FOTD - Metallic/Bronze Look for the "Pale and Interesting"

Well, I may be completely incorrect, but I think the bronzed look is often thought of as a look for those of us with slightly more colour in our cheeks that I do naturally... Well, I like a challenge so I decided to have a little play today with my bronzer, and some metallic shadows and try to create a bronzed look that works on the pale girl...

This is what I came up with...

Once again, my camera has done it usual amazing trick of washing the colours out a little (can anyone recommend a camera that won't do this, but doesn't cost the earth? Please!?), but I think the pictures give a basic idea...

Its a lot more of a daytime, easy to wear look, but, I think the metallic shadows and my fave blue eye liner give a nice injection of colour... Well at least I hope so!

FACE

I used RMK makeup base as a primer, then Chanel Pro Lumiere to give a nice dewy look to the skin. I set this with MAC Prep and Prime powder... I used my Illamasqua Bronzer duo in Glint/Writhe to contour and highlight the face. For blush, I used Illamasqua powder blushers in Lover and Nymph. To add an extra highlight I used Sleek Glisten in Empress and also Illamasqua cream blush in Lies on the top of the cheekbone and above the eye brow.

EYES

Illamasqua Fat pencil in Perverse (a platinum colour) blended over the lid and towards the brow as a base.

RMK Ingenious Powder Eyes Shadow in Metallic Gold (ME-02), a lovely pale but very metallic and creamy shadow, blended over the lid - this is a similar colour to MAC's Gorgeous Gold, but completely different texture...

RMK Ingenious Powder Eyes Shadow in Shiny Gold (SH-02), a deeper gold metallic shade, blended into crease, together with Illamasqua shimmer powder shadow in bronx, which I extended upwards in the inner corner (My eyes are a little wide set, so this helps them look more normal lol)

Illamasqua fat pencils in Wilful (copper) and Perverse under the lower lashline.

Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in "Electric"(one of my fave pencils ever) on the waterline.

Illamasqua pure pigment in Furore as a highlight under the brow bone

Urban Decay eye brow kit to tidy the brows.

Rimmel Sexy Curves mascara in intense black

LIPS

Illamasqua sheer lipgloss in Enchant, I also blended in a little Illamasqua pure pigment in marvel for this final pic - I liked the effect of this.

So there we go - this is my take on the bronzed look... Success or fail?

What do you think? Any other tips or tricks you can pass on for the pale girl bronzed look?

MizzWorthy xxx

Playing with Makeup

Well, I have decided that the time has come to face up to the fact that the big 3-0 is around the corner (Eeeek - the end of May signals the end of my not so glorious 20's!). Instead of continuing to live in denial about it all, I have decided that I have to face up to it and enjoy it the only way I can, by coming up with a lovely makeup look - I will inevitably be wearing a black dress for a meal out with friends and family for the occasion... but that means I can take advantage of being able to use colour and try to look fabulous!

Today is my day off, so after a lovely lie in this morning, I decided to have a play with my lovely colours and see what I could come up with. This is attempt one - I'm intending to do a few looks and I want you all to help me choose a look to see my 20's out in style...

I'm pleased with how this turned out - nice and summery and bright...

By the way - Ignore the hair! I scrape it back out of the way lol!

Also, for some reason, in the photo's the colours don't look as bright as they do in real life... I love wearing orange, yellow and pink shades as I think they make my blue eyes really stand out...

Tools Used - left to right - Body shop eyelash curlers, Face and Body Brush, Bare Minerals "handy buki" brush, MAC 165, Ruby and Millie eye 7mm eye brush (colour placement - cheap dupe of mac 239?), Body shop eye blender brush, random Liz Collinge eye brush I've had for years (inner corner and lining lower lash line)

Makeup used

Skin - Illamasqua cream foundation in 125 and under eye concealer (buffed over blemishes and undereyes) in 115, MAC prep and Prime finishing powder to set.

