Sooo Illamasqua have released a new shade of their Beyond Powder highlighters and as a fan of the OMG highlighter (read my top 5 gold highlighters blog post here), of course I was inspired to create something magical with it, being iridescent pink and all; the unicorn trend is still very much alive in 2018!
I thought I'd go for something a lot less dramatic on the eyes than my last Illamasqua look, this one is magical with pink and purple tones and I had a vision of using my blacklight for a pic (which I still have from none other than this Illamasqua event!)
The unicorn/mermaid trend isn't for everybody but I do love playing with makeup and the Beyond Powders look amazing wet or dry so I was eager to see how it would look under the blacklight idea I pictured in my head. Read on to see all products used for this look!

left: the Daze highlighter (no flash) right: the highlighter brush you get free with my discount code!

FF: Black Friday with Illamasqua

So for Black Friday I created a smokey look thanks to you guys who suggested I create it with the new Illamasqua Delirious palette I received. I used a bit of the matte mauvey tones in the crease and the black glittery shade to create the smokey eye effect, read on to see exact products used!

Sunday Swatches: Illamasqua Dusk Collection

Following my last post featuring my Eid Makeup Look which used the new Illamasqua collection, it's only right I follow up with a review and swatches post to show you just how awesome this collection is!

Dusk Collection (minus the Illustrator Pen)

Dusk is inspired by the middle east and the art of skin sculpting and contouring; I love how the shades in this collection compliment medium/warmer skintones perfectly, (but can equally be worn by fairer and deeper tones too). 

My first impressions were of course surprise and adoration; firstly at the wearability of this collection for my own skintone and secondly the new products I'd never seen before by Illamasqua - the Slick Sticks and the Sculpting Palette. I'm used to their colouring pencils and the quad palettes so this was new territory for me and I couldn't wait to dig in.

FFF: Teal Eid Makeup Look

Hi guys!

So sorry about the lack of posts, I've been uber busy with baby and the month of Ramadan but now that it is over, I thought I would get back on track with my backlog of posts and start with the Eid makeup look I wore last week to compliment my teal kaftan (from StyleMeLondon) as posted on my Instagram:

I didn't get to get a close up of the eyes as usual but I got pretty clear face pictures so you can see that I went for a soft glam with a hint of colour on my lower lashline to tie in with the kaftan as I felt teal on the lids would be too much!

I also got to use my newest makeup products from the Illamasqua Dusk collection (review here!)

Here's a breakdown of products used:
Eyes:
• UDPP
• Illamasqua Brow Gel - Strike & ABH DipBrow Pomade in Chocolate
• Smashbox Full Exposure palette: shimmery golds on lids and matte nudes and black to blend in crease and above
• Illamasqua Precision Gel Liner in Infinity
• UD 24/7 Pencils in Covet and Flipside
• Huda Beauty Lashes: Giselle
Face:
• Maybelline Fit Me foundations in shade 210 and 220
• NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Ginger (slightly darker for me so added HOGD (next) on top
• House Of GlamDolls GlamBase Wheel for contouring and concealing under foundation 
• Illamasqua Sculpting Palette
• Illamasqua Powder Blusher in Cherish
Lips: 
• Illamasqua Slick Stick for Lips in True
• Illamasqua lipstick in Born
• Lansinoh (for moisturising lips on top)

Tuesday Takeover: Mohima Farchu

Hello my Frooti Beauties! 
This weeks Tuesday Takeover is from Mohima who I discovered through Instagram with her stunning looks and honest reviews.
I hope you guys enjoy her review today, don't forget to follow her on Instagram and Facebook!

Illamasqua Gel Colour - Fluster

Hi Guys! Thanks to Safiyah for letting me do the Tuesday Takeover blog post. I love a good natter about all things makeup so I'm going to get stuck in straight away!
Today I'll be reviewing Illamasqua's new Gel Colour cheek tint. These come in stick form and provide an instant flush of colour to your complexion.
Now let me just take a moment to tell you that I love Illamasqua. Anyone who follows me on social media knows I harp on about them all day, everyday. They always think outside the box and keep it interesting. When I saw this product launch I wanted it immediately!
The Gel Colours include two shades, Charm (Apricot) & Fluster (Pink). I will be reviewing the latter. There is also a contour colour, referred to as Gel Sculpt, in the shade Silhouette.

