have lots of activity going on in the build up to Christmas [yes, it's that time of year again...] so I have been in and out of meetings discussing potential collaborations and events!

First up, we have our First Birthday on Saturday 31st October. Each counter will be having prize draws amongst other activity but Selfridges Oxford Street - where it all began - will be a hub of festivities! We have a great celebratory limited edition product [more on that later...!] and Mika [star of our Dystopia collection] will be a model for Adam to create some dramatic Dystopia looks on. Come along between 2pm and 6pm to catch Adam on the britney microphone [not an official name for the PA system!] for a masterclass on distorted, glamorous night-time looks.


Next up, Alex Box's launch party for her wonderful new book and exhibition "Alex Box By Rankin" next Thursday will be followed by her making a personal appearance at the Illamasqua counter at Selfridges Oxford St on November 5th between 4pm and 7pm. She will also be recreating looks from the book, so be sure to catch that! The book is published by Turnaround at £50. Read the Sunday Times Style magazine's review of the book here.

We are also working on our online swatches - it's going to be a revolutionary way of viewing our products and we are very excited - currently on track for a mid- November launch with this...

Mizzworthy/ Illamasqua Competition - Winners!

I'm back off holiday! I had a very relaxing time away from city life and had an amazing facial, indian head massage, body scrub... the works! Holbrook House in Somerset was my destination of choice and I would seriously recommend the wonderful therapists there. They use ESPA [gorgeous packaging and heady, therapeutic products] - Kate [Brand Director] is a fan of Neals Yard in Covent Garden for massages and Jonathan [Retail Operations Manager] loves the Rejuvenation Spa in Spitalfields.

I asked Katie [Product Development Manager] where she goes for a good ol' pampering session and she just pulled a are-you-kidding-me face... But I digress!

Sorry for the delay in posting the winners for our competition but it's been a catch-up day!

Choosing the finalists of the Superhero and Villain competitions was a difficult enough task for Mizzworthy and Krystle [from our Selfridges Trafford counter] but I was with Alex when we had to pick the winners and that was even more difficult for how do you judge artistic license?!

Anyway, winners had to be picked and they are...

Gracie, who won the runner-up spot for the Villain's part of the competition. Her look, brilliantly named "Valentina the Serpent Queen" was described by Alex as "gutsy execution - she looks like she really had fun with it [the competition] - which is what this contest is all about!"


The winner for the Villain's category is Unicorn Smile based her look on Catwoman - with a twist. Alex loved the "very beautiful, very elegant take on a villain. Sharply executed and yet with a soft modern edge. Love it." I love the eyebrows!



The runner-up spot for the Hero part of the competition goes to TackyBlueEyeshadow who interpreted a fantastic Captain America look. Alex thought this was "a very cool interpretation of comic hero Captain America. Very editorial - Dazed and Confused would love it!"

The winning look was submitted by KraseyBeauty . The intricate mix of textures and shapes was what really grabbed Alex's attention; "The interesting mix of classic eye shapes and contemporary skin patterns [means] she has clearly thought outside the box."



Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to everyone for your entries!

Lucy's Lippy!

Eliza recently left us a comment, asking about Lucy's lip colour in the below photograph. Lindsay, our guest editor last week, asked Lucy about the colour. Lucy - being Lucy - couldn't just use one product, that would be too easy...

"It was Lipstick in 'Brink', with Concealer pressed into it and a little Pure Pigment in 'Furore' pressed into the cupids bow."

Thanks, Lucy!

Featured Artist: Krystle

Following on from Lucy's work, we have some more fabulous creations by Krystle, one of our brilliant artists from Selfridges Trafford.

Krystle told me about the shoot:

"The shoot was with an amazing photographer called Andrew Farrington and the model was Nell Nabarro, who you may recognise from the last series of 'Britain's Next Top Model'. The hair was by Rachel Mawdsley and Fashion Styling by Brandy Owens.

