My Masterclass Experience!

Well, if you read my recent post, you'll know I went to an Alex Box masterclass last night which was run by Illamasqua... I had a great time, and wanted to let you all in on a few of the highlights and things I learned at the class!

First of all, I met up with a fellow Illamasqua addict Helen (nail varnishes are her "thing" - and she writes and amazing blog with her friend a Sheenie, which I'd highly recommend that you check out - http://helensheenie.wordpress.com/) for lunch, and I was highly impressed by the length of her amazing -REAL - nails - have a look at her blog! She cites OPI's Nail Envy, no manual labour and no washing up as the reason for their amazing length!

We also met up for a quick diet coke break with BritishBeautyBlogger, and a discussion about human hair eyelashes (an idea that makes me go ew!), and the problem of kohl liner gloopage, which was lovely (no one else gets this makeup obsession like another obsessive!), and then met up with GraceLondon just before the event...

Just before 6 we all gathered at the Illamasqua counter in Selfridges (Where me and Tali from the gloss goss blog caught up with each other) and were escorted to the upper floor where a lovely room had been prepared for us - we munched on champagne and canapes (which were so yummy) and then watched as Alex Box took us through creating a whole look, from primer and foundation through to eyes, lips and cheeks (including some amazing tips on contouring). There were 20 people at the event, and each pair of us had an artist who helped us to create our own alter ego look step by step along with Ms Box.Tali and me were extremely lucky to sit on the table with Mika and Aga who are both artists at the selfridges counter - they were both so lovely and helpful, and answered all our questions about everything. They made us feel really comfortable and we ended up having a really good laugh!

Aga shows me how to smoke it up...

Mika works his magic on Tali - not that she needs much help! Gorgeous girl!

Alex Box used another Alex - the lovely lady who works in the marketing dept (and who has been such a big help with getting the contests off the ground - Thank you Alex!) - as a model - and created an amazing, contoured and angular look - unfortunately, I had to leave the event a little bit earlier that everyone else to get my train home (Dammit Virgin - put a later one on!). Anyway, here is a bit of a blurred picture of the two Alex's in action...

So what look did we create for me? Well after applying my base, and powdering with PINK loose powder (more on that later!), we contoured and highlighted my face (using bronzer, yellow blusher and pigments in marvel and breathe) and Mika painted on some fierce brows for me - I need to practice doing this - with black cake liner in mislead!

Aga then applied a fab orange and brown smokey winged out look to the eyes, and the look was completed by an application of red lippie in the shade Box....


A couple of close ups of the eyes...

The Finished Look! These were taken at home after a train journey etc - as you can see, all the makeup (Including the red lips) held up extremely well!)

I really loved my finished look - I think I would actually wear this out for a night out too. As Alex pointed out on the night, everyone is nervous about doing something different with their makeup - people will commit to a long term thing like a tattoo, but get all worried about putting on some makeup, which can be wiped off anyway!

After finishing off the look, Mika was lovely enough to pose for a couple of photos with me -

Strike a pose!

Messing about with Mika - I'm definately not his type lol - but he was such a star - he was so patient with all our questions and really taught me a few new trick - I'm so pleased I met him!
I was also lucky enough to meet the gorgeous Alex Box in person, and I was so flattered that she actually knew my name/who I was, and all about the blog - she was lovely and she actually said thank you to me for running the contests. I was really really nervous about meeting her, but she just put me straight at ease! I really wish I hadn't had to run off early!

So after it was all over and I had to dash off to get my train I picked up a couple of bits - loose powder in the shade 005 - this is the pink powder which I believe Sam Chapman (Pixiwoo) has mentioned in her videos. This was one of the products I was interested in finding out more about - I had heard Sam mention that it brightens the face and makes you look refreshed, sets your foundation, but doesn't look cakey - all true - this made me look like I had just woken up from 12 hours refreshing sleep... And as you can see I don't look red faced or flushed.

I also picked up a powder blush in Posess (I've since found out I snaffled the last one as a few other people wanted it too - sorry everyone!) - this is the yellow blusher. Obviously at first this might seem a bit of a strange choice, however this is great for softening up bronzer to avoid that "hello world, I have applied a lovely streak of bronzer to my cheeks there, can you see it?" look - it also works as a highlighter for darker/tanned skins in the same way that Intruige (the white one) does on us pale types. I am wearing this in the pictures together with some bronzer and I'm loving how it looks - a really clever trick!

Finally I picked up a sheer lipgloss in the shade Lily-rose, a see through red glaze, which looks great on its own, but really brings red lipstick to life as well...

So, what else did I learn?