Tuesday Takeover: Halima Fashionicide

Hello my lovelies!!

Today I have a special Tuesday Takeover for you from Halima of Fashionicide.
I have loved Halima's blog for a long while now (I currently have serious pastel hair envy!) and I knew when I attended the Illamasqua launch of the To Be Alive collection that Halima would be the perfect person to review the products!

The collection is dominated by the colour blue and comprises of an iridescent lipgloss (Iridesce), a lipstick (Vendetta), an eyeshadow palette (Spirit) and a beautiful iridescent nail polish (Prismatic).

Find out what unicorn princess Halima thought about the lipgloss below and don't forget to follow her blog!

FFF: Illamasqua Facets Makeup Look

I'm treating my followers to yet another week of blogging (making up for lost time clearly!)
I got to play around with the Facets Semblance Palette again this week (review here), and managed to get a quick makeup look done. I also used a few shades from my new Makeup Revolution Essential Mattes palette as it's great for blending <3

Products used:
Eyes:
• UDPP - Eden
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade - Ebony
• Illamasqua Semblance palette
• Makeup Revolution Essential Mattes palette
• NYX Two Timer eyeliner
• Illamasqua Vow Colouring Eye pencil
• Eldora lashes: H151
• Lancome Hypnose Drama mascara
Face:
• Illamasqua Skinbase foundation in SB10
• Skinbase Lift in Medium 1
• Illamasqua sculpting duo: Nefertiti
• Makeup Revolution Face Contour Kit
Lips: 
• Urban Decay Naked lip liner
• Illamasqua lipsticks- Bare

Eyes:
1) Prime the eyelids with UDPP Eden and fill in brows with Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade in Ebony.
2) With a blending brush I added a matte brown eyeshadow from the MUR Essential Mattes palette to just above the crease blending upwards and downwards. I also added a beigey flesh toned colour above this and a lighter matte colour on the brow bone with a bit of Slink (Semblance).
3) I then patted on Obsidian (matte black - Semblance palette) to the whole eyelid except for a small part on the middle of the eyelid.
4) I added Slink and a tiny bit of Tango to the middle of the eyelid, blending back and forth.
5) I lined the bottom waterline with Vow Colouring Eye Pencil and shaded the outer bottom lashline with Obsidian and a bit of Slink.
6) For the eyeliner I used the NYX Two Timer eyeliner- the felt side for the top liner detail and the kohl side to tightline the inner top eye.
7) I coated the lashes with Lancome Hypnose Drama mascara, followed by Eldora False Lashes in H151 (need to restock soon!).

Face & Lips

1) I concealed under the eyes using the Illamasqua Skinbase Lift in Medium 1 and used Illamasqua Skinbase foundation in SB10 all over the face.
2) I then lightly contoured the face using the Illamasqua Sculpting Duo, but only using Nefertiti in the hollows of the cheeks. I then used MUR Face Contour Kit (part of a Christmas Gift Set); using the matte contour shade to blend in with Nefertiti and then the blush and highlight above the cheeks.
3) I lined the lips using Urban Decay Naked lip liner, followed by Illamasqua Bare lipstick.

And voila! 
Here's a collage of the eyes and half my face: 

This look is very similar in technique to the Motives Brown-Copper makeup look that I taught in my last masterclass, and also the Purple-Pink glittery look here.

Do you like this look? Let me know what you'd like to see next!

Sunday Swatches: Illamasqua 2014 Releases - Summary Post

[picture and text heavy post!]

Following my last post, I thought I'd run through some of the recent Illamasqua releases that I've had the chance to play around with and use in the time I haven't blogged.

As you may well know, Illamasqua is a brand close to my heart; I love that they push boundaries and cater for all skintones.
Lately, Illamasqua have been releasing more neutral and toned down products compared to their previous collections with more daring colours (as in the Paranormal and Human Fundamentalism collections).
I like that they are producing more everyday-friendly products however the artistic streak in me hopes they pull a wild card soon and make something eye catching again.

