When Alex Box Met Lynne...

A couple of months ago Lynne and a couple of her colleagues from the Frag die Gurus came to London for IMATs, so we invited them to the counter for an exclusive interview with Alex Box...

Blogger event for Body Electrics

I am starting to plan the blogger event for April 7th and 8th in the UK, as well as working on one for all y'all NYC based bloggers and it's going to be fantastic [if I do say so myself...!] so, in celebration, I want to let you all know a little bit more about our Spring Summer collection.

Due for a mid April launch across all counters in the UK - and May in the US - Body Electrics celebrates the body in motion, enhances your individual contours and is an explosion of electrifying energy. Again, we have new product textures and some otherwordly shades and unique finishes.

I went behind the scenes of the shoot in January to find out all the details, hints and tips and interviews with the creatives and I will post these as we get closer to launch date...

Here is the interview with Warren du Preez and Nick Thornton, the fantastic photography duo. Their inspirational photographic style [showcased in the below images] was a big influence on the final Body Electrics shoot...

You collaborate with Alex Box frequently. Do you have a shared vision on beauty?

We have a shared creative passion for what we love to do and a vision to making things all beautiful and mysterious .

What are your main focuses when conducting a beauty shoot? The model, the fashion, the make-up or the technical aspects of photography, for example?

Finding a beautiful, unique face that you can transform with direction, light and magic. Working with people who have an interesting vision to what they do and bring all these elements together.

How would you describe the shooting of the Body Electrics campaign?

An electrifying emotion of fantasy


Who or what are your main influences and/or points of reference?

Our imagination and a perseverance with a vision , life experiences and other artistic expression inspires us

What does Illamasqua mean to you?

Alex's dream and passion

Alex Box Masterclass 15th March at Selfridges Trafford

Alex Box will be presenting an exclusive Masterclass at Selfridges Trafford Centre following on from the success of last year's event.

There will be two sessions on Monday 15th March that will allow you to witness the creative genius of Alex.

4-5:30 pm - Night-time Divas

How to release your alter-ego at night? How can you master those all important false eye lashes, a perfect cupids bow and what are the tools that you will need? Alex will cover all this and more.

6:30-8 pm - Dare To Be Different

Perfect for those who want to push the boundaries of artistic make-up and learn top secrets on contouring, highlighting, strong brows, intense colour blending and more.

There will also time to ask her any questions you may have...

What has been the highlight of her career so far?
What advice can she give to aspiring make-up artists?
What are her greatest influences?
What does she do to relax?

Anyone who knows her will tell you that there is no one more dedicated to their craft, more passionate about make-up and more excited about the success of Illamasqua than Alex Box.

Tickets are £25 redeemable against product purchases. Call the Trafford counter on 0161 629 1187 for more information or to book your place.

Perfect excuse to post my fave picture of the moment, too! This is Alex's work for Italian Vogue.

Courtney Loves The Sophie Lancaster Foundation

For all those in the UK, you may have caught Courtney Love on the Jonathan Ross show last Friday. And perhaps the eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed she was wearing the S.O.P.H.I.E bracelet.

I'll admit, I didn't but my sharp eyed flat mate did! I did a screen grab for you from a Youtube clip of her appearance.

Alex Box created the look on Courtney Love for the Jonathan Ross show using Illamasqua products including Powder Eye Shadow in 'Savage', 'Maybe' and 'Courtesan' as well Cream Blusher in 'Rude' and Medium Pencil in 'Vow' all over the lip with a slick of Sheer Lipgloss in 'Brilliant' on top.

Courtney is currently in the UK promoting the reformation of her band Hole and brand new album. If the track Samantha is anything to go by, it's going to be pretty good! The band will also be playing at the 02 Shepard's Bush Empire on Wednesday 17th February and be selling S.O.P.H.I.E bracelets with all proceeds going to the Sophie Lancaster Foundation.

IMATS 2010 - the Fallout

The International Make-up Artist Trade Show 2010 was officially the biggest and best attended IMATS in the history of the event. This year, the London leg of the show tour was at the Alexandra Palace in North London. Brands from all over the world attended; from the hair care, tanning, prosthetics and cosmetic industries. Our involvement with the show was very last minute; Alex Box signed up as a keynote speaker and Spob - Head of Professional Development here at Illamasqua - organised our participation.

We enlisted the help of some of our fabulous counter staff including Adam, Halimah, Lucy, Urszula [from Fenwich Newcastle] and Nicola. As many of you are aware, Nicola creates videos as Pixiwoo on Youtube and she was in high demand at the event for photos and signatures!


