Hello my lovelies!

I've been super busy of late with shoots, work and clients (not to mention general housewife duties!) so apologies for the lack of posts. I do however have a lot to blog about so I'll be sure to get these out as soon as poss!

As it's coming up to Spring (although the snow is saying otherwise!), a lot of brands will be releasing their new products and collections and clients/customers will be looking at changing their makeup "wardrobe".
Personally I love Spring, it's my second favourite season after Autumn; the sun starts peeking out and nature is at full bloom. Makeup-wise, skin is fresher and there's a lot of pastels and brights to get you in the mood for Summer.

I attended the launch of the new Spring collection by one of my all time favourite brands - Illamasqua. One of the reasons I love them so much is that they like to break away from the beauty "norm" and conventions and this collection is no different.
If you remember the last collection (Generation Q) was about beauty having no age limit, and the one before that (Human Fundamentalism) reversed traditional beauty rules. This years Spring I'mPerfection collection ties in beautifully with the whole "nature" side of Spring as well as their ethos; to celebrate and embrace your "imperfections". 
If you look at nature you'll find speckled eggs and patterned feathers of all sizes and colours; the same is true with people, with their freckles, scars and birth marks.

"Show off your freckles. Make beauty spots more beautiful. Shine a light on your birthmarks. And be proud of your scars. Because life isn't about finding yourself, life is about celebrating who you really are."

This part of the new campaign really stood out to me because when dealing with clients and customers on a daily basis, they're so quick to want to hide their "flaws", a lot often embarrassed and some even with self esteem issues. What's worst for me is finding young teenage clients who look at beauty magazines/celebrities thinking that they're flawless and wanting to be "flawless" too, when no one actually is. So again, I applaud Illamasqua for highlighting their campaign models' "imperfections" and really hope other beauty brands take a step in that direction too.

Alex Box explaining the concept behind the campaign images

As always, Illamasqua have a wildcard in their collection and this Spring its a "Leaf Green" intense lipgloss as sported in the campaign picture (and swatched with Immodest lipstick) below.

Like Apocalips, Shoot will probably only be loved by a select few who will dare to wear green on their lips, however Apocalips became a statement lip and other brands followed suit to make teal lipsticks, so green may well be the new lip trend for 2013!
For those of you who don't quite see yourselves wearing the green by itself, it makes a great mixing colour as I tried it with the new pink lipstick (Immodest) and it made a nice nude brown colour. Apparently mixed with reds it can create berry colours too!

My personal favourites from this collection are the speckled polishes, the powder blush duos (particularly Duo No. 3) and the innovative blush brush to create an ombre blush effect. I also absolutely adored the speckled eyeliner look in the campaign image below and attempted my own version that I'll be posting about very soon!

The collection in a basket "nest"

Blush Duo No. 3 - Beg & Bronzerella

Speckled eyeliner image from the I'mPerfection campaign

The collection comprises of a new blush brush (£28.50), a range of pastel speckled nail polishes (£14.50 each), blush duos for light, medium and dark skin tones (£26 each) and a new lipstick (£16) and lipgloss (£14). The existing black liquid liner in Abyss (£17) is also part of this I'mPerfection collection (to create the speckled eyeliner effect).

The collection will be available to buy from 31st January 2013 from the Illamasqua site and counters. 

What do you think of the new I'mPerfection collection? Which products would you like to try?

 

FFF: Oxblood/Burgundy smokey makeup look

One of my recent requests has been to use the Oxblood/Burgundy trend to do a makeup look.. and of course I accepted!

