A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Illamasqua Sob is one of my favourite blushes… the creme texture is a delight and practically blends itself.  The colour is a cool, frivolous candy pink and once on, it doesn’t budge.  Not even in this heat!

Too hot for much makeup…

Face
Bare Escentuals Mineral Foundation in Fairly Light
Illamasqua Cream Blush in Sob

Eyes
MUFE Aqua Eyes Pencil in Black
Bourjois 1001 Cils Mascara in Black

Lips
Guerlain Kiss Kiss Maxi Shine in Lychee Shine

Well, if you wanna be… get in there quick!  Entries close at 9am on the 7th June.

British brand Illamasqua are looking for a fresh face to front their Autumn/Winter collection and it could be you!

Check out the casting page to find out more and apply (men welcome too!)

Good luck if you’re applying!

…for pale, pasty types.

So, another thing I often reach for in the summer is a bit of powder foundation.  I don’t use it all over, just on the t-zone as an alternative to pressed powder.  It gives me that extra bit of coverage for areas where I suffer from a bit of redness.

I thought this quick photo comparison between a couple of the Illamasqua Powder Foundations that I own might be useful to some.

PF120 and PF145 are both fair shades.  Of the two, PF120 is paler and pinker.  PF145 is a fair, slightly more neutral shade.  I can wear both quite easily without fear of going too dark or too orange.

I love the packaging, although some may find it a touch cumbersome.  Whilst I am enjoying using these, I don’t think I’ll be repurchasing… there’s nothing about them that particularly stands out to me over other great coverage powders.  Infact, I prefer my MAC MSF Natural to both of these.

Illamasqua Powder Foundation is a sheer/medium coverage powder.  If pressed (no pun intended) my favourite thing about this product would be it’s ‘softness’.  It feels forgiving to any drier patches I have on my skin and never seems to go cakey, no matter how heavy-handed I get.  But for me, the coverage and longevity doesn’t live up to my MSF Natural.

Anyway, that was short but (hopefully) sweet.  Illamasqua Powder Foundation is priced at £21 each and available from counters nationwide or online at ASOS and Debenhams.

What are your favourite Powder foundations?

So a few of you asked for some tips and to see a FOTD with the Illamasqua Halcyon Illuminator that I swatched in this here post so I made sure to dig it out this morning.

I hope you can make it out!  It’s more apparent in the right hand photo… a fairly neutral champagne shimmer.  My only issue with it (that I was reminded of when applying today) is how quickly it dries.  You gotta blend quick!

I usually squeeze a little onto my finger tip, tap 3 dots across my cheekbones and blend, blend, blend!  I tend to struggle a little with liquid highlighters as they settle in and accentuate my pores (I’m looking at you Eyeko cream thing) but this doesn’t.

Anyway, hope that helps!

I love this packaging!  It allows me to dispense just the right amount of product.

And *what* a product it is…

Illamasqua‘s Halcyon Illuminator is a creamy ivory highlighter that would suit both dark and pale tones beautifully.  It’s just about neutral enough to be kind to most complexions and imparts a “lit from within” shimmer.

With a smooth texture, it blends effortlessly wherever it’s placed.  This is (if you haven’t already noticed!) one of my favourite highlighters in my collection and I reach for it often.  Which reminds me, next time I’m near a counter I need to pick up Poised (it’s cool pink counterpart!)

Priced at £13, I consider this to be good value for money when you realise just how little you need to use to achieve a great result.

Illamasqua’s Illuminator in Halcyon is available from counters nationwide or online.

…introducing INM’s Out The Door quick-dry top coat.

Recommended to me by the lovely Jamilla from Makeup for Professional Asian Women which, btw is a must-read for her inspiring and regularly updated posts.

INM’s Out The Door is a serious contender to the Seche Vite crown… firstly, I’m gonna come right out and say that this stuff doesn’t dry my nails as fast as Seche Vite.  I’ll be surprised if anything does.  But, it does dry them respectably quickly.  I also find the texture of the product makes it far easier to apply.

I know that Seche Vite suffers from thickening, but even comparing this to a new bottle of the Seche, INM’s Out The Door applies beautifully smoothly… it’s as if I’m coating my manicure with water rather than polish.

In the time it takes me to ‘top coat’ all my nails, the first will be touch dry by the time I’m finished.  Not dent-dry however…  this takes about another 10-15 minutes to fully harden.  Which is fine for me, I just take a little more care and haven’t had any problems yet.

Where the INM Out The Door blows Seche outta the water is with shrinkage.  I haven’t experienced even a millimetre of unnecessary tip wear with this top coat.

Less pungent smelling and easier to apply makes for a happy Lipglossiping.  I often decide to paint my nails about half an hour before bed, and I haven’t had any problems with duvet imprints!

Availability and price is also an issue as this seems to be a little easier to get hold of in the UK than Seche Vite.  Price varies but I’ve found it here for a bargain price of £3.95.