Eyes - UDPP, Illamasqua cream shadow in Honour (sorry I forgot to picture this - its an iridecent creamy white colour) buffed from lashline to brow as a base, Illamasqua powder eye shadow in "Gritique" (pale orange) patted across inner lid to two thirds across; Illamasqua powder shadow in "Gypsy" (darker deep orange) across outer third and above crease, "Predator" (gorgeous deep neon barbie style pink) then placed in crease and outer corner. Then used blending brush to blend the colours. I also lined the lower lashline with the predator shade and dabbed this into the inner corner to add a pop of colour there. I then lined under the lower lash very close to the lash line with Illamasqua medium pencil in the shade "Manic", a hot pink - these pencils are fab as they can be used on eyes, lips and face (well, anywhere really!).. The eyes were then tightlined and waterlined with black kohl (I used UD 24/7 in Zero), and lashings of Black mascara added to upper and lower lashes... Then I used my Illamasqua pure pigment in "Furore", which is a creamy, slightly golden shade, (which is so versatile - my favourite pigment ever!) to highlight the browbone, and I also blended the other colours a little more with the remaining pigment on the brush in order to add a glow.

Cheeks - Illamasqua powder blush in "Excite", (gorgeous hot orange shade - looks so scary bright in the pan, but amazing on the skin and can be built up from a light gow to a full on pop), I then added a little dusting of NARS albatross, (a HG product to me!) across the top of the cheekbone and above the brow.

Lips - I lined the lips with the Illamasqua pencil and blended inwards, which was surprisingly easy - these pencils manage to somehow be creamy but stay put well too...

I then added some Illamasqua sheer lipgloss in the shade "Rouse" which looks neaon pink in the tube but goes on a lovely sheer pretty pink...

So what do you all think? Can I actually carry off colours or do I need to tone things down in my thirties lol...

Hope you like

MizzWorthy xx,

FOTD - Featuring Illamasqua powdered metals review and swatches!

A few days ago, I told you all I'd been sent some samples of the new Powdered Metals from Illamasqua, and I thought you might like to see some more pics of the different colours and some swatches... I have also done a face of the day using the products.

Don't forget, the winner of the Myths and Legends Contest wins one of these baby's along with the other prizes, so if you have done an entry, then get thinking about which colour you might like!Each powdered metal is packaged in 15g Net weight jars, you get 0.5 oz of product in each one, which is a decent amount. The jars come with a powder puff and have a black lid. Three colours are available;

Erzule – Named after the Voodoo Goddess of beauty – Golden bronze with a brown under-tone [made for Olive and black skin tones]

Thalia – Named after the Greek Goddess of poetry – Warm bronze with a gold under-tone [recommended for medium skin tones]

Bebhionn – Named after the Irish Goddess of pleasure – Light bronze with a pink under-tone [recommended for use on pale skin]

I have swatched the three colours below - unfortunately, the dry swatches came out a little bit dark...

L to R - Erzule, Thalia, Bebhionn.

I also swatched the powders foiled (ie with a wet brush), to intensify the colours and give a truer picture of how they look... The top swatch is Bebhionn, bottom left is Erzule, and bottom right is Thalia. As you can see, all three powders have a great amount of pigmentation and are really really pretty - I think Bebhionn and Erzule in particular are really unique colours too.

To show a little bit of how the powders might be used I did a FOTD using the powders;

This is a fairly easy to wear, everyday suitable look (I wore this for work...).

The photo above doesn't really show the true effect of the powders, so I've added a couple of close ups...

Products Used;

Face - Illamsqua Satin Primer, Illamasqua light liquid foundation in shade 125. Loose powder in shade 115 to set foundation

Eyes - Illamasqua powdered metal in shade Erzule applied with a damp brush over lid. Loose powdered metal in Thalia buffed into inner corner, Loose powdered metal in Erzule used to blend out the crease. Illamasqua powder blush in Possess (the yellow blusher!) used to highlight and blend out the powded metal into a winged shape.

Cheeks - Illamasqua powdered metal in Bebhionn buffed into cheek-bones and blended towards hairline/temples. Possess powder blusher used to soften any edges...

Lips - Illamasqua Sirens Lipgloss in Soul.

I can testify too that the products lasted really well - as I mentioned I wore the look to work today, and had a delightfully hectic and busy shift curtesy of the NHS and everything was still intact when I got home - success!

The powdered metals can also be used in a lot of other ways - in the hair, buffed onto the body (Erzule adds a lovely bronzed glow, and due to the brown under-tone, there is not a hint of orange!) - Check out this post for more ideas - http://illamasqua.blogspot.com/2009/07/powdered-metal-play-time.html

What do you think? Which is your fave?

MizzWorthy xxx

ILLAMASQUA CONTEST!

Hi Everyone!

I hope you are all well!

Well I decided I've teased you all enough with my Illamasqua goodies and my tease the other day, so lets get down to business...