I used the following products to create the ethereal end result: I prepped skin with Satin Primer and used Cream Foundation in '125' for a pale, almost angelic look. This was topped with Loose Powder in '115', then Powder Blusher in 'Primal' to contour, Powder Blusher in 'Katie' for a snowy flush and Powder Blusher in 'Intrigue' to highlight. On the eyes I used Cream Eye Shadow in 'Touch' as a base, Pure Pigment in 'Tingle' and 'Furore', Powder Eye Shadow in 'Anja' [the most gorgeous cornflower blue], Eye Liner Cake in 'Mislead', Volume Mascara in 'Harness' and Brow and Lash Gel to sculpt the brows. The lips were given a pop of colour with beautiful, soft coral Lipstick in 'Sonnet'."

To book a make-up lesson with Krystle, call the Selfridges Trafford team on 0161 619 1187

Daniel comes to Times Square.

Some great news for you New York gals! Daniel, one of our International Make-up Artists, will be making an appearance at Sephora's flagship store at 5 Times Square on October 10th and 11th, from 11am-7pm on both days! Joining him will be our International Account Director, Jennifer - both will be on hand to answer brand and product questions and to help you discover your alter ego using our range of professional, high impact pieces. Hope you can make it!

Featured Artist: Lucy

We love to feature our artists' freelance work and today I am thrilled to show you some of Lucy's, who works on our Selfridges Oxford St counter.

I absolutely love this editorial look. Lucy told me more about it:
"I started off by prepping the skin with Satin Primer [which I use for almost all the shoots I work on!] and followed that with Light Liquid Foundation and a touch of Cream Blusher in 'Dixie' low on the apples of the cheek for a tomboyish, wind-kissed look.

To open the eyes I added Medium Pencil in 'Vow' on the waterline and Volume Mascara to Alison's fantastic lashes. The lips that go so well with the model's gorgeous fair complexion were made up of a base of Lipstick in 'Poison' finished with a slick of Intense Lipgloss in my favourite shade, 'Repulse'.

This was a shot from work I regularly do with Nevs model agency and the fantastic photographer Lee Mofo [www.the-mofo.co.uk], whose recent clients include Firetrap, FrostFrench and 28twelve. We hold shoot days for the agency at my warehouse studio and often shoot up to 8 girls a day, so it's important to create strong, camera ready looks with minimal time and product. Illamasqua's huge colour range makes my job a lot easier, and needless to say my male flatmates never complain about having a house full of gorgeous models!"
To book a lesson with Lucy, call the Selfridges Oxford St counter on 0207 318 3788

Another amazing masterclass event

Following the huge success of our London masterclasses, we thought it was only fair to give our fans up north a piece of the action! So on Saturday 3rd October, our long-awaited Manchester Masterclass took place. And it was well worth the wait!






Alex Box flew in especially from Paris fashion week to lead the two classes – 'Night-time Divas' and 'Dare to be different'. While she created key looks, International Make-up Artist, Adam, talked through the products and techniques, much to the delight of the eager audience! The crowd was a real mix of professional make-up artists and beauty lovers, all looking for new ways to uncover their alter egos. Judging by the pictures, I’m pretty sure they all did!
The counter was absolutely swamped after each session, as everyone rushed to get their hands on their favourite products from the class. This created a real buzz in store, and Illamasqua definitely became the centre of attention for the day – which we LOVED!! So much so that we actually ended up selling out of lots of our Dystopia products, foundations, primers and brushes.

Hopefully everyone who attended had as good a time as we did, and of course, hats off to the wonderful Ms Box!

Illamasqua Icons: Scarlett O'Hara

Scarlett O'Hara, the protagonist of one of my favourite books, Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind, is the beautiful green-eyed, dark-haired heroine. Her drive to succeed, intelligence and business instinct mark her as a modern day feminist who although smart and beautiful is also narcissistic and often cruel.

Vivien Leigh played the title character of the 1939 film version of Gone With The Wind to arrogant perfection.

To recreate this vampish look, prep skin with Matt Primer. Follow with the Powder Foundation for a medium-full coverage, shine-free base. Lightly contour cheekbones with Powder Blusher in 'Disobey'.