This post will feature a round up of my favourites from the recent releases, hope you enjoy!

Nude Glamore Lipsticks 

Since the release of the Glamore Satin Finish Lipsticks in February this year (blog post here), I have to say I was really impressed with the formula and longevity and was looking forward to the release of any new shades.
July 2014 brought the release of 7 Nude Glamore Lipsticks in the same formulation as the original Glamore with a range of shades for all skintones, including rose, earthy rose and nude corals. 
I picked the nude coral in "Cherub" (above) as I tend to wear MAC Crosswires almost every other day, which is definitely my go-to lip colour. Below I swatched Cherub and Crosswires together to see the difference and you can see Cherub is a slightly less-pink coral.

International Season Collection

 
August saw the release of the International Season Collection, exclusively in Selfridges.
It consisted of the above items; a new Sculpting Duo shade ("Illuminate & Nefertiti) and a new Gleam/highlighter ("Mirage"), a Brow Gel ("Strike") and a nude-pink lipstick in "Bare".
I have to say I loved every single item in this collection. 

If you remember my blog post from the Holiday 2013 Collection, you would remember me gushing about my love for contouring products and how I wished Illamasqua would release more shades. Well they did and this particular Sculpting Duo's contouring shade (Nefertiti) suits my skintone gorgeously, so much so that I use it every day for a subtle contour rather than a darker, heavier one. I do prefer a lighter highlighting colour so I tend to use the "Lumos" highlighter from the previous Sculpting Duo as "Illuminate" was quite golden and warmer than I am used to (see swatches below).
Illamasqua need to now make an even darker Sculpting Duo shade and my contour collection will be set; chiselled perfect face here I come!

My next favourite product had to be the Precision Brow Gel; up until now I've been using the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade in Ebony and I wanted to use a lighter colour so I thought this Brow Gel in "Strike" would work perfectly for a less darker brow.
Weirdly, the shade looked darker than I anticipated and in fact can be used really lightly for lighter coloured brows or heavier for darker brows; amazing!

The lipstick in Bare added to this collection was also a pretty nude-y shade that I love; I do have to wear it with a lip liner as my lips are dark but I must say I love this rosey nude shade for my NC30/35 skintone.

Finally, the Gleam highlighter is a gorgeous addition to the collection, however I found it too dark for my skintone to use as a highlighter and instead found it useful as a bronzer or used on the décolletage for a subtle glow.

Autumn/Fall - Once Collection

The Once collection released at the end of August really captured the tone of Autumn/Fall with the antique-y hues and gold shimmer running through the products.
I have to say the packaging on the new Vintage Metallix Cream Eyeshadows stole the show for me; rose gold just exudes elegance and luxury.
The formulation of the Vintage Metallix Cream Eyeshadows blends smoothly when applied but once the product sets it won't budge which is always a plus for me. I loved this moss green shade "Bibelot" but now have my eye on the brown shade "Embellish".
The sheer lipgloss in "Exquisite" would look good on top of a colour lipstick for me as alone it would be too light. The teal/gold nail varnish in "Melange" is such a pretty two toned colour, perfect for Autumn days. 

Holiday 2014 - Facets Collection

And last but certainly not least, the Facets Collection released for Christmas 2014 features 2 multitasking (or multi faceted) palettes in "Semblance" and "Aura", 2 lipsticks (Salacious and Starkers), a brush set and a makeup bag and an eye trio gift set.
I was surprised to see the packaging wasn't in the iconic Illamasqua shape, but in an ordinary square shape but aside from that, I have to say I love multitasking palettes like this; they make condensing a makeup bag or even my makeup kit so much more easier, meaning less space taken up by unnecessary packaging; perfect for holidays too.

"Semblance" palette swatches

I do already own a few of the shades in this "Semblance" palette; I actually own the blush "Hussy" twice already (one single blush, one part of the Hussy/Lover duo palette) and now this one; the Gleam in "Mirage" is also mentioned in the above International Season collection and I own the black eyeshadow "Obsidian" because I needed the Illamasqua Neutral palette in my life of course!
I would have loved to see limited edition/new shades in an exclusive palette, however seeing as I already have a few of these shades in the palette, it just means I don't have to carry half as much makeup and can just pop this palette in my makeup bag.