Have you tried it?

An edgy release from an edgy brand that fits perfectly with the Body Electrics ethos of makeup to enhance movement, dynamics and light.

Illamasqua released two Illumine Oil’s with the Body Electrics collection and it was the oils that first drew my attention.  Pulse is a golden bronze shimmer, whilst Volt is an iridescent silvery violet shimmer.  I was very kindly sent a bottle of Volt to slather myself in so I thought I’d do the good blogging thing and not keep my opinions to myself.

Firstly, I’m put off by the price…  £32 is a lot of money to pay to decorate your decolletage with shimmer.

Don’t get me wrong… the shimmer is beautiful, it’s radiating and it catches the light perfectly.

You could DIY it, I think it would probably look chunkier and less effortlessly elegant if you did… But still… £32? *whistles*

Anyway, I swerve from being wildly extravagant with my money to tighter than a ducks arse, so let me review this on it’s own merits first before you all get out the fans to revive me from the price tag.

They Say:

Create a sultry shimmer with an after-dark edge.  Smooth Illumine Oil over skin for a light-reflecting finish that makes every movement a drama.  Infused with pearlised particles, passionflower seed oil and vitamin E, this luxurious dry body oil is quickly absorbed and leaves skin illuminated.  Bask in a radiance of your own making and demand to be worshipped.

You get 100ml of product for your money and to be fair, you only need a very very small amount (2 fingertip fulls) to fully cover your entire decolletage.  I could imagine this lasting easily over a year of regular use.

I’ve tried very hard to capture the iridescence in the bottle, it’s quite breathtaking… kinda like the Prism nail polish but on a much larger scale!

If there was one time this blog needed smell-o-vision, it would be now.  Volt smells ah-mazing.  It’s tropical and heady, perfect for warm summer nights.

The packaging, whilst elegant and simple is a source of irritation for me.

Picture the scene… glass all over the floor, £32 Illumine Oil soaking into your floorboards giving them an ethereal, sparkling glow… only to be matched by the sparkles in your eyes from the big fat tears.

Maybe it comes with being a Mummy… I mean… I’m not asking them to sell it in this:

…. but accidents happen.  And that bottle with it’s standard bottle opening is asking for trouble.

Anyway, how does it sparkle?

Ohhh… I tried and I tried to capture it’s delicate shimmer… here’s the best I could do.

You can see the sparkles that are suspended in the oil… and yes, they are indeed mostly violet which gives a true ethereal (though not Edward Cullen) type glow to your skin.  The sparkles are very, very fine and small… not at all chunky.

The sparkles stick firmly and whilst transfer is still very much apparent (hello strange glitter speck in the corner of my vision) the sheer density of sparkle ensures that you will remain suitably spangly all evening long.

I think I’ve covered everything…

Is it expensive? Yes.  Is it beautiful? Yes.  Did I rock it whilst doing a trolley dash in Tesco last night? You betcha.

Illamasqua Illumine Oil in Volt is £32 for 100ml and available at Illamasqua counters nationwide or online at Illamasqua.com

“What a snore!” I proclaimed, looking at Illamasqua’s latest collection, Body Electrics.

It’s not that it’s a bad looking collection… it’s just… not me.

I don’t really do bronzers…. I don’t want liquid metals (regardless of how lovely they look in their pans)… I don’t go anywhere to warrant slathering myself in sparkly body oils and I’m a bit blued and purpled out in the nail polish world too.

I actually really quite like the theory behind the collection…. the dynamics of movement and light reflecting… all great stuff, but I just felt disappointed seeing the theory put into practice.

I received a parcel from Illamasqua containing a couple of pieces from the new collection and to be blunt, I was expecting to give the products a “these are nice but ultimately dull” review based on how uninspiring I’d found them thus far.

I was wrong.

Initially, when I opened the parcel… my spirits weren’t lifted when I pulled out one of the new Nail Polishes in shade Prism.

“Oh… it’s not the purple” thought I… sounding far too much like a spoilt child to admi… oh

I twirled the bottle in my hands, watching the iridescence and blue flashes catch the light…. yeah, it’s pretty… but I kept thinking about my yellow stained nails and how ugly they’d look combined with this blatantly sheer polish I was holding.

Wanna see?

Admitedly, this is 4 coats… 1 coat was as horrible as I’d envisaged.  But this is beautiful.  After a year of solid, opaque polishes to cover up stains and dodgy ridged nails… this is delicate.  It’s like a veil…. it shrouds all the imperfections, but leaves a hint of nail tip and blue irridescence that simply says…. feminine.

Not only that, but the formula is stunning.  This is my first Illamasqua polish… drying time blew me away.  I was able to apply and finish 4 coats in 25 minutes.  Hand on heart, this is probably the greatest formula I’ve used so far.  Whether or not other Illamasqua polishes are the same, I don’t know.