The Illamasqua brand is all about drama and "unleashing your alter ego". So basically, that's what I want you all to do... This is a contest about dramatic night-time makeup. The looks you've always wanted to try, but never had a reason or an excuse to... Until Now!

The Rules....

• You must create a dramatic look using makeup. This can be inspired by the promo photos in this post, or you can take inspiration from anywhere else you like. So if you've always had a thing about vampires, a secret love of the gothic look, or you want to use colours inspired by your favourite piece af artwork/album cover...You could even recreate a look inspired by a period in history or time, such as the 20's or 50's... Anything goes as long as it's creative!
• The contest will run for approx 1 month and closes on midnight on the last day of April 2009 UK time.
• You must be a subscriber to my blog to enter the contest!
• Valid entries will have a photo/photo's (or you can enter a video if you want to!), a brief explaination of the inspiration behind it, and a description of how the look was achieved, ie what makeup you used... This is mostly because I want to know how you are all going to go about creating your looks!
• You do not have to be a UK resident - I will ship to anywhere with the prizes.
• If you don't want to be photographed yourself, that's fine, you can use a willing volunteer, just so long as you have done the look yourself!
• You can enter more than one look if you like, and entries can be made in one post or as seperate posts - each look will count as a single entry.
• You can use products from any range - they do not have to be from Illamasqua! This would be very unfair as it's not nationwide as yet!
• When you have done your look, publish it as a blog post on your blog, and leave a comment on my blog to let me know.
• If you do not have a blog, you can email your entry to me at jennifer.worthington1979@gmail.com
• There will be three prizes, first, second and third place. I have contacted Illamasqua regarding the contest and they are sending me some products for prizes - Once I have recieved the products I will make a final announcement of the prizes. In any case first prize will be a customised palette of any four shades of the winners choice. Second prize will be either one blush and eyeshadow/two eyeshadows of the runner up's choice, and third place will be an eye shadow or lipstick/gloss from the range, which the third prize winner will chose. Obviously these prizes will be added to by Illamasqua, so a final announcement will be made as soon as possible!

While doing my own Illamasqua haul yesterday (see my post below!) I mentioned the contest to the makeup artists, and the lovely Krystle who works for Illamasqua and also has a blog (please check her blog out at http://www.krystleclayton.blogspot.com/ )which features some amazing looks, which may inspire you even further, has kindly agreed to act as co-judge with me! That means that you can all be assured that the judging will be totally fair - no favouritism here lol!

I hope you all enjoy playing with your makeup and coming up with some looks for us! I'm so excited and can't wait til I recieve you entries!

Please let me know if there are any questions you have, and get creating!

Love

MizzWorthy xxx

Illamasqua Nail Polish Contest!!!

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.

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

Illamasqua Eye Liner Cake...

Hi Everyone!
Hope you are all well....

A few posts ago I shared a haul of Illamasqua products (http://mizzworthy.blogspot.com/2009/03/illamasqua-haul.html), and one of the ones I was asked most about is the eye liner cake, so I thought I'd share a few thoughts on it since I've had more of a chance to play with it!

Picture - Illamasqua website.

The liner and sealing gel come together and cost £16... Just to compare with a few other high end liners, MAC's fluidlines cost £10.77, Bobbi Brown long wear gel liner is £13.70, and Urban Decay 24/7 pencils are £8.81. That makes this a pretty expensive eye liner!

Illamasqua say - Take the art of making-up to new extremes. Apply with an Illamasqua Eye Liner Brush to create bold, dark, dramatic eyes. Colour-intense, quick-drying and non-smudge, it comes with an Illamasqua Sealing Gel that ensures your creation lasts all night.

The product looks like an eye shadow powder, but has a very hard texture... It is used by adding a couple of drops of the mixing medium (ie Illamasqua sealing gel) to the cake and mixing to a cream like consistency. The thickness of the liner you produce can be adjusted - more mixing medium means a thinner and less pigmented liner, whereas less liquid produces a more dense and pigmented liner. I have found that you can also make the cake transform to liquid liner by using a spritz of fix+ or Body Shop Vit C/E Facial mists... I then use the sealing gel over the top of my finished look to make it smudgeproof.

Pros

- love the way you can adjust the shade, and this cake will last for ages - I've barely made a dent in it yet!

- Makes you feel like an old school hollywood starlet when you mix upthe colours, and "paint on" your liner

- Some pretty colours available (I have it in the shade Zest, a dark green, but I like the look of Suggest, which is purple, and Danger, a dark teal blue)...

