Fancy Swapping Some Makeup? The Illamasqua Makeup Amnesty

Illamasqua have a great offer coming soon to a counter near you!

Basically they are running a makeup amnesty - take in any old tatty worn out, or just plain "wrong shade for me" item of makeup, and you'll be able to get 25% off any item from their range. 

You can use any item from any line, in any condition, and swap item for item - so if you take in an old Rimmel lippie from back in the day. you can swap it for anything from the Illamasqua range, and get it for 25% less than the normal retail price. 

Take two items and get 25% off two items from Illamasqua, etc. Its really that simple. 

So if you've wanted to try anything from the range, and have been meaning to have a clearout for a while, or you just want to get rid of all those "wrong" foundations lurking in the back of your collection, this could be the perfect time!

The event runs at ALL UK and Ireland Illamasqua counters from the 17th - 31st July... What will you be getting rid of?! I have quite a few foundations to "dispose of", and its not like I have enough Illamasqua eye shadows or blushers really is it!

Mwahahahah!

Illamasqua Brushes on Offer!

Illamasqua's brushes are great - my particular faves are the powder brush, foundation brush, eyebrow brush and highlighter brushes...

• The powder brush is fab for sweeping powder over the face, but also dense enough to use to apply powder in rolling motions to the face to get a really flawless night time look
• The foundation brush has tapered fibres, making blending easy, and its also great for applying cream blushers. 
• The eyebrow brush is a great multi-purpose brush, ideal for brows, bold liner and even for creating a really defined lip shape.
• The highlighter brush reminds me a lot of the MAC 109, but is slightly slimmer and longer. I use this for buffing in cream products such as highlighter, foundation, cream blush etc into the skin. I also use it for applying contour powder, and if I only want to powder the t-zone, this is great for that too...

There are a couple of new brushes in the range too - the body kabuki, and the angled eye liner brush. 

The whole range is synthetic and cruelty-free, so well worth a look. I was very surprised when I was told they were synthetic - they are so amazingly soft! 

Every brush has 15% off from now until Friday 21st May 4pm GMT online.

Requested - NOTD - Illamasqua Force.

By request of several people on twitter, here is the second of the new varnish's from Illamasqua - Force.

As with most all the cream finishes from Illamasqua, they are incredibly well pigmented, and give good coverage in 1 coat - I am the type of person who always applies 2 coats whether needed or not (Its just how I was brought up!), so the pictures are taken with two coats (pre clean up with cotton bud and remover... sorry!)

This particular shade of blue reminds me of willow pattern plates... Hence this random picture of some to show you what I mean...

Anyway... back on planet earth... which is your fave?

Illamasqua Body Electrics.

Finally, this collection is due to launch TODAY! Any time now in fact!

The collection is based around the idea of accentuating the natural movements and contours of the body with light reflecting contours and highlights... 

The images are the beautiful creation of Alex Box...

So what's in the collection? 

Dry body oils in Pulse(bronze) and Volt(shimmering white), are both new additions to the range, and the first body product we've seen from the range... Being a super pale type, I'll be picking up the oil in Volt to enhance and play up my paleness, which will be a nice change than feeling I have to slap on some fake tan in the summer months... The oils are packed with antioxidants too, making them skin friendly.

A new liquid metal in Surge, a platinum shade, as well as a palette containing all four liquid metals;

Gleam Cream in flex, which is another new addition to the range - I'm not sure what this will be like, but I love illuminators, so this is sure to be in my basket before long!

The two bronzers from the Sirens duo's (Writhe and Burnish) also make a reappearance as full size bronzers, with the Illamasqua logo embellished on them...

... and are accompanied by a body kabuki brush.

Finally there are also three new nail varnishes, Force, a royal blue, and JoMina, a purple shade

There is also a beautiful white shade with shimmer, which looks amazing too;

Loving the look of the new collection, and several items will be getting purchased by me... Actually, who am I kidding? It's all going in the basket!

Also, take a look at this video about the collection;

When Beauty Bloggers Hit London Fashion Week...