Lucy, who specialises in body art and fantastical make-up, went to work on a model creating a beautiful Avatar-like look whilst Adam set about creating a range of porcelain dolls.

My video from IMATS will be going on to Youtube - I'll post the link shortly!

I grabbed a quick word with an exhausted but exhilirated Spob this morning, who tells me "it was fantastic to meet so many make-up artist students. We can't wait to host more academy events at their colleges. If they would like more information, ask their head of year to email us at info@illamasqua.com. It was also amazing to meet so many of the bloggers and beauty press." What did she think of Alex Box's speech? "Thankfully, Trudi and I had a seat reserved for Alex Box's speech; the queue to get in was rather crazy! It was fabulous to see the reception she received." So, plans for next year? "Oh yes. Bigger, better... I can't wait! But I will definitely be booking a holiday for the week after!" I think you'll deserve it, Spob.

Trudi - "At Illamasqua, we have a determined policy to invest time in the professional world. It's an important message as we are the first truly professional make-up brand. During the next year we will be working with professional artists and make-up colleges to get them familiar with the brand and demonstrate what our products can do as well as to inspire and excite them."

"IMATS wasn't on our agenda but the opportunity presented itself and we just had to do it - it is THE make-up show!"

"I had a great time meeting professional artists, students, bloggers, press, the IMATS team... what a great reception we got! Alex Box's keynote speech was fabulous and the blue Medium Pencil in 'Debonair' that she was wearing on her lips quickly sold out."

"Someone said to me that Illamasqua is new but not new; that we have fitted straight into the professional environment, which is unprecedented for a brand only 14 months old. I thought that was lovely."

Below is the winner of the student make-up artist competition, where the theme was Alice in Wonderland. I think this look to some influence from one of Alex Box's images...


Spob, Trudi and I would also like to thank the entire Illamasqua team for all their hard work and dedication.

Pixiwoo And Illamasqua

By now most of you are probably aware that Nicola - one half of the Youtube sensations Pixiwoo - works on our Selfridges London counter. She is leaving us in a few days to go back home to Norwich but will continue to work with us on some great events that we have lined up for 2010, including a tour of our Illamasqua counters with her sister, Sam.

We are still finalising details for this extremely exciting project. If you have ever wanted to discuss one on one with either of the Pixiwoo girls about colours, textures, tips, tricks and inspiration this is an opportunity you will not want to miss!

The below counters will be hosting the girls, however we are yet to finalise details. I'll keep you posted!

Debenhams Glasgow 0141 221 3889

Debenhams Belfast 0289 043 5582

Debenhams Cardiff 0292 034 2278


Thanks to Lynne for the above picture - Lynne is from the fantastic German blog www.fragdiegurus.de - herself and some of her team were down at Selfridges London this morning for an interview with Alex Box and myself - look forward to seeing that! Not a natural in front of a camera :S - unlike Nic and Alex here!

IMATS!

Make-Up Artist magazine produces the International Make-Up Artist Trade Show (or IMATS), and on the 30th and 31st January it will be time for IMATS to hit London! The anticipation has reached fever pitch in the bloggersphere from what I can see - and I am just as excited.

IMATS have been chasing us to appear at the event for some time - we finally agreed about 3 weeks ago and poor Spob [Head of Professional Development] has been slaving away getting everything organised - and there is a lot to organise, but we do love a challenge!

As I am sure you all know, Alex Box will be speaking around 2:30pm on the Saturday. I will be going along on Saturday to help out and to meet some bloggers, so if you want to grab a coffee let me know and I'm sure I can fit in some time to see you! Especially you guys I haven't met before :-)

I will also be doing some filming so come along and give us your views!

As well as the speakers, I am looking forward to the makeup museum that I have heard whispers about, as well as the contests featuring make-up students. If you are a student or a teacher from a make-up college, we have developed an Illamasqua Academy that will come to your college to discuss Illamasqua, the products, some tips and tricks as well as the chance to meet some top theatre, film and fashion make-up artists. Drop an email to info@illamasqua.com if you would like to speak with Spob further on this. She will also be at IMATS so come along and have a chat with us.

Body Electrics: Quick Update

The shortlist of images has been decided on [Kate, Alex, Warren and Nick being the key guys to do this] and are now currently adorning the walls of Kate's desk! I am just staring in wonder at them at the moment. Just gorgeous and so, so unique. I can't wait until these images hit the world wide web...

Body Electrics: Photoshoot Day!

Very excited as in about twenty minutes I am heading down to the Big Sky studios in Kings Cross, London for our Spring Summer 2010 collection photoshoot. I have just spoken to Kate [Brand Director] and she says that everyone began at 9am and have only just started shooting [it's nearly 2pm...!] so it's going to be a long day!

