Christmas!

Thursday, December 17, 2009
It's the Illamasqua HQ Christmas party tonight. . . can't wait! I have been planning my make-up look for weeks. I think I might take inspiration from the Golden Goddess video we recently uploaded on to Youtube - the mask-like look. I will upload photos next week!

I think this weekend I'm going to start really getting in to the Christmas spirit - this will be top of my pile to watch...

Followed by...


I am also going to experiment with my new 'Boo' Nail Varnish that arrived in my order yesterday after seeing this review by All Lacquered Up.

Illamasqua Icons: Greta Garbo

Tuesday, December 15, 2009
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...