Thanks to the lovely people at Illamasqua, who were doing the makeup look for the latest House of Blue Eyes (HOBE) show, myself, Helen and Sheenie and Louise all got to see the backstage shenanigans, as well as the actual HOBE "I Feel Love" extravaganza on Saturday...

 

 Above - Helen and Sheenie - see, they do both exist!

 

 Me and my Organic guru Lucy of Get Lippie...

I describe the show as an extravaganza, because, well that seems the most fitting word to me... It wasn't a catwalk show in the classical sense, but neither was it an art installation in the sense I understand it... (And I write this post with no claims of being knowledgeable about fashion, nor a deep understanding of art, although I like to think I appreciate both!). I had an amazing opportunity to go and experience LFW, and see what really goes on behind the scenes at a fashion show, and I took it, so if this post offends those with a real deep knowledge of fashion or art, I apologise! ;-). 

 

MizzWorthy wore Orange - Its fashionable innit? Even the window says so! (Thanks to Helen for this picture), Ahem - also wore black for the whole "slimming" thing...

We were all offered the chance to interview Johnny by telephone the day before, however Helen was the only one brave enough - read her interview HERE for an introduction to the whirlwind that is Johnny Blue Eyes...

As a fashion noob, I have to say, I expected lots of overexuberance, and eccentricity - and I am pleased to say I got it in spades, in the best possible way... Johnny himself was planning a turn on the runway, and was in fact having his hair and makeup done himself at the time of our arrival. Despite this he greeted us with genuine pleasure and told us all about his show, kissing us on the hand and complimenting our makeup, and outfits (thats some claim for an orange dress from Wallis on my part!). Johnny also told us all about the inspiration behind his show today - "an explosion of colour", "angels of light and beauty", "fierceness" and "appreciating the angels within us all, whatever size or shape we are". I was extremely pleased, as a curvy girl (read fat) myself that he has taken the decision to include larger models in the show - males and females ranging from the classical model shape to the very voluptuous were included... Johnny also mentioned that the explosion of colour and light used in his show was a reaction against the current dark times we are in as a society - ie recession, depression, winter, war, natural disaster... 

 Johnny Blue Eyes (right) with one of his models (or angels)

"The Backstage Experience" was fabulously frantic - with Johnny warmly complimenting all of his "angels" in his booming voice, makeup artists, models, PR's, hairstylists and assistants all vying for space. The makeup artists work stations held a vast array of products - there was of course, every Illamasqua product under the sun (which alone was an amazing Jewel-like sight to behold), as well as various shades of MAC face and body foundation and paintsticks, as well as kryolan aquacolour and supracolour pots to buff over the skin. Duo adhesive, fabulous lashes and plastic butterfly shapes were present in abundance for use in decorating the faces of the models/angels.

 Above - The backstage makeup set-up.

 

 

 Above - Backstage chaos and creativity.

The room where the show was to be held contained all that could be needed for a beautiful grown up "tea party"... China cups and saucers of different shapes, sizes and designs, and charming cupcakes with beautiful yet psychadelic icing... All very fitting with the "free love" themed slide show and music which created an amazing atmosphere and build up to the show. 

 

Cover me in icing and colour me happy! These Cupcakes were truly divine!

The build up was completed when Johnny himself appeared complete with spray painted thigh-high boots, pink t-shirt, a very tiny pair of underpants, perfectly waved hair, painted skin and a golden beard for a photo session... he then bestowed his "fierce gifts of light and colour" upon various spectators in the form of bright headbands... He was very much "in the zone" at this time... Following on from this, Johnny introduced his angels or models. The show did not take the form of a traditional runway spectacle, but instead, they mingled and "performed" within the crowd. A definite spectacle to behold. The show was bright, colourful inclusive and fun. Yes there was pretention there, but hell, I think I'd have been dissappointed if there hadn't been!

 

Johnny Introduces his angels...
 