I will keep you updated via twitter whilst I am there. I am also hoping to get an interview video with the creatives behind the shoot and I will eventually put this on Youtube as a pre-Body Electrics teaser. More on that later.

I have just been googling the fabulous photographer team of Warren Du Preez and Nick Thornton Jones, who have been assigned the task of shooting this exciting new collection, and found this video on Youtube.

I was absolutely blown away - beautiful and scary in equal amounts!

IMATS 2010

It's very short notice [and we are in a real head spin getting everything together - sorry Spob!] but Illamasqua WILL be at IMATS on Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st January at Alexandra Palace.

Alex Box will also be there as a Guest Speaker [Saturday 30th: 2:30 - 3:30pm] as well as various other celebrated figures from the world of beauty.

I am really looking forward to going along as I have never been to this kind of event before and
I am particularly looking forward to the following:

Neill Gorton's prosthetic application masterclass
Jenai Chin talking about Temptu
The Student Competition Beauty/Fantasy awards
Alex Box's speech [of course!]

Hopefully see some of you there!

Mizzworthy/ Illamasqua Competition IV - Winners!

The latest Mizzworthy/ Illamasqua competition was inspired by Alex Box's book, Alex Box by Rankin. This book explored a more creative use of make-up - and not just make-up; everything from post-its to poster paint was used - to create a plethora of startling and and thought-provoking "Face as Canvas" images.

We asked entrants to Think Outside The Box and come up with an artistic look by pushing their own personal boundaries whilst having some real fun with make-up!

Just before Christmas - so sorry this is a bit late! - Alex Box chose the winners from the shortlist provided by Mizzworthy and Krystal, from our Selfridges Trafford counter.

The Winner of the Think Outside The Box competition is Jack Gatsby, whose Voodoo/ Witch Doctor inspired look is both beautiful and scary - he even used hair extensions to create eye lashes! Wonderful.

Alex noted that his "use of the graphic mark making, juxtaposed to the organic immediacy is a modern tribal look".

As well as winning a pair of Limited Edition lashes of his choice, Jack has also won the Alex Box by Rankin book, exclusively signed by Alex Box herself.

The runner-up spot has been filled by Lillian Low; her idea was inspired by Rococo looks, and she painted her face to look like a "negative" of the final image she wanted to create. We all loved the idea behind this - certainly fulfilled the criteria of 'thinking outside the box'!


Alex raved that "She has thought of the make-up in different dimensions"

Congratulations to Lillian who has won a set of three of our cruelty-free make-up brushes.

Thanks again to everyone who entered and we are now looking forward to the next one!

Read Mizzworthy's review of the winners here.

An Interview With... Kate Massarella, Brand Director

I grabbed a quick word with Kate Massarella, Brand Director of Illamasqua, for her views on the past year and what we have to look forward to in 2010...

As Brand Director of Illamasqua, you have final say on all marketing activity and new product development. Which aspect of your job have you enjoyed the most over the past 12 months?

"Creating the Sirens and Dystopia collections. They are both so different, yet so distinctively Illamasqua. Katie, our Product Development Manager along with Alex Box, has created some hugely iconic products for these collections - Liquid Metal in 'Solstice' and Nail Varnish in 'Obsess' are my personal favourites.

I also love the process of creating the images - Alex (Box) and I have so much fun coming up with ideas and I have had the fortune of working with some amazingly talented people on the photoshoots. I also really enjoy working on the way our counters look in store - it's such a great experience seeing an initial sketch turning into an actual counter, stocked with beautiful make-up and managed by our amazing teams of artists.


What has been the highlight of the past 12 months for you?

In addition to the stunning collections, one of the biggest highlights has to be the launch into New York and the week I had there introducing the collection to the beauty directors and editors at the top US magazines. An exhilarating experience as they all loved the brand already and couldn't wait to get their hands on the USA assortment. Plus, having a meeting on the 45th floor of a towering Manhattan building overlooking the city is like nothing else!

What do you think the next 12 months will bring for Illamasqua?

More creativity, more excitement, more great product development, more iconic imagery and loads more fun. In particular the Summer collection out in April - it's going to take Illamasqua to a whole new level.

Illamasqua Icons: Greta Garbo

When I think of Greta Garbo, I think beautiful, curved skinny eye brows, perfect cupid bow and one of the most strikingly symmetrical faces of Hollywood's Golden Age.

Garbo was a beautiful actressm, of Nordic origin, who became legendary for her beauty and enigmatic personality. In 1955, she received an Honorary Oscar for "unforgettable screen performances" and has subsequently been ranked as the fifth greatest female star of all time by the Ameican Film Insitute. She was also one of only a handful of actresses to successfully make the transition between silent and "talkies" movies.