1. Let your brushes do the work for you - eg when blending, dont press to hard, blending brushed are designed to work best with a light small circle motion - the outer bristles do the blending for you!
2. Don't be afraid to try new products - pink powder and yellow blusher? Hell yes!
3. Remember, it's only makeup! If it doesn't work take it off and start again! I LOVED my finished look - it might not be the right thing for everyone, and yeah, I got a couple of "double takes" on the train, but do you knwo what - I didn't care at all, and I reckon they were admiring my look! I loved the attention lol!
4. Although makeup artists can at times seem a bit intimidating you should still ask lots of questions about products - Mika and Aga both really knew their stuff and just by answering our questions they taught us a hell of a lot!
5. Don't be afraid to clash - red lips and orange eyes might not be everyones first choice, but I think it worked amazingly!
6. Just because it says its blusher, doesn't mean you can't do anything else with it - I noticed a lot of the artists used products for reasons other than their "label" says they can be used for - blushers on eyes, shadows on cheeks... don't be afraid to experiment! I often use cream shadows (eg hunger) as a highlighter on the cheek...
7. Have fun with it, and don't stick to the "rules".

So finally, a MASSIVE thank you to all the Makeup artists, Alex Box, Alex the model, and all the other people who helped make it such a fun night - I really hope I get the chance to go to another one of these in the future!

MizzWorthy xxx

Illamasqua Haul!

Hi everyone! Hope you are all well

I finally got paid today, so I unleashed myself on the Trafford Centre to visit my new favourite brand, and went to see the lovely makeup and see the lovely makeup artists at Illamasqua - this is a new British brand. It's currently available in Selfridges in London and the trafford centre in Manchester at the moment, but over the next few months, the brand is rolling out over the UK, and I was told it's launching in Newcastle today as well. I am in love with this brand for several reasons - Illamasqua's roots lie in theatrical Berlin and I love the way the brand completely captures the artistic and dramatic feel of the theatre. This makeup makes me feel special, and at the end of the day, this is what Make up is all about to me - the perfect fusion of art and beauty.

Some of Illamasquas Beautiful Promo Images

Naturally, with makeup and images this beautiful, I have been doing some serious hauling - this is stuff I've bought over the last couple of weeks by the way - my credit card has not had a totally serious bashing!

Illamasqua Pure pigments in "Charm", which the makeup artists acurately described as "mermaid blue", and "fervent", which is a bronze-brown based shade with reflects of blue, green and copper. These can be mixed with any mixing medium, they are highly pigmented and there are some beautiful colours available - They retail for £15 for 1.3g of product.

Pigments with "Underworld" Lipstick. The photograph is good, but really doesn't do this beautiful lipstick justice. Underworld is a rich true purple frosted shade with blue reflects. This sounds strange, but the reflects give this a beautiful understated glow - I can wear this shade subtley in the day time, or I can really vamp it up for a night time look. I absolutely love this shade! I also find the formulation lasts really well and is not drying on the lips. Lipsticks retail at £14.

Here it is on the lips - this is how I would wear it in the day, and again, I have to say the pic does not do this justice!

I also got a cake eyeliner in "Zeal", a deep dark green shade, this is a solid cake to which to add a drop of mixing medium (which comes with it)and mix to the depth and consistency you desire - I have been using this as you can see! Liner cake is also available in black, grey, deep blue, purple and a muted brown shade, and the cake and mixing medium cost £16. I also bought an undereye concealer, which I'm so far very impressed with. It stays put really really well and doesn't crease/shift or gather into those fine lines I'm trying to pretent I dont have... It covers my dark circles well too! Under eye concealer retails for £11.74 for 2.5mls.

Illamasqua have an amazing range of matte and creme shadows (they do make a few shimmer shades as well) - I purchased a grey cream shade in "Amorous". This is a pale shade with a muted purple undertone, and gives a beautiful subtle colour. These are great base shadows, and come in a range of bright and basic shades. I also bought powder eye shadows in "Bruised", a deep plum/burgundy shade, and "Predator" a beautiful passionate pink. The powder shadows are very well pigmented and give really great colour payoff, which can be applied for a subtle pop of colour or built up for full on drama. These all retail for £14, for 2g of product. They can also be mixed with the mixing medium to create intense eyeliners for dramatic looks.

Naturally, to set off my beautiful shadows, I simply HAD to get some dramatic lashes - Illamasqua do some amazing lashes ranging from individual to complete and utter drama, all of which retail for £11 and are reusable.

Finally a couple of beautiful cream blushers - I have to say that I have had issues with MAC blushers in the past in terms of the fact that they dissappear on me after about two hours. This is not true of Illamasquas blushers at all. They are available in powder and cream formulations, and some fabulously dramatic shades are available. I purchased "Dixie", which is one of those magical shades which seems to suit everyone, and also "Lies", a paler pink which can be used to give a beautiful sheen of colour to the cheekbone.

The ethos behind this brand is all about exploring and unleashing your alter ego! This has been the inspiration behind the competition which I am going to be launching tomorrow!

Hope you enjoyed!

Love MizzWorthy xxx

xxx

Competition Tease

Hi everyone,

Hope you are all well....

Just wondered if anyone out there might be interested in a competition?

A great brand has recently launched near me and I am in love with the products, the packaging and the whole ethos behind the company... I have not been sponsored by them to run this, but I really want to spread the word about them and encourage creative use of our favourite things and want to give people an excuse to really get creative with makeup. They are Illamasqua.

So if you are ready to explore your alter ego, then stay tuned for the announcement of my comp over the next few days!

MizzWorthy xxx