  

 

After the show, those aforementioned cupcakes disappeared at a rate of knots - whoever said people in fashion don't eat was fibbing! I managed to get hold of one, proclaiming "Love" in the form of a rainbow and hand piped icing... It was delicious by the way - Vanilla as I recall. Alex Box also came over and said hello to me (see she does remember me - and I'm not a stalker) lol. She even made time for a five minute chat with me...

 

  

Time to check out those legendary nails... 

Thanks to Sheenie for these fab pictures - check out her makeup & photography site HERE.

I asked Alex all about the themes and feel of the makeup designs she had created for the show - she took inspiration from the concepts behind Johnny's vision, and was also able to use her own creativity for the looks created. She described using the butterflies and vibrant colours as a source of design inspiration. The marriage of Johnny's eccentric ideas combined with Alex's artistically creative makeup looks worked well together, and created a fab and "fierce" (to quote Johnny) spectacle, with more than a nod to 60's psychadelica. 

 Above - Work in progress.

 

Above - One of the amazing finished looks...

To sum up, my day at LFW, was definitely an experience I will never forget. The makeup was stunning, the clothing eccentric and interesting, and the personalities involved were exuberant and eccentric - it was indeed (tongue wedged firmly in cheek) "Fabulous Darling".

This Week I Cant Wait for....

A couple of lovely events planned this week... First up I'm off to the Beauty Night at Selfridges in Trafford Centre on Thursday night. I've been to a couple of these before and they are usually good fun. £10 get you a "lovely" wristband (in turn entitling you to drinks), a £10 redeemable voucher for anything in the beauty hall, and a goodie bag. At the first event, the goodie bag contained a full size lipgloss from Clarins. The second time, I got a lot of perfume samples, but my mum got a Dior shadow quad! I don't know if it's just me, but the assistants seem far less scary at these events, ie you can have a look at the products with a lower level of hard sell...

Secondly, I'm back at Selfridges again on Saturday for an Illamasqua Masterclass - I have attended one of these before and it was AMAZING. I learnt a lot and had great fun. I blogged about the experience here. I'm looking forward to playing with some of the new Dystopia products under supervision of an adult, rather than my usual childlike daubings...

Obviously, blog posts will follow!

MizzWorthy xxx

FOTD - Featuring Clarins and Illamasqua...

As you know after the recent Clarins event I recieved a huge amount of products, and today I finally got to put some of them to the test - The pieces we recieved were from a the "Nude Inspirations" collection, and I was a little unsure how to make these work for me - regular followeres will be aware of my love of colour, but the great thing about nudes is that they obviously allow you to play up other areas of the face - here I clearly went for it on the lips front!

I used the nudes quad palette from the collection to create the neutral style smoky eye here, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how easy the shadows are to use - the quad is beatifully packaged (the only thing I didn't like was the inclusion of one of those sponge applicators... but I guess it mught be useful for touch ups?), and the lid has a decent mirror which is great.

I used MAC painterly paint pot as a base, blended the matte nude shade (3rd from the left) across the lid and up towards the brow bone, added the shimmery gold shade (far left) across the centre of the lid, blended the pale brown (second from the left) into the inner corner and below the inner part of the lower lid, and then used the darker brown shade (far right) to define the crease and smoke out the eye - I also used this shade below the eye on the outer corners. I also used the new wonder perfect mascara from the range in the shade 01 wonder black on the lashes (I was really impressed with this actually - gives great length and volume without clumps - very good mascara!)

I also recieved a parcel from Illamasqua today which I've been stalking the postie for - I ordered a few bits, and my little haul included the lipstick in the shade "Resist" from the sirens collection, which I basically could not wait to use, and I thought you might like to see...

Products Used;

FACE

RMK Creamy foundation

Illamasqua pressed powder in PP115

Illamasqua Illuminator in the shade Halcyon used on cheekbones

Illamasqua powder blusher in the shade "Lover"

Clarins concealer stick in the shade 01 used under eyes (again this is a great product, in a perfect colour for me - very impressed!)

