School of Make-up Art: Course Breakdowns: Creative Couture Lash Workshop

This fantastic workshop not only encourages you to unleash your alter eego - it also lets you get hands-on creative and release your inner designer by enabling you to create your own lashes!

False Eye Lashes are a key element of night-time make-up, and offer unlimited possibilities for self-expression.

This practical workshop delves into creative lash design, letting you experiment with materials and accessories, to create unique lashes with wow factor!

Guest professional Make-up Artists from the worlds of fashion, theatre and film will be available throughout the day, offering expert support, and even a few off the wall design suggestions.

So as well as taking home some incredible creations, you'll leave with the confidence to design, create and apply your very own lashes.

Course Content

Create and Craft workshop - learn how to design and make couture lashes, working with habadashery, Swarovski crystal, feathers, glitter, paper and fabrics. Beat the fear of applying lashes and create your own unique works of art.

Price

£200

Course Dates

16th October
15th November
18th December

The Myer Fashion Show Spring Summer 2010/11

You may have been waiting for me to post on this, so sorry for the delay! With news about the show all over the internet [click here, here and here for an example] I will bring you the behind-the-scenes look from the Illamasqua camp...

Illamasqua's Creative Director Alex Box and I headed over to Sydney, Australia to work with our retail partners Myer for the biggest show of the year. With over 75 models, 23 make-up artists, 7 nail artists, a horde of hair stylists and a troop of this was one epic show.

A call time of 7:30am gave us enough time to prep the three rooms dedicated to make-up. The main room - headed up by Alex Box - was the Avant Garde room, full of pigments, glitter and a whole lotta golden girls by the end of the day, I will be posting a look break down later on in the week.

The second room consisted of a team headed up the wonderful Christabel Draffin [makeupmole] who were creating beautifully sculpted, contoured Ready To Wear looks - breakdown to follow.
We were very lucky to work with some of Australia's top make-up artists and we were thrilled with the final results of all the looks.

We had a few models to get ready for the 2pm press call, as the main show wasn't until 8pm in the evening and to make the morning papers, there needed to be an earlier photo opportunity.

We also had visits from the beautiful Jess Hart, who kindly agreed to meet-n-greet with some press alongside Alex Box. She was really great, and her make-up artist Sue Marshall [www.suemarshall.com] raved about the Illamasqua products that we gifted her. I will be posting another link this week that will give you a break down on how Sue created Jess' gorgeous, glossy look for the show.

The models were all very patient as it was pretty cold backstage, but the atmospheric location of the CarriageWorks on the out skirts of Sydney city centre was very imposing and impressive.


The guests started to arrive around 7pm, including the supermodel Jerry Hall, the MTV VJ and model Ruby Rose [who was also showcasing her new collection] Charlotte Dawson, model Rachel Finch and Myer Spokesmodels Jennifer Hawkins, Jess Hart and Kris Smith.


With a 3D architectural sculpture of a giant shell, and the runway spilling forth like a wave of golden sand, the scene was set for one of the most epic catwalk show I have ever seen. The renowned architect Chris Bosse was the creative mind behind the show - he was the creator of the iconic Beijing Water Cube at the Olympics - and even the lighting evoked a sunrise and sunset. Beautiful.


Me and Jess!

After the show, the guests enjoyed the after party, with delicious fire and ice oysters, salmon, scallops and lots of champagne and cocktails. And chocolate brownies, of course...
Thanks to Chrissie Hall [www.chrissiehall.com] for her photography.

Cosmopolitan Award for Best Nail Varnish

I was not in the best mood when I walked in to the office today - soaked to the bone thanks to the typically unpredictable british weather - but my mood quickly changed when I saw a big shiny trophy on Rosa's desk; an award for Best Nail Varnish from Cosmopolitan magazine.

I went all Gwyneth Paltrow-at-the-Oscars ...

Thanks to the readers of Cosmopolitan and to the judging panel for picking Illamasqua Nail Varnish as your Nail Varnish of 2010!

School of Make-up Art: Course Breakdowns: The Night-Time Diva

Our highly anticipated SOMUA - The School of Make-up Art - will be launching at 20 Beak Street in mid-September, and the interest in our courses has been coming in thick and fast. Our School will be a creative hub of ideas and inspiration to give you the best possible start to your professional career or encourage the artist in you, hone your skills and give you insight in to the world of professional make-up.

