Illamasqua have finally launched their full counter at the Trafford Centre, after weeks of there only being a "preview bar" in the Selfridges store.
I went to see the new counter the on Friday with fellow blogger Laura (whose blog can be found at http://romanticdreaming.blogspot.com/), and the new counter looks great - best of all, the full colour range is finally there to drool over! Needless to say we had our makeup done, and as I was a doofus and forgot to take my camera, I'm awaiting an email from Laura so I can show you how I looked! On Friday we also met up with two other lovely bloggers - Kelly (happy1234 from http://happy1234make-up-blog.blogspot.com/) and Emma (http://carbonprincess.blogspot.com/). All three ladies were absolutely lovely and it was a total pleasure to finally meet you all and spend some time having a well earned makeup shop and catch up! Once I get the pics, I'm planning to do another post about our meet-up!
Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that in order to celebrate the full counter launch, one of Illamasqua's key make-up artists Aga (check out her profile here - http://www.illamasqua.com/about_us/the_artists_lon/artist/14/), a former artist for MAC and NARS, will be at the counter on Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd of May creating alter ego looks. Makeup lessons are also recorded on DVD so you can take this away and recreate the look at home, which is such a great idea - how many times have you had a lovely look done at a counter and not been able to do it again at home!?
Alongside Aga, Kystal, Sharon, Leena, Lucy, Rachael (a fab fellow scouser!!!), Suzanne and Jennifer will all be available as well to create looks as dramatic or as wearable as you want. You can call 0203 178 8048 (mon-fri business hrs) to be booked in with Aga or any of the talented girls who work at the counter - I'm told that there will be champagne and choccies available so it will be a lovely pampering session if you can make it. I'm hoping to book in for Friday as it will be a lovely way to celebrate having handed in a 2000 word essay that is looming over me (yet another joy of working for the NHS)!
So what did I pick up for myself whilst I was there I hear you ask?
A relatively restrained haul for once from me!
I picked up a powder shadow in the shade "Bronx" a relatively neutral shade for me - this is a mid-brown with golden undertones and is one of the few shimmer shadows that Illamasqua produce. This works great for softening up crease colours. (£14 for 2g)
I also picked up a cream blusher in the shade promise, a brightish cool pink with lilac undertones. I love these blushers as they can also be used on the lips to give a lovely stain alone or under a lipgloss. (£16 for 4g). For that matter. the shade Lies, an iridescent pale pink is another great multipurpose shade - works amazingly as a highlighter, base for powder blush (or can be mixed with more vibrant cream shades to tone them down a little) and as a lip gloss.
Next up, I got a pigment in the shade "Marvel", a lovely yellow-gold shade, which is a dead ringer for the liquid metal in "Solstice", but in powder form. I love how these look pressed over cream shadows and bases such as Illamasqua cream shadows or MAC paintpots etc. (£15 for 1.3g). On a nerdy note, I also think the packaging has been designed really well for these, with a built in stopper in the lid to prevent spilages...
Finally I picked up an intense lipgloss in the shade "Frenzy", a really deep raspberry pink which is deeply pigmented - this looked great with Solstice or Marvel pigment dabbed over it using fingers for an extra dramatic night-time look. (£12.50 for 7mls).
Hope you all have a lovely weekend! xxx
l. Spiced Chocolate, m. Brash, r. Sweet Chestnut...
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!