Get The Look

Prepping the skin with Matt Primer With SPF 20 is a great start - Garbo loved her skin pale and milky. On top of this, Rich Liquid Foundation, buffed in with a Highlighter Brush would ensure maximum, flawless coverage [and would have made Garbo's skin perfect under the harsh set lights]

Garbo's cheekbones were sharp enough to not need any contouring, but I would suggest Powder Blusher in 'Risk' or 'Mischief' depending on your skin tone, to create the illusion for those of us not so blessed!

The arches look very pencilled, so try Fine Pencil in 'Peace' to lightly trace them in. If you have thick brows, Alex Box taught me a trick of using an old toothbrush, rubbing it in soap, and then slicking your brows back against your skin. Stipple on Rich Liquid Foundation and they just disappear; it's quite extraordinary. You can then line on top of this. Highlight underneath with Powder Eye Shadow in 'Sex' to keep the look matt.

To enhance the depth of her eyes, Garbo has exaggerated her crease line using a cut crease technique - this means minimal blending! I would try a deep slate grey Powder Eye Shadow such as 'Gimp'.

A slick of Eye Liner Cake in 'Mislead' mixed with a drop of Sealing Gel would complete the eye look. Our Eye Liner Cake's were designed with the traditional cakes of the 1920s in mind, so the finish and packaging would be very similar to what Garbo would have used!

Alex Box once told me that actresses in black and white movies used to paint their lips all kind of colours to create different effects of grey within the movie and to add alluring depth to their faces. What a challenge! Garbo would have used a dusky pink for this kind of finish - I love Lipstick in 'Resist' for a beautiful matt result.

Otherwise, we do have a grey Intense Lipgloss for the ultra brave - 'Liaison' is a thick cement grey.

One More Day To Enter MizzWorthy/ Illamasqua Competition...

To all of you already on your Christmas breaks, or with a spare evening tonight, why not enter our competition where you can win a Limited Edition Alex Box by Rankin book, signed by Alex Box herself and a set of Limited Edition lashes.

Our critically acclaimed cruelty free brushes worth over £60 make up the second place prize.

All you have to do to enter is...

Come up with a make-up look inspired by your own alter ego... something different, inventive, innovative, creative... what ever you like!

Red eyes, silver lips, gold cheeks... anything goes! The winners will be judged on the basis of originality and creativity not just professional technique. Simply send in a photograph or blog page to the mizzworthy blog.

You can use any products or media you like to create your look...

The contest closes at Midnight on Wednesday 17th December. This is the final deadline and no extensions will be made - if we extend then Alex Box will be unable to judge due to her schedule.

Finalists will be chosen by Mizzworthy and Krystal and the shortlist forwarded on to Alex Box who will come in to judge the winner and runner up by 22nd December.



HAVE FUN!

For inspiration, I have included some images that Halimah created for our Golden Goddess video on Youtube and some beautiful images I found on ModelMayhem - one of my favourite places to have a browse when I need some inspiration of my own!


Go to modelmayhem.com and search for a make-up artist and click on one of their images. Underneath this it will come up with a "list" and show all the lists that the image has featured on. If you click on the "list" it will show all the images that that particular list creator loves. Seriously, only do this if you have a spare hour as I predict you will spend ages browsing!

Here are some of my current favourites...

Product of the Week: Medium Pencil in Severe

Due to the rapidly diminishing sunshine hours of London at the moment [total today: approx. 12 minutes...] I think that an autumnal colour deserves the accolage of Product of the Week.

When Alex Box became Creative Director of Illamasqua, the pencils were one of the most important products for her; "I wanted a product that could be used anywhere - face art, body art etc. I wanted to leave the interpretation of the product up to the user rather than saying "This MUST be used on the eyes or this MUST be used on the lips. It's just a stick of intense, matt colour."

The Illamasqua Medium Pencils are unique because of the formulation, versatility and colour intensity. The creamy consistency means that they can be used in place of [or underneath] lip products, yet are also long wearing and smudge-proof on the eyes or for scrawling all over the body!

Both Halimah [Product Development intern and working make-up artist] and I love 'Severe' for the deep wine stain that it leaves on the lips. Personally, I like an eye pencil to be as bold on the waterline as much as on the actual skin and for this reason, I believe the Illamasqua Medium Pencils to be one of the best pencils on the market.

As you can see above, it creates a flawless matt finish. I am all about the matt, but if you like a glossy look, just slick a clear gloss on top. Nothing says autumn has officially arrived like a burgundy lip!