Prism is perfect for weddings, french manicures… it’s one of those polishes for people that don’t like polishes.  If you don’t paint your nails often but want something for those times when you need to up your game… get this polish.  I imagine it would also look rather lovely layered over a dark base too… I shall have to experiment!

Thanks ever so much lovely Illamasqua makeup fairies, a genuinely lovely surprise that simply made a makeup addict’s week!

Available from counters nationwide or online at Illamasqua priced at £13.00

Sometimes you just shouldn’t be trusted with a bottle of fuschia polish and flakies.  I don’t have too many NOTD monstrosities, but this one is pretty darn ming.

So that you can avoid the same retina-melting combination, we’re talking Nails Inc. – China Town with Inglot #204 daubed over the top.

Had any errors of beauty judgement recently?

I’m SO behind with posting things from my lovely IMATS weekend, you’ve seen my NOTD with the flakie on the right, and I’ll do one soon using my blue flakie too

They’re soo pretty, and apply far more smoothly than I thought they would.  It’s not regular glitter where you’re left crying out for a top coat to even out the surface.

In other news, I attempted white nails last night a la Lady Gaga at The Brits only to come to a “WTF am I doing?” revelation halfway through.  Yeah, it was streaking badly.

Also found a NARS Purple Rain dupe in my collection, but I’m not sure if it’s still available to buy… I’ll try and find out before posting it up.

’til tomorrow x

Illamasqua have a hot new competition open… I’ll let the press release give you all the information you need to know.

Check it out:

2010’s hottest new nail colour is in your hands!

Whether it’s the standout shade of your favourite killer heels, your must-have cupcake frosting or the glow of the city skyline, Illamasqua want to hear what inspires your soul.

The UK’s hottest and most talked about make-up brand, Illamasqua is famed for its unique and daringly different collection of cult Nail Varnish colours.

And now they want YOU to get creative.

Illamasqua is asking finger fetishists the world over to submit a description of their dream nail varnish colour, for their chance to make it a reality.

Run in conjunction with luxury retailer, Selfridges, this incredible competition is giving nail varnish fans the world over the opportunity to push their imaginative boundaries further than ever before and design their very own perfect shade.

Entrants must explain in no more than 50 words what inspired their unique choice, and provide an image or photograph to illustrate their big idea.

The prize? Two winners will see their dream colour created and sold exclusively at Illamasqua.com and Selfridges in London, Manchester Trafford and Birmingham from October 2010. In addition, they’ll receive a bottle of their winning colour before anybody else!

The winning entries will be selected by a high-profile judging panel consisting of legendary make-up artist Alex Box, nail artist to the stars Sophy Robson and YouTube sensations Pixiwoo.

The rules:

In 50 words or less, submit a description of your dream colour and the thinking behind it – please include pictures to illustrate your inspiration if possible.

Entries must be submitted in one of the following three ways, no later than 14^th March 2010:

Via email: competition@illamasqua.com

Via blog post: email the link to competition@illamasqua.com

Via mail:

NAIL COMPETITION
c/o Illamasqua
6-8 Amwell St
London
EC1R 1UQ

One entry per person. Competition is open to entrants globally.

Whilst up in London for IMATS, I had lots of trouble dragging myself away from Inglot in Westfield.  I was in there searching through the lipsticks for AGES!  Such a variety, but despite this… nothing was really catching my eye.  And then I spotted a small group of maybe 12 lipsticks off to one side, and immediately, 2 shades popped out at me.

I asked the SA to tell me about these taller, thinner lipsticks that bear more than a passing resemblance to the MAC Slimshines.  The SA explained that these were their new Slim Gel Lipsticks which have a lighter, more moisturising feel to them whilst still retaining a good colour payoff.

Sold to the lady with the mega dry lips!

I purchased #61 (left) which I would describe as a mauve pink… it’s a medium toned pinky nude on my skin, proper nude… not concealer nude.  I also purchased #41 which is a brighter, more vivid shade bordering on the coral *eek!*

I love both of them, they are moisturising… they’re also a teeny bit sticky, which does wonders for their longevity.  One application of these happily lasts me through to lunch time.  They have a glossy, shiny finish and I love the hardwearing metal packaging that houses all of Inglot’s lipsticks.

I do have one concern though… they don’t seem that steady in the tube.  If you do buy one of these, make sure you don’t wind the product up too high when applying.  I really think that unless you take considerable care, these would be prone to snapping.

Left: #61, Right: #41

I’ve also noticed that I seem to be going through the tubes at a rate of knots!  You only get 1.8g of product per tube, compared to 2.3g in a MAC Slimshine or 3g in a standard MAC Lipstick.  I threw away the receipt but I think I paid around £9 each for these.  So quite expensive gram for gram I think.

I shall forgive Inglot this time , these are beautifully easy to wear lipsticks and I’m very pleased I made the purchase.