Each day this week we are going to feature one of the courses exclusively to readers of the Illamasqua blog.

The Night-Time Diva

Especially designed to help you master the basic skills of night-time make-up, this intensive 2-hour course is the ideal opportunity for you to learn from the professionals, experiment with peoducts and create your own statement look before hitting the town!

The ideal start to any Big Night Out, it'll equip you with the skills to give any look an Illamasqua edge.

Course content:

Mastering pigments, becoming confident with colour, experimenting with lashes and learning how to create the ultimate make-up statement to make you feel sassy, sexy and confident.

Price:

£50

Course Dates:

8th October 2010
22nd October 2010

5th November 2010
19th November 2010

3rd December 2010
17th December 2010

To book call 0844 984 1700 or email school@illamasqua.com

Sydney Update and Amnesty Update!

It's a day of updates! Alex Box and I are still tearing up Sydney. Today, we had a few meetings with beauty editors in the morning and went out for a nice healthy lunch followed by a stroll in the park to see the bats[!]. They are something of a phenomenon here; huge big fruit bats that dangle from the botanic gardens during the day and screech overhead at dusk flying off to the East.



Tomorrow, we have the final rehearsal for Thursdays Myer Fashion Show. The aussie supermodels Jess Hart and Jennifer Hawkins will be walking amongst others, and I am really looking forward to meeting the teams in hair and nails as well the wealth of Australian make-up artist talent that will be supporting Alex Box and Christabel Draffin [of makeupmole.com fame]. I will be giving a back-stage tour to a group of select bloggers and press as Alex does Jess Hart's make-up, so that will be fantastic for them.

Also, in UK news - the Amnesty has been extended for a final week! We have been so thrilled with the reception and the feedback from our customers that they have been waiting for the chance to get to counter and we wanted to show our commitment to our customers.

Alex Box Masterclass MYER Sydney, Australia

Saturday 31st July saw the Alex Box Masterclass at MYER Sydney. We were extremely lucky to have Alex as she has been extremely busy in the past few months so for her to fly to the other side of the world is testament to the commitment that she gives Illamasqua and her desire to meet all of the artist teams and make-up obsessives around the world.



We had two classes in the day that included customers both new and established, make-up artists, bloggers, trannies and students all eager to meet Alex Box and see her in action...







Thanks to all who came along, and we look forward to seeing you again soon!

Also coming up this week, the Myer Fashion Parade. We have our final meetings tomorrow to lock it all down, followed by final look discussions on Tuesday, a grand rehearsal on Wednesday and the show on Thursday. Phew!

Introducing our new flagship store and the West End’s first ever School of Make-up Art.

With Alex just stepping off the plane in Australia at the moment, it is my absolute honour to present you with this very exciting news!

Since we launched, a little under two years ago, we've always dreamed of opening our own Illamasqua flagship store. That dream is about to become a reality! In mid September, we'll be opening our doors in the heart of Soho, London. After months of deliberation, 20 Beak St is the chosen location, situated just south of Carnaby Steet, between the grandeur of Regent Street and the vibrancy of Soho.

The lease was signed about two weeks ago, and the atmosphere in Head Office right now is absolutely buzzing, with all of us nervous and excited in equal measure! You can be sure we'll all be working as hard as ever to ensure that our first store gets the opening it deserves.


As if that's not news enough, as always with Illamasqua, there's more to the new store than meets the eye. The 'Illamasqua School of Make-up Art' will be located on the premises, offering a range of professionally designed and led courses for beginners to pros that will equip you with the skills to create amazing looks and the confidence to unleash your alter-egos!

It's the first of its kind and will help us strengthen our commitment to making professional night-time make-up available to anyone who believes in self-expression.

I know you'll be very excited by this news, so keep watching this space for more information on courses and opening dates!!

Halimah x

Exclusive Interview with Christine Bateman: Part II

The final section of my interview with the legendary Christine Bateman. If you haven't already read Part I, then click here.

************************************

A: The lifestyle of the Blitz Kids is often romanticised - what are your thoughts and feelings on the era?

C: It was all about the night-out; being creative, self-expressive and outdoing everyone else. Everyone wanted to be the centre of attention. It was an extreme situation so there was some extreme behaviour. Drugs is regrettable, but it did encourage creativity.

