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?

 

Illamasqua I'mPerfection Spring 13

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?

 

Pixi event product swatches and reviews

Two weeks ago I got to get up close and personal with Pixi products at their London store in Fouberts Place and talked about the new AW12 releases.
Pixi is a brand I've always been undecided on; I love their name and quirky vintage-feeling shop. I used to buy their lip blushes when they were available in Debenhams and a few of their brushes too which I quite liked; but I've never been able to try eyeshadows/blushes or other lip products so it was a great opportunity to do so.

The shop was filled with a lovely warm smell and I was offered some yummy pastries as I entered.

I browsed some of the new products out from the AW12 collection and found I quite liked the eyeshadow quads (Shade Quartettes), particularly "Shades Of Daylight" (£16):

I also thought the glittery nail polish trios (£16) looked so pretty and festive:

 

Early Bird Kit
I got to take away the Early Bird Kit which consists of 3 cheek colours, 2 bronzers and a highlighter, 4 eye base shades and 16 eyeshadows.

The kit is designed to make you look like you've got more sleep than you actually have with it's "daylight colours".

I've not yet come across base shades that are powders/eyeshadow-like like these but I've used them underneath some shadows to see the effect and it does seem to make the shadow more vibrant.

16 eyeshadows and 4 eye base shades

swatches of eye base shades

eyeshadow swatches; left - without eye base shades, right with eye base shades

2 bronzers and highlighter

3 blushes

left 3: highlighter and 2 bronzers; right 3: blushes

Overall I found the palette to be quite soft and pigmented; the blushes were lovely, not too over powering. The highlighter and bronzers I feel are more suited to fairer skintones so I'll have to find a way of using them all as highlighters.
The eyeshadows were hit and miss; some were soft and creamy in texture and others grainy. They're mainly lovely light colours with the odd darker colour and one matte shade too, so many looks could be created.

I'd give this palette a 3.5 out of 5 because it's improved my expectation of Pixi but this particular palette doesn't have face shades that would suit a range of skintones.

Lip & Line
Whilst in store I discovered the Lip & Line (£12) and thought it was innovative; I was lucky enough to get one to take home in "No 2 Fresh Pink"; 

It consists of a double ended lipliner and lipstick in the same shade which is so handy as a MUA but also as a lippie buyer! The lipliner is waterproof and anti-feathering, whilst the lipstick is moisturising with Vitamins E and C. I chose this shade as it's rare to get lighter shades like this in matching tones, however as my lips are fairly dark, this colour is too pale for me so I'll be using this in my kit for fairer clients.
I did notice that the lipliner coupled with the lipstick felt nice and moisturising but also lasted a long time too, so these are definitely plus points.
I'd give this product a 4.5 out of 5 as it's hydrating but also long lasting; I  like that you don't need to waste time faffing around looking for a lipliner or that it would take up much space, as it's a handy two in one!

All Pixi products can be bought from their boutique off Carnaby Street (22a Fouberts Place) in London, pixibeauty.co.uk, or ASOS. 

Have you tried any Pixi products before? Which would you recommend?

 

Illamasqua Generation Q launch

This Wednesday night just gone, I was invited by the lovely people at Illamasqua to attend the launch of their AW12 collection - Generation Q.

The last collection if you remember (here) was about an explosion of your alter ego and reversing traditional beauty.

This season's collection stems from the Beauty Before Age campaign earlier on this year where they scouted for real people of all ages to use in this campaign (as opposed to models). The collection is about beauty having no age limits, or prejudice of gender or colour.. and about lots of shimmer!

I have to say it got me thinking about how I view makeup now and how much I love colour and probably always will.. I definitely don't agree with the industry norm of sticking to "safe/matte" colours once you reach a certain age and have never told clients/customers to steer clear of brighter colours/glitter. In fact I've loved applying a bit of glitter or colour on an older lady, there's something about the sparkle that makes you feel happy and why should more maturer ladies not feel that?

At the launch of the collection we were able to have a play around with the products and get a feel for them whilst everyone filtered in. My first impressions were: omg lots of purple, LOVE!

In true Illamasqua style there were cocktails in mismatched teacups and iced tea in cocktail glasses.. which was a fantastic idea!

We sat down next to a few of the products from the range (and glittery popcorn fitting with the cinema theme) whilst David Horne and Alex Box (my most favourite makeup artist!) explained further about the new collection and what it means to them, explaining that more maturer ladies are made to feel like they should hide under a sea of beige when in fact it's these women who hold the wisdom and confidence to pull off whatever they like. I couldn't agree more, I'm not afraid of getting older but that's because I believe you're only as old as you feel and it showed in the lovely Evelyn (72) who was one of the chosen models for the campaign and who attended the event too.