I thought I'd do a quick smokey look with the oxblood colour, so here it is:

Products used: 
Eyes:

> UDPP

> NYX JEP in Milk

> Sleek Monaco Palette: Sand Walker, Moors Treasure

> Sleek Nude Palette: Nougat, Toast, Bark, Noir

> NYC black liquid liner 

> UD 24/7 eyeliner pencil in Perversion

> Daniel Sandler Jumbo Jet mascara

> Khuraira ACC in Light 

Face: 

> Graftobian HD foundation - Desert Sand

> UD Razorsharp powder

> UD Toasted Bronzer
Lips:

> UD Wicked lip pencil

> UD SSLC in F-Bomb

I started by applying Noir in the crease and outer corner of the eye after priming with the usual UDPP & NYX JEP in Milk. I then applied Moors Treasure to the middle of the eyelid and Toast to the inner corner. Sand Walker was used above the crease and blending out Noir, whilst Nougat was used on the brow bone. I used a small brush to apply Moors Treasure to the bottom lashline, then used UD Perversion to line the inner eye and NYC black liquid liner for the top liner. 

I applied my concealer under the eye and finished the eyes by filling in the brows with Bark & Noir and Daniel Sandler Jumbo Jet mascara on the lashes (black):

For the rest of the face I used the Graftobian HD foundation in Desert Sand and UD Razorsharp powder on the areas needed. UD Toasted Bronzer was used to define the cheekbones. UD Wicked lip liner was applied all over the lips, then SSLC in F-Bomb very lightly:

Hope you like this look, I didn't have a lot of time to take more pictures, but do let me know if you have any other requests!

Would you wear red on the eyes? What other colour recommendations would you choose with an oxblood/burgundy colour?

 

Gold Glitter Makeup Look

Hello my lovely followers!

I've been meaning to upload a glittery look for a while now seeing as I love it so much; I thought I'd make it similar to the Naked Arab post that is still very popular on my blog, but with added sparkle.
Although New Years Eve has passed, this can be used with any variation of colours/glitters for any special occasion, so I hope you like!

Products used:

Eyes:

> UDPP

> NYX JEP in Milk & Yogurt

> UD Naked palette: Naked, Buck, Half Baked, Darkhorse and Creep

> La Femme pressed eyeshadow (refill in Z palette) White

> NYC black liquid liner 

> Avon Supershock black eye pencil

> UD Heavy Metal glitter liner in Midnight Cowboy

> Make Up Store glitter in Super

> Daniel Sandler Jumbo Jet mascara

> Khuraira ACC in Light 

Face:

> Graftobian HD foundation in Desert Sand

> UD Razorsharp powder

> UD Toasted Bronzer
> Sleek Face Form in Medium (highlighter)
> Elf cream liner in black (eyebrows)  
Lips:

> UD SSLC in Lovechild & Punch Drunk

As always, I primed the eyes with UDPP and then applied NYX JEP in Yogurt on the eyelids and Milk from the crease to the browbone.
I then applied La Femme White eyeshadow to the brow bone, followed by Naked just above the crease, but under the brow bone. I then added Buck to the crease and Darkhorse to intensify the crease, blending upwards slightly and into the inner corner of the eye. Midnight Cowboy Heavy Metal Glitter eyeliner was used as the adhesive for the Make Up Store Super glitter, and both were applied to the full eyelid but stopping at the crease. Using a small liner-type brush, Half Baked was applied to the bottom lashline, and using a smaller crease brush Creep was used ever so lightly in the V/triangle shape formed at the outer crease of the eye, above the glitter.
I used NYC black liquid eye liner to line the top lid fairly dramatically, winging the flick out and Avon Supershock black eye pencil to line the inner eye both up and down.
I applied my concealer under the eye and finished the eyes by filling in the brows with Elf Cream liner (lightly) and Daniel Sandler Jumbo Jet mascara on the lashes (black):

For the rest of the face I used the Graftobian HD foundation in Desert Sand and UD Razorsharp powder on the areas needed. UD Toasted Bronzer was used to define the cheekbones and the highlighter from the Medium Sleek Face Form. UD SSLC in Lovechild and Punch Drunk were used on the lips:

Hope you like this look, I have another requested makeup look that I will post next, do let me know if you have any requests!

Do you wear glitter? Would you wear this look?