EYES

Clarins Nude Inspiration palette (palette number 110) - see above

Urban Decay brow box

Illamasqua eye pancil in Erratic on the waterline

Rouge Bunny Rouge (stay tuned for a big review of this brand tomorrow!) devotion ink quartz eyeliner in shade 036 - tiger eye escence - to create a flick and line the upper lid.

Illamasqua liquid Illuminator in the shade halcyon to highlight the browbone.

LIPS

Illamasqua lipstick in "Resist" (from the sirens collection)

So, what do we think? I like this neutral smoky eye look to showcase the more vibrant shades in my lip collection... (as much as I try to conform, I can't allow myself to do a totally nude look - I like my colours too much lol)

How do you add a bit of interest to nudes?

MizzWorthy xxx

Violetta and CCO MAC Haul! Includes Swatches...

Hello everyone!

So I mentioned to a couple of people on twitter that I was thrilled yesterday to discover a CCO in Cheshire Oaks, which is a designer outlet place about a twenty minute drive away from where I live... I was very happy to see that they sold loads of past season limited edition stuff from prescripives, Estee Lauder, Bobbi Brown and MAC!


I honed in on the MAC and was really surprised to see Fafi eye palettes and beauty powders, Emanuel Ungaro eye shadows and CCB's and there were also a few bits from the Christmas collections. I was very good though (for once!) and I bought a few bits I thought I'd get the most use out of!



First up I got a spiced chocolate quad (I'm sorry, I have no idea what collection it was from, but I've heard a lot of people talking about it!). I have to admit that I doubt I would have paid full price for this, but I thought it would be a great everyday work palette - I love my brights, but they are not really suitable for work! This palette cost £19.86, which I thought was great value.

Top left - Nanogold (Lustre finish) - light and subtle - perfect for a highlight

Top right - Brash (Veluxe Pearl) - a lush warm copper brown

Bottom Left - Sweet Chestnut (Frost) - a really gorgeous reddish brown rich shade - this is the colour that attracted me to the palette!

Bottom Right - Spiced Chocolate (Matte) - I'm thinking crease/liner and maybe even brows?

So onto the swatches (Nano gold just refused to show up, but it is a very pretty pale sheen in real life...)

l. Spiced Chocolate, m. Brash, r. Sweet Chestnut...

The next product that caught my eye was a single shadow in the shade Submarine, which is a lovely bright blue frost finish shade... I have never actually bought a blue shadow before as I have a lingering fear of looking reminiscent of Pat Butcher (Notorious soap character famed for nasty blue shimmery eye shadow and naff earings from UK soap 'Eastenders'...), however, my recent makeover at the Body Shop event made me realise I can wear some (very carefully selected) shades of blue, and decided that I liked this one enough to give it a whirl lol... This cost me £6.85, which if memory serves me correctly is less than the price of a pro pan shadow!

I was SUPER CHUFFED to discover my next purchase lurking on the shelves - a mineralize eye shadow duo in "Fresh Green Mix" - I have seen this on the MAC website but I think it's an old LE colour and no longer available... This cost me £9.59 as opposed to the full price of £13.70!

As the swatches show, the solid colour comes out as a gorgeous golden chartreuse type of green, while the marble side is a lovely darker sage green - I am sooooo pleased with this!

I was then amazed when I was paying to see a big bowl full of discontinued pigments and glitters, which I hastily rooted through, and found a colour I've loved the sound of for a while - reflects blackened red, which is actually my first ever glitter from MAC. I am loving the sound of using this as a liner or layering over carbon to create some really dramatic looks... This was a total BARGAIN at £8.90!

And finally, by popular demand, here a couple of quick picks of me wearing "Violetta" a pro colour I picked up in London... It's an amplified creme finish lipstick by the way, and as expected is really well pigmented, and feels lovely and creamy on...

Excuse the ghostly palor and rough looking skin please too by the way - it's been a loooonnnng day!

A slightly happier look!

Let me know what you think!

Oh and if anyone else has the blackened red glitter pigment, and uses it for any other purposes, I'd love some more ideas!

Love MizzWorthy

xxx