If I'm correct, I'd say the Aura palette is aimed at fairer skintones and the Semblance palette aimed at slightly deeper tones, but this judgement is based on the Gleam Creams - the Aura palette has the Gleam Cream in a lighter shade "Aurora". 

I'm now looking at the rest of the Facets collection and definitely have the "Embellish Eye Trio" gift set on my wishlist; it has the Precision Brow Gel and Gel Eye liner as well as the Embellish Vintage Metallix in it, and all in a limited edition rose gold packaging... love!

All Illamasqua products (aside from the Selfridges exclusive products) are available to buy in store or online at Illamasqua or Debenhams.

Which of these collections caught your eye this year? Did you buy any products from any of the collections?
 

FFF: Countessa Recreation

Hello my lovelies! 

First of all, I'd like to apologise for the lack of posts; this has to be the longest I've gone without blogging, the last time I posted was in August and now it's almost November.. terrible.
It's been a hectic time and I've been wanting to blog but by the end of the day I'm so shattered I just want to switch off and watch a film or even better, sleep!
I've tried to do mini posts on Instagram so do follow me there too for more frequent updates. 

In the time I haven't blogged, I've been lucky enough to try out the new Illamasqua releases which I will be posting about in a separate post.
This particular blog post is a makeup look post where I tried to recreate the Illamasqua "Countessa" look.. I did it while the little one was having a nap so only got to do half my face but I've merged it with the original face chart for comparison below.. Let me know your thoughts!

Products used:
• UDPP - Eden
• Illamasqua Brow Gel in Strike
• Illamasqua Semblance palette
• Urban Decay Naked Basics palette
• Illamasqua Daemon eyeshadow
• NYX Two Timer eyeliner
• Eldora lashes: H151
• Daniel Sandler Jumbo Jet Mascara
• Illamasqua Skinbase foundation in SB10
• Skinbase Lift in Medium 1
• Skinbase Mixer in White
• Illamasqua sculpting duo: Nefertiti
• MAC Lipliner - Nightmoth
• Illamasqua lipsticks- Pristine & Maneater

And my face with the face chart for comparison (I used the brighten tool to make my skin even paler):

Eyes

1) Prime the eyelids with UDPP Eden and fill in brows with Illamasqua Brow Gel in Strike (I used it quite heavily to achieve darker brows).
2) With a blending brush I added Daemon eyeshadow to just above the crease blending upwards and downwards. 
3) I then added Dizzy (a pale pink from the new Semblance palette) above the inner corner of the eye and W.O.S on the eyelid from the Naked Basics palette as well as Venus for highlighting the inner corner and browbone and Naked2 to blend out the red eyeshadow.
4) I added a little depth to the crease using Obsidian matte black eyeshadow (Semblance palette) and used it a tiny bit heavier on the bottom outer corner and lashline. I added Daemon to the middle bottom lashline and blended softly.
5) For the eyeliner I used the NYX Two Timer eyeliner- the felt side for the top liner detail and the kohl side to tightline the inner eye. I added a tiny beauty spot under the eye after concealing with this same eyeliner.
6) I coated the lashes with Daniel Sandler Jumbo Jet mascara followed by Eldora False Lashes in H151 (absolute fave).

Face & Lips

1) I concealed under the eyes using the Illamasqua Skinbase Lift in Medium 1 and used Illamasqua Skinbase foundation in SB10 all over the face, mixing it with the White Skinbase Mixer for a paler look.
2) I then lightly contoured the face using the Illamasqua Sculpting Duo, but only lightly using Nefertiti in the hollows of the cheeks.
3) For the lips I used MAC Nightmoth lipliner followed by Illamasqua Pristine lipstick directly on the top lip. Maneater lipstick was used directly on the middle of the bottom lip, followed by Pristine, but using a lip brush to line the lips neatly. I feathered out the Pristine lipstick using another brush to create an ombre effect into Maneater lipstick.

And there you have it; it was a bit of a rushed job but I'm just happy I got to get round to recreating the look! 

