Beauty Theatre at Trafford Centre 1st February

I have been to Oxford St in the run up to Christmas and that, I can tell you, is not why shopping was invented!! The Trafford Centre in Manchester, however, is one of those places that make shopping a pleasure. The team at the Trafford Centre also know how to put on a show! Next week [1-7th February] will be a flurry of activity as they launch their annual Beauty Theatre! Illamasqua will be taking to the main stage on Monday 1st February to showcase products and techniques with Krystal Clayton, one of our most talented make-up artists. If you are free next week, I highly urge you to make a visit...

We will be holding demonstrations at 2pm, 4pm, 6pm and 8pm on Monday using the beautiful model from the Professional Selection No1 Kit tutorial on Youtube.

Call the counter on 0161 629 1187 for a place; tickets cost £20 and not only are they redeemable against purchases made on the day but you will also recieve a complimentary Medium Pencil in 'Sophie' - our best selling black liner worth £12 - and a S.O.P.H.I.E wristband. £5 from every ticket will go directly to the Sophie Lancaster Foundation. Each presentation will focus on key tips and tricks on theatrical, dare to be different make-up looks. Come along and be inspired!

As well as the beauty activity, there will be style consultations, colour analysis workshops and plenty of competitions and giveaways from a variety of brands.

The Beauty Theatre events will be located on upper Regent Crescent, elegantly dressed by the Royal Exchange Theatre.

Dystopia Look On Counter

So, you've placed your first order of Dystopia and now you have them sitting in front of you at your vanity unit.

So. What to do?! Well, one of the beauties of this collection is the versatility that it provides - an array of looks from robotic, smokey and stylistic, romantic, soft and shimmery through to full on, glitz and glam.

Our lovely artists on counter are here to give you inspiration for your new products and Krystle at Selfridges Trafford has sent in some photos of her work - Leanne from the Newcastle counter was her model!

So what products did she use?

Eyes

Concealer in 350 as a base with Pure Pigment layed on top. This was then followed by Pure Pigment in 'Lust' on the inner third of the eye for a romantic effect. Pure Pigment in 'Furore' kept the shimmer levels on full and was lightly dusted under the brow and across the cheekbones. Powder Eye Shadows in 'Virus', 'Maybe?' and 'Sex' were also used to add a multi dimensional look and to mix up the textures. Eye Liner Cake in 'Mislead' was mixed with Sealing Gel and a bold eye line created both under and on top of the lash lines.

Cheeks

Cheeks were sculpted using Powder Blush in 'Primal' and a subtle flush added with Powder Blusher in 'Unrequited'.

Lips

The lips were shaded in using Medium Pencil in 'Titivate' - a bright fushcia pink and coloured in using Intense Lipgloss in 'Petulant' mixed with Intense Lipgloss in 'Galactic' - my new favourite combo - for a vivid 80s twist.

Nails

Krystle's nails are a mix of Nail Varnish 'Obsess' [as the base colour] Velocity, Boosh and Glory - don't they look fantastic?!

Anyway, hope this has given you some ideas and I will keep posting new looks from the collection!

Manchester Blogger Event

Friday 4th September saw the Manchester Blogger Event at Ithaca in central Manchester. This fabulous location mirrored the Dystopia collection superbly!



As I have very little knowledge of Manchester, I asked Krystle and Lucy [two of our gorgeous artists from Selfridges Trafford] to find me a suitable location and they really came up trumps with the dark, edgy and sultry atmosphere of this exclusive Manchester bar.

With a mix of modern and traditional pan asian canapes and some seriously cool looking cocktails, the bloggers who attended got to chat with Leena, Krystle, Lucy, Alex Box and myself about the new collection and the hero products within it.

Alex Box created a dramatic Dystopia look on Mizzworthy using the directional products from the collection.

We also had a very special guest come to the event - Sylvia Lancaster. Sylvia is the Mother of Sophie Lancaster who was tragically killed in August 2007 by a group of thugs for simply looking different to them. As you all know, Illamasqua support the Sophie Lancaster Foundation by donating £3 from every Medium Pencil in 'Sophie' [our blackest black pencil] to the charity. Sylvia gave a touching speech on her life after the death of her daughter and what the charity is doing to raise awareness.

On a personal note, it was really lovely to meet Sylvia and I greatly admire her for the work she is doing and her selfless attitude. She is an inspiration to us all.

I would also like to thank the artists and the bloggers for attending and I hope you had fun checking out the latest collection!

Krystle's Shoot With Andrew Collinge

With such a talented stable of artists working for Illamasqua, I regularly get sent images from shoots that they have worked on.

I am loving what Krystle [click here for bio] created for an Andrew Collinge shoot a couple of weeks ago. Krystle used products from the Sirens Collection, including the Bronzing Duo in Glint/ Writhe and the Liquid Metal in Enrapture on the eye lids. Very pretty - and also goes to show that if you are very pale, you can still pull of sparkling bronze shades.


Amie Dunn and Katheryn Davenport from the uber-exclusive Andrew Collinge salon at Selfridges Trafford Centre created the gorgeous hair looks for the models. I am loving the platinum blonde Agy-style crop...


** Thanks to Rachel Mawdsley for the photographs**

Product of the Week: Daemon Powder Eye Shadow

The wearable red eye shadow...

Red eye shadow was once considered a complete no-go area for everyone but the bravest make-up artists, however if applied in a balanced way, it can look very flattering and is certainly attention grabbing! Krystle Clayton, one of our artists from the Selfridges Trafford counter tells me more:

“Red eye shadow can be used a block colour, but looks best when softened with other colours – it looks great when mixed with browns such as Powder Eye Shadow in 'Jules' or 'Faith' to create a rusty, smoky eye look.

In the past, I have found it very hard to find a true red eye shadow, but Illamasqua have hit the jackpot! 'Daemon' has great, intense colour that is very buildable – lightly press an Eye Shadow Brush into the powder for a light wash of colour and build from there or mix with Sealing Gel and use an Eye Liner Brush to create body art or a dramatic liquid line on the eyes.”

“You can see here that I have used the product not only on my eyes but down the cheekbones, too. It makes a fabulous blush!”
To read Krystle's full bio, click here. To book a make-up lesson with Krystle please call 0161 629 1187.