Bah! Humbug! The Anti-Christmas Party With The Broken Hearts DJs

The Broken Hearts, a seriously cool DJ duo - described by Timeout magazine as "Turntable goddesses... guaranteed to pull out a plethora of delights from both the DJ crate and the dressing-up box" - hosted the Back to Ours: Bah! Humbug! Anti-christmas party at The Hospital Club in Covent Garden on Friday 11th December.

They are big fans of Illamasqua and asked us to come along and create some party looks on their guests, so Adam, Mika and Helen set up a make-up table complete with stencils and went colour crazy!

Alex Box [Creative Director] and Kate Massarella [Brand Director] also popped down for a lime daiquiri [or three] but I couldn't find any pictures of them... I think they were too busy propping up the bar!

Black heart motifs were painted on to everyone from the bar men, to the Broken Hearts themselves and almost all of the guests - who ranged from burlesque artists to club kids to media moguls - using Eye Liner Cake in 'Mislead' mixed with Sealing Gel for ultimate staying power.


On hand to take lots of snaps was the lovely Christopher James, founder of weknowwhastyoudidlastnight.com

The beautiful set was designed by Petra Stoors, the acclaimed set designer who has a client list that includes Alexander McQueen.




The black and white theme of the evening was only broken by the bright Intense Lipglosses - 'Besotted' and 'Indulge' were the most requested according to the artists.

It all got a messy at the end, a sure sign of a great night...

Thanks to The Broken Hearts girls, Christopher James, Ali at The Hospital Club, Petra Storrs and everyone else for a fantastic night!

A Child Of The Jago SS10 show - The Fallout

Following on from my People Update post the other day, here are the pics from the A Child of Jago catwalk show!

Joe Corre and Simon Armitage have created not just a clothing line but an entire concept at their store on Great Eastern Street in Shoreditch. The curiosity shop-like feel and historical references create a store that is wondrous in both atmosphere and the clothes that it retails.

The stylistic inspiration behind the aptly named 'Terrorist' collection was the morning-after-the-night-before in terms of attitude, with the clothing an unpredictable mix of tailored pieces and edgy cuts.

Adam led the team that consisted of Helen and Halimah as well as other freelance artists to create bespoke looks for each of the models. The below picture shows Helen going through the look book prior to the show.

Check out the awesome backstage pics!

Can anyone spot a certain Ms Westwood in this photo? FYI - she is Joe Corre's mother!

All Walks Beyond The Catwalk

I was honoured last week to receive a call from Erin O Connor [yes, I did nearly faint at my desk! She is one of my all-time fave models!] to ask for our help in the All Walks Beyond The Catwalk shoot that was taking place on Friday 18th September.

The initiative, co founded by Erin and supported by the likes of influential fashion and culture figures as Rankin, Alexandra Schulman, Sarah Brown, Nick Knight, Giles Deacon, Twiggy, Sir Stuart Rose, Georgia Jagger, Tricia James, Deborah Milner and many more, All Walks Beyond the Catwalk aims to expand upon the range of professional models used in fashion imagery, by by celebrating individuality and diversity.

Nick Knight, legendary photographer and founder of SHOWstudio says, "It's very important that we question the parameters that define beauty. I'm thrilled to support the All Walks initiative."

Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue agrees: "The most important thing is to have a confidence in what you are and not to feel that you have to be like someone else; thinner, younger, blonder. Originality is the greatest treasure."

Our philosophy at Illamasqua could not be more in tune with the points that both Nick and Alexandra raise; to celebrate ones individuality and not be fully directed by the latest trends, fads and pressures to conform to a certain ideal. Our underlying commitment to encouraging our customers to discover their inner selves, their alter egos and what makes them unique through a kaliedoscope of colourful make-up is our contribution to this. Rankin, photographer, says, "I wholly admire and support the endeavours of the All Walks Beyond the Catwalk campaign. As a photographer, I am constantly confronted by perceived ideals of beauty. Interest and creativity is not about perfection but quite the opposite; beauty comes from our idiosyncrasies."

London Fashion week showcased the launch of All Walks Beyond the Catwalk. The underlying purpose of the initiative creates a positive message for women of all shapes, sizes and ages to celebrate diversity.

The following words have been taken from www.allwalks.org, the official website of the initiative.

"On the 25th Anniversary of London Fashion Week, a groundbreaking new project, ‘All Walks Beyond the Catwalk’ will feature cutting edge designers showcasing a look from their spring/summer 10 collections on models, sizes 8-16 and ages 17-65.

Inspired by charity Beat and endorsed by the British Fashion Council co-founders Caryn Franklin, Debra Bourne, Erin O’Connor and Susan Ringwood, seek to engage the fashion industry in a conversation about body image and expand upon the imagery coming out of the heart of London Fashion Week.

Caryn Franklin explains, “This is about inclusivity. The traditional ready to wear method of design, with the model added at the end of the process makes it hard to accommodate individuality in shape and size. So this project is operating a bespoke approach. By giving each designer the opportunity to collaborate with the woman who will model the garment at London Fashion Week, we expand upon the expectations for ready to wear imagery. Curvy women are showcasing top design alongside slender women, as are young and mature models. The diversity is what we wanted.”