Illamasqua are holding a Halloween Special Beauty school drop in this Sunday 26th October if you'd like to learn some makeup techniques, check out the times and locations here.

Would you wear this look? Let me know if you have any specific blog post requests and I'll see what I can do <3

Sunday Swatches: Illamasqua Matte Lip Liquid - Forbidden

Hello my lovelies!

Last month I posted a picture on my Instagram page of the new Illamasqua Matte Lip Liquid from the Summer 2014 "Matte Effect" collection and I've had a play around with it and absolutely love it!

 
I have to say I was a bit worried at first about the shade Forbidden as it seemed very cool toned for my dark/pigmented lips; but after trying Luster from the previous Illamasqua Glamore collection (blog post here), I've been more drawn to these cooler toned shades as I've been wearing them by blending the coolness away with my fingertips, which helps make the product look less pastel-like on my pigmented lips, as you can see in the swatch below.

Colour & Pigmentation: "Forbidden" is described as a "sensual pink" which is most definitely a cool toned pink. There's no doubt the Matte Lip Liquid is highly concentrated and pigmented.. a little goes a long way, particularly when I'm using it blended with my finger.
Texture: The texture of this product is fairly thick, which means less is more. On application the Matte Lip Liquid feels creamy, but once the product sets, there can be a slight dry feel to it. I always use lip balm and tissue off excess before wearing matte lip products to eliminate any discomfort.
Packaging: I like the fact that the Matte Lip Liquid has a brush applicator, however I'm more of a fan of squeezy tubes for hygiene/kit purposes, or for a product like this, I'd prefer a more precise applicator
Longevity: This product is actually probably the most long wearing lip colour I own.. which is saying something as I have a tonne of lip products! The fact that it is matte definitely helps with longevity, but I've eaten fairly oily foods with this product on the lips and it still manages to keep its colour on the lips once I'm done eating!
Scent: There's a faint vanilla/sweet smell to the product that I have to say I love too.
Price: At £18.50, this lip product is more on the pricey side, however if you're a fan of long wearing products like I am, it's worth investing in, not to mention the fact I wear the product thinly, so use much less than a usual lipgloss etc.

FrootiFactor: I have to say this product pleasantly surprised me as it is a lovely shade of pink, smells sweet and barely requires touch ups even after eating (which is handy with a baby now, as I rarely have time to check my makeup!)
I'd give this product a 4.5 out of 5, purely because I'd prefer a different applicator; I do love this product though and would love to see more shades as with the satin lipsticks, so I hope Illamasqua continue making more amazing products!

The new Matte Effect collection for Summer includes the Matte Lip Liquid in 3 shades, Velvet Blushers in 4 shades (one a web exclusive), a new Matte Veil primer/base, and a Matte Top Coat nail varnish.
All are available at Illamasqua.com or at Debenhams.

What do you think of the Matte Lip Liquids? Have you tried any of the products from the Summer 2014 Matte Effect collection?

Illamasqua Glamore Collection launch

Last week I attended the Illamasqua event for their new Glamore Collection, where I met and chatted with the amazingly talented and inspiring founder Alex Box (who is always so grounded, absolutely love her!)

Glamore collection with an extra "Marquise" nail varnish

We talked about the new collection and how it was all very girly and glam but also perfect for Spring with the floral type visuals. Alex wanted to show how these glamorous colours can suit any skin tone (see the visual below) and I have to say I was sceptical at first when I saw the cool toned pink for my own skin tone but once trying it out at the event I was pleasantly surprised!

a couple of us bloggers (Sheenie, Leanne, Priya & Sharmin) wearing the new lipsticks at the event photobooth

The collection features:
3 satin finish lipsticks (£16.50 each):

• Luster
• Glissade
• Soaked

3 glitzy "Shattered Star" nail colours (£15 each):

• Trilliant
• Fire Rose
• Marquise

It also includes a repromote of the Eye Brow Cake (£15.50) and Angled Brush (£19) to frame the face with these gorgeous lipsticks.