- Once set with the sealing gel this stuff is going Nowhere! Doesn't sweat off, smudge or flake off.

- Colour stays true and doesn't fade.

- Stay on til you decide to remove it

- Gives a matte effect when dry, which is different to gels and liquids...

Cons

- I suspect a lot of people will baulk at the cost of it...

- It takes practice (esp if you aren't massively skilled with eyeliners like me!) to perfect applying the liner.

- Doesn't dry as quick as a gel liner, so therefore a bit more difficult to work with, which I'd say doesn't make it a great liner for people who aren't used to using gel/liquid liners...

-Not as portable as other forms of liner, so you may not find you use it for travel etc..

- Could be a bigger range of shades.

So What do I Think?

I think this is a product people will either love or hate... If you like trying different products and application methods then you'll probably like it, whereas if you like simple applications you may not like it.

I personally really like this, and I am planning to get the purple shade too (Suggest), but I can see that not everyone will like it and people might find this complicated to use and difficult to apply. To me the result you get in terms of colour and stayability are worth it, and I love the novelty of the product, like I said - it makes me feel old school glam!

To me, makeup and makeing up can be a stress relieving activity in itself. Lavishing time and effort on using different products to create new looks or even everyday looks with a twist is one of the things I enjoy doing... And this is one of those products that make me feel that way!

Hope you enjoyed reading this - if you have any more questions, please let me know!

Love MizzWorthy xxx

Illamasqua Bloggers Event and SOPHIE

So as you probably know by now, Illamasqua threw two events this weekend, which a lot of us lucky UK beauty bloggers were invited to - I haven't looked forward to something for so long in ages!

The events were held in London and Manchester - I attended the Manchester event which was held in a bar/restaurant called Ithica. It was afntastic venue - Very "Illamasqua" with dramatic modern chandaliers, mirrors and dark walls with big leather booths. I arrived a little bit early to try help with setting up etc, and got to have a good old play with the products in the Dystopia collection - all of which I really loved.

Dystopia is about as far from Sirens as it's possible to get - The collection is inspired by Fritz Lang's Metropolis. I have never actually seen the film, but I'm aware of some of the stunning images from it...

Alex Box, creative director of Illamasqua explained that the film is centred around the creation of a perfect society - ie a Utopia. In the film, this utopic vision shatters and becomes a fractured reality - a Dystopia. The Dystopia collection is therefore based around an idea of flawed perfection, which some might say is perfect in itself.

The collection is based largely around cool colours - greys, blacks, pinks and purples - with angular and sharply defined colours in the Promo images. The main promo image features the same model pictured back to back showing two looks - Alex Box's interpretation of Utopia V's Dystopia.

Products in the new collection include a new liquid metal in a stunning pure silver shade, two palettes - smoky pink and smoky purple, a hot pink (virtually neon) lipstick, two lipglosses, including a silver intense gloss and two nail varnishes - one a beautiful purple with a dirty undertone, and a hot pink.

Illamasqua laid on delicious looking cocktails (unfortunately I wasn't able to drink them as I was driving - diet coke for one lol), and also some fab canapes, including sushi, and tempura veg.

I was lucky enough to be asked by Alex Box to be her "model" (and believe me I use that term in the loosest possible sense lol) for her makeup demonstration - let me tell you, this made my year! I met Alex once at an Illamasqua masterclass and she is so lovely. I was absolutely thrilled to have my makeup done by such a massive artist. Naturally, the look she created was extremely dramatic - not an everyday look lol, but I was suitably amazed by her amazing skills - she sculpted amazing cheekbones and gave me the best smoky eye I have ever had!

The other major highlight of the night for us all was meeting Sophie Lancaster's mum - For those that dont know, Sophie Lancaster was a goth. Her and her boyfriend were out a couple of years ago, and they were set upon by a group of thugs, beaten and left for dead. Sophie unfortunately did die, and her boyfriend and mum now have to live with the consequences of that terrible hate crime.Sophie's mum is possibly the bravest and most inspiring woman I have ever met - she has faught to raise awareness of the issues faced by many of todays societal subcultures such as goths, emos etc, and is currently trying to get councils around the country to add discrimination regarding dress and appearance as part of their definition of hate crime. She has been successful too - but her fight agains tsuch intolerance will not stop until people can walk around dressed the way they want to, without fear of violence or abuse.

Since Sophies death, her mum has also set up the Sophie Lancaster Foundation, a website I would urge you to check out and