Sarah Brown, wife of Prime Minister Rt Hon Gordon Brown, comments, “London Fashion Week is all about celebrating British brilliance, and All Walks Beyond the Catwalk is a chance to be proud of British beauty. It brings together models of all colours, shapes, sizes and ages in a dazzling array that looks gorgeous – because it looks like Britain. It’s a reminder that true style and glamour know no boundaries – that each person can look radiant because each of us has a unique special something to cherish. I’m a huge fan of the initiative and very proud to lend it my support."

Sarah Watkinson, founder and director of 12+ UK Model Management comments, “It is a rarity for my models to be involved in London Fashion Week or a cutting-edge editorial. The simple reason is that designers don’t usually design for curvy models. The results speak for themselves.”

The All Walks Beyond the Catwalk event is the launch platform for an ongoing campaign to raise awareness, educate and celebrate the beauty of individuality and positive self-esteem - remembering that no two bodies are the same. The project has received support from key figures in the fashion industry including Twiggy, Rankin, Matthew Williamson, Giles Deacon, Mary Portas, Georgia Jagger and Sir Stuart Rose. It has also received support from the London Fashion Showcasing Fund.

We sent our artists Lucy, Amanda and Helen to help out Kay Montano on the shoot. With models including Jade Parfitt, the girls created looks that mirrored the i-D shoot that was in the previous months i-D magazine. I asked them what kind of products were hot behind-the-scenes...

Helen tells me: "I did several models' make-up ranging from a petite mixed race girl to a curvy knockout blonde; we created looks from natural through to sculptural. The girls loved Lipstick in 'Blaze' - a real candy orange that makes the lips pop. Erin and Caryn were both really nice - I loved how Erin came round and greeted everyone in a relaxed and friendly manner. It was nice to have such a relaxed vibe - most shoots are chaos!"


Check out the All Walks website at www.allwalks.org and log on to londonfashionweek.org for more details on the initiative.

London Blogger Event

After weeks of planning, Thursday 3rd September saw the London Illamasqua beauty event, held at the beautiful and historic Kettners in Soho.

We served Champagne and Guinness cocktails [you know how we love to push the boundaries!] as well as really delicious vivid orange Apricot and Rum cocktails and an abundance of yummy canapes, which Halimah, Katie, Helen and I had no trouble in finishing off after the event!


After the meet and greet aspect, I briefly introduced myself and the team and handed over to Kate, our Brand Director. She gave a great insight into the brand; the history aspect, the initial launch, the research behind the brand and to update everyone on our next steps as a company.

We then played a presentation of Dystopia that detailed the influences and the ideas behind this fascinating collection.

Alex Box, Illamasqua's Artistic Director and legendary alternative make-up artist, talked more about the collection and also about her influences as an artist and her background in fine art, fashion and beauty. It always fascinates me to hear Alex speak; she has such a brilliant way of explaining and describing things to make them sound really magical, for example - her descriptions of Dystopia as a "rebellion against perfection" and "a distorted, twisted concept of beauty".

One of the blogger who attended, Lydia, was picked as a model by Alex Box to demonstrate the versatility of the new collection and the number of different looks that could be created with the palettes of warm greys, charcoals, granites and shots of neon pink and smoky purples. It was a real transformation!

We encouraged everyone to mingle and have a play with the products and invited them to talk with Alex, Kate, Katie, Halimah, Helen and myself if they had any questions or just wanted a chat!


I would like to thank everyone who managed to come along for coming and sincerely hoped you enjoyed the event!

** Special thanks to Kettners, especially Stef and Fergie for serving some delicious cocktails! **

Alex Box Masterclass - Dare To Be Different: Part 1

Such an amazing event definitely needs two parts!

After a hectic set-up [Jonathan is still getting over it!] we set the scene in the Exhibition Room at Selfridges inky black table cloths, black chairs and white lillies with a place setting for each guest complete with canapes and Champagne.

We recreated the counter on two tables and with the majority of our products now in stock, it made for some impressive photos...

We had two make-up artists per table and so that made one artist per two guests. Below is Mika meeting Talita. Talita has written a great review of the night, so if you want to read someone elses view on the night, click here.

After a few minutes of getting-to-know-you, Alex Box picked up the brush and began working on her model namely: me. Sitting in front of 20+ people with no make-up on my face is something that only tends to occur in my deepest, darkest nightmares so this began as a slightly uncomfortable experience, however when you have a make-up artist legend creating a look on you, you learn to relax pretty quickly!

Alex started at the beginning, discussing tips and tricks of the trade when it came to applying primers and a base. After a few minutes of demonstration, she asked the artists at the tables to demonstrate how best to apply the base on to the skin of their clients. Of course, everyone is different and this was all about a tailored approach.


After creating a suitable base on one half of the guests faces, the guests then applied the make-up for the other half taking on board both the artists and Alex Box's advice. Once everyone had their bases done, Alex began to discuss contouring, highlighting and colour suitable for the face.

After everyone had created the look the wanted, with the help and encouragement of their artists [and with the 4th bottle of champagne readily flowing...] Alex moved on to the use of colour on the eyes. She created an extreme look on me and it was up to the individual guests on how far they pushed their own boundaries!
Above and below is Helen [whose personal style I absolutely ADORE by the way...] and her two guests.


After this it was all systems go as everyone started to go a bit wild with the colour and create some fabulous and original looks - it was great to see how everyones personalities translated through their make-up. To me, this is what make-up is all about.