I decided to get a manicure done similar to one Alex was sporting with an ombre glitter effect and chose the colours Trilliant (a light pink shimmery shade with chunkier silver glitter) and Fire Rose (bright pink shimmer with silver glitter too):

holding shade "Trilliant" with ombre mani in Trilliant and Fire Rose

I was more drawn to the pinks in this collection, however on trying the Marquise nail polish, I absolutely loved that it had a pinky-gold hint with one coat and turned into a beautiful golden burnt orange-red when using two coats:

As for the lipsticks, I absolutely adore them, not only for the colours and longevity, but also because of the new satin texture which is massively different to their usual much drier textures as you can see in the swatches below:

I have to say I was quite surprised not to find an outlandish product in this collection as Illamasqua are known for their dare-to-be-different shades; personally this collection is my favourite to date as I am a huge girly girl and love anything sparkly or pink/purple and this collection hits all of these points on the head perfectly. 

I really can't fault this collection on any points as I feel there's something for everyone here and it will certainly draw more mainstream makeup lovers back to Illamasqua once again.
 
The collection is available globally from today (27th February) at Illamasqua.com and in stores.

What do you think of this collection? Have any particular products caught your eye?

 

Sunday Swatches: Illamasqua I'm The One Collection

Following my previous FFF makeup look post on Friday (here) with red lips, I thought I'd do a corresponding Sunday Swatches blog post featuring the new Illamasqua I'm The One Valentines collection which was used for the red lips in the post.

The collection features four products in the colour of love and can be bought in a gift set from the Illamasqua site which saves you £9.50!

I'll be swatching the lip pencil and lipstick in this post as worn in the previous makeup look post so you can see the colours individially.

swatches of the I'm The One collection

"Feisty" Lip Colouring Pencil
A new shade of red to their Colouring Pencils, this pencil is a beautiful Scarlet. I've only tried one other lip Colouring Pencil (Severity, a red grape colour) and was impressed with that shade too.

Colour & Pigmentation: I don't usually find bright reds suit me but I was happy with this shade; I'd say it leans more on the orange-red side than blue red and has amazing colour payoff too.

Texture/Finish: For a lip pencil, I was pleasantly surprised at how soft it glided on, along with the pigmentation. It didn't feel drying on the lips despite it having a matte finish.

Longevity: As with all lip pencils, I found it to last at least 3 hours without budging, but I'd expect it to last a lot longer!

Price: At £14 it's the average price of a lip pencil for a high end brand.

FrootiFactor: As I quite like the longevity and feel of the pencils on my lips so far, I'd say these pencils are worth the price; Feisty is a flattering bright Scarlet red for most skintones so if you're looking for a lovely red, I'd recommend trying it. I give this pencil a 4.5 out of 5:

Lipstick in "Maneater"
Another great lippie from Illamasqua, despite it not being a new shade, I've never tried this particular cherry red. The other reds I've tried from Illamasqua are Sangers (blood red) and Liable (orange red) but this particular red is a lovely blue based red that I prefer on myself for two reasons; first being my pigmented lips and second the illusion of whiter teeth when wearing blue-based reds.

Colour & Pigmentation: The colour is a gorgeous blue-red as aforementioned, and the pigmentation as with all Illamasqua products is top notch.

Texture/Finish: Another matte finish lip product, it didn't feel drying on the lips compared to my Liable lipstick which was great!

Longevity: Matte lipsticks generally last the longest on the lips and again I found this lipstick to last at least 2 hours on its own (with a bit of a pleasant stain).

Price: At £16.50 it's slightly pricier than a MAC lipstick but of course being a huge fan of Illamasqua and luckily getting pro discount, I certainly think they're worth it.

FrootiFactor: I do like the colour, texture and pigmentation of this particular lippie so I have to give it s 5:

I'm not much of a gloss wearer but I have to say the new gloss shade in "Touch" from this collection was very pigmented (as with all Intense lipglosses from Illamasqua) and has a lovely depth to the colour with the different tones of sparkle (see first swatch picture in this post).

The nail varnish "Throb" is also to the usual high quality pigmentation of an Illamasqua varnish, one coat would give enough coverage, but two coats look very opaque and lush.

All Illamasqua products are available to buy instore or online at Illamasqua or Debenhams.

What are your favourites from this Valentine's I'm The One collection? Will you be buying any particular products?