The Blitz Kids lifestyle was groundbreaking. It was a one-for-all-all-for-one attitude; we lived in squats and it broke social and cultural barriers. We lived with whoever, whatever and it didn't matter to us. We had legendary parties that signaled a revolution. We reclaimed the British textile and fashion industry by bringing it back to Britain - it wasn't a great time under the Thatcher regime for jobs so we found a different avenue and created our own jobs. We introduced video culture; filmmakers, artists, singers, songwriters, designers, models ... we became a source of tourism and we became commercial.


A: What is your idea of the post-New Romantic cultures?

C: It was the next round of creativity; acid, carnival, rave, fetish... it all recycles, however. Look how big the 80s trend has been recently. We have reached a stage now where everything is an amalgamation of previous eras.



A: What was your favourite look of Worried About The Boy?

C: One we nick-named 'Chocolate Box' - Douglas [Booth, actor who played Boy George] has his hair up in a net and the look was all bronzes and a mix of light to dark browns - very beautiful and intricately applied. It was only briefly shown on the program, but was definitely my favourite look. It had a structured, geometric lip shape and pigments in golds, silvers, box shapes and plenty of structure on the face.


A: What are your favourite Illamasqua products, and why?

C: I love using the Cream Eye Shadows and the Pure Pigments on top. You just can't beat the density of Illamasqua make-up. I also love the Cream Foundations - the range of shades is fantastic and the pigmentation level is incredible. They are truly professional products.



A: Do you see Illamasqua as a groundbreaking make-up brand?

C: It's a brand that will attract consumers with the colours and variety of textures. Encouraging everyone on the High Street to explore make-up is not only great for the people but for the make-up industry in general. we need to reclaim the lost art of application and reclaim the self-expressive element of make-up.

Myer Fashion Parade SS10

From the hot streets of London to the cold [ish] street of Sydney - I am off this week to cover the MYER Fashion Parade event!


I am really looking forward to it and I wanted to give you the low-down on what to expect in terms of news and views from me down under!

I land on the Friday which will give me a day of recovering [at a lovely olde worlde hotel in The Rocks area of Sydney] before attending Alex Box's Masterclass at Myer Sydney City on Saturday 31st July [limited numbers only for $95 redeemable on product purchases made on the day. Call: 1800 661 210 for more details and to book.]

Then on Wednesday and Thursday is the parade itself. This is a big occasion in Sydney - like London/New York/Paris/ Milan Fashion Week - where a selection of the top designers at fashion emporium MYER showcase their latest collections. Australia are currently in the throes of a cold Winter, so they will be much looking forward to their Spring Summer collections, due for release post-show.


Alex Box has exclusively devised all the looks for the show [two Avant-Garde and one Ready to Wear] and the wonderful Christabel of make-up mole will be heading up the Ready to Wear team! We also have a great team of hairstylists and nail artists so it's promising to be a pretty busy backstage! I have been kindly granted backstage access by MYER so I will be getting in to all the nooks and crannies of the show and bringing it to you via our Youtube channel.

We also have the gorgeous Jennifer Hawkins and Jess Hart fronting the show - and Alex Box will be creating their looks personally.


I am aiming to get a series of videos created that will give you an un-paralleled look in to backstage life at a major fashion show [and major this is - 55 models in total!] from the conception of the looks, the practice runs and the final day with interviews from a selection of creatives who all have a part in pulling off a successful show.

Illamasqua Amnesty: An Update

The groundbreaking Amnesty has been roaring ahead at Illamasqua counters all over the country and I wanted to give you all an update! I have spoken to some of the manager at each of our stores and they have been thrilled with the response - so many of you have been coming in to swap unwanted products that have been sitting dormant at the bottom of your make-up bags. We have had every conceivable brand in every single state of disrepair.


So what have people been saying? I went along to Selfridges Oxford Street to chat with some of our customers and they told me:

"I'm just excited that their is a brand that has highly pigmented products to use, without having to break a product down to get some sort of colour out!"

"I'm a make-up student and this 25% is an extra 5% off my 20% student discount, so I have been bringing in absolutely loads to swap out"

"What a great excuse to go make-up shopping! I can justify replacing my so-so products with colours that meet the standard I require for bold, beautiful make-up"

Rosie, our Business Manager at Selfridges London told me "We have been surprised with the number of high-end make-up that has come in - we expected mostly drug store brands. There has been a real trend for bright eye shadows and lips especially. We haven't had anyone come in to swap a nude lipstick for an Illamasqua nude lipstick, it's great how bold customers are being with their choices. Fantastic!"