Mix a touch of Sealing Gel with Eye Brow Cake in 'Thunder' to recreate Scarlett's defined, arched brow and highlight underneath with a smudge of Powder Eye Shadow in 'Sex'. This look is all about the brow and the lip, so keep the eye colour to a minimum by dusting on a touch of Powder Eye Shadow in 'Trollop' for a beige/coral finish and apply two coats of Volume Mascara in 'Harness' for catlike eyes.

Eye Brow Cake in 'Thunder'
Line the lips with Medium Pencil in 'Feisty' [perfect for Scarlett!] and fill in with Lipstick in 'Drench' - a juicy, tomato red with just that smallest hint of pink. Dab a drop of Sheer Lipgloss in 'Brilliant' into the centre of the lip to create the illusion of volume and to stop the look looking too matt.

Lipstick in 'Drench'

The perfect Lipglosses for smoky eyes....

Alex is on holiday this week, so I'll be updating the Illamasqua blog throughout this week! My name is Lindsay and I'm on the creative team at Illamasqua. So what do I do on a daily basis? Well, I work closely with all the departments at Illamasqua to make sure the most beautiful, unique and innovative elements of our fabulous brand and products are reflected. I also manage the planning of advertising, promotions, events and design - my big project at the moment is updating the swatch section of our website! I know many of you are anticipating the new-look online shop and it's nearly completed... so watch this space!

Alex spent the back end of last week swatching the Sheer Lipglosses as, by her own admission, smoky eyes tend to be the big look of the Autumn. She has compiled, for your viewing pleasure, the top four Sheer Lipglosses that perfectly complement the dark and dramatic smoky eye.


From top to bottom, 'Electrify', 'Provoke', 'Lily-rose', 'Kindle'.


Electrify

'Electrify' is a bubblegum pink - think a sheerer, slightly milkier version of Intense Lipgloss in 'Indulge'. This looks great on all skin tones, but especially fair, blonde girls. It has a subtle amount of shimmer [not glitter!] which prevents the colour looking flat.

Shown above without flash and below with flash


Provoke

'Provoke' is a coffee coloured bronze/nude that again, works on all skin tones. On Alex, it looks very nude - she told me this is her go-to for a nude lip as it cancels out her natural lip colour and warms up her pink-toned skin. It also has shimmer in it to create a very multi-dimensional effect.

Shown above without flash and below with flash

Lily-Rose

One of the cult items of the Illamasqua collection is Sheer Lipgloss in 'Lily-Rose'. This gorgeous, sheer red/pink is fabulous because of its versatility - it can be mixed with a variety of lipglosses to add a pink or red dimension, dependent on the base colour. It also looks pretty darn good on its own, as shown here.

Shown above without flash and below with flash

Kindle

Been searching for the perfect toffee coloured lipgloss? Then 'Kindle' may well be the gloss for you. This lovely light beige is the perfect creamy toffee shade and also has a small amount of shimmer to really make lips pop. Perfect for all skin tones, but especially gorgeous on medium-olive girls who like their lips nude!

Shown above without flash and below with flash

Below is a picture of Alex's 'face of the day' last Wednesday. She is wearing:

Satin Primer
Cream Foundation 215
Under Eye Concealer 140
Powder Blusher in 'Disobey' to contour
Powder Blusher in 'Nymph' for a flush of pink colour
Illuminator in 'Halcyon' on the cheekbones, cupids bow and down the centre of the nose
Cream Eye Shadow in 'Delve' as a base
Powder Eye Shadow in 'Matter' and 'Machine' from the Dystopia collection
Medium Pencil in 'Sophie'
Volume Mascara in 'Harness'
Sheer Lipgloss in 'Kindle'

Swatches: Cream Foundations - the lighter shades

In response to some recent requests, I have done a quick swatch of the lighter foundations colours.

To give some perspective, I am a 210 in Cream Foundation. I am also wearing Intense Lipgloss in 'Drag' - a lovely tangerine.

From left to right: CF140, CF135, CF120, CF110. Above without flash, below with flash.

I'm off on holiday tomorrow, so Lindsay will be taking over the blog posts next week!