The collection is actually amazing, not only because of the purpley-ness but also because it's very wearable by pretty much anyone. 

I managed to get swatches of a few of my favourites, such as the gorgeous powder blushers (Sophie & Allure) and the unique Opulent lipgloss described as a "rainbow beige". I found Allure to be more pigmented than Sophie although both have great colour payoff. Sophie is aimed more at lighter skintones so anything too pigmented would have to be used very lightly anyway. The Opulent lipgloss had me mesmerised with its purple tones standing out more to my eye!

My personal favourites; the Opulent lipgloss reminds me of pretty fish scales/shells!

Other favourites of mine include the Wisdom Precision Ink liner (olive/antiqued gold), Magnetism lipstick (above) and the matching wine-coloured nail polish Charisma (below). Creator nail polish was being sported by the lovely Evelyn too who rocked it beautifully!

The other Intense lipgloss Boost (a metallic blueberry violet colour) and Underworld lipstick (blueberry violet shimmer) were lovely colours but not something that I think would suit my full lips.. it'd be more suited to going out or used in a photoshoot.

The rest of the range includes two new palettes (Complement and Empower) and their Gleam highlighter in Aurora (a light champagne pearly finish).

 

I managed to get a pic with Alex Box too who I also managed to meet at the IMATS last year (here):

All in all I have to say I'll be looking forward to the release of this collection in September (yes it's that far away!) but hopefully will be able to review in full closer to the time!

What are your favourites from this collection? Do you worry about getting into a rut with makeup once you're past a certain age? Would love to hear your thoughts!

 

Illamasqua Human Fundamentalism launch

Last night I trotted down to Piccadilly Circus to attend the launch of the new Illamasqua collection: Human Fundamentalism.

Some of the visuals from the Human Fundamentalism collectio

The collection is all about self expression and an "explosion of your alter ego", where Alex Box explained about making a stand with makeup and reversing "traditional beauty" with colour and through makeup.
There's a mix of acids and neutrals, with pastels for the nails so a great mix altogether, with something for everyone.
I loved the idea of making teal wearable on the lips, rather than just on hands and jewellery, though I may not be confident to rock it just yet haha! The idea stemmed from "classical beauty" of red lips and black liner but the inverse is teal lips and white liner (as above).
But for those who aren't too keen on colour, this collection has a contrasting "neutral" palette and colours more wearable and popular with most people I bet!

We were welcomed by the lovely Hayley (who was sporting the teal lip with a complimentary dress!) as well as milkshakes, sweets and more sweets. 90s garage tunes were playing in the back to fit the theme as well. We then were shown into a room with the products out on tables for us to play around with and swatch; here are some of my favourite products and their swatches:

The Neutral palette

Box & Apocalips lipsticks

Skin Base Foundation Au

Out of the two palettes the Neutral one was actually my favourite.. It had a great buttermilk shade (Stealth) which would be an excellent highlighter for the brow bone as well as an essential black (Obisidian). The golden colour (Vintage) was also beautiful too and the brown would be great in the crease. Both palettes are priced at £30 each.

The lipsticks (£15.50 each) were great too.. I spoke to one of the guys there about how I would use Apocalips.. mixed with another colour for sure! I found it more dryer in texture than Box, although both are matte lipsticks.

The skin base foundation in Au (the chemical sign for gold) can be worn alone or under foundation for a glow as it contains shimmery flecks in it. It will be sold at £25 but is limited edition!

I also loved the single eyeshadows (£15 each) Vernau (a caramel/peanut brown and Sex (pure white) as they would be amazing for contouring! 

Both nail polishes reflected the current Spring trend for nails as mentioned in the Superdrug post here. The two colours Stance (Mauve) and Nomad (Jade) compliment eachother wonderfully as you can see in the visuals above. I particularly loved Nomad (it seems to be growing on me this season!) and was lucky enough to get it in my goodie bag.
I tried it out today (very roughly I may add, to my recently cut nails!) with and without flash and loved how thick and creamy the polish was:

I also got the Fundamental palette (which I hope to recreate the Arabesque look from their campaign) and sealing gel that I'm excited to use for my eyebrows as it makes any powder a water resistant paste.
Fundamental palette & swatches:

There's also a white liquid eyeliner (£17) which I'd use under a black liner (not so much as a topliner!)

The whole collection will be available from March 14th from Illamasqua.com or you can preorder from today here.

What do you think of this collection? Which products stood out to you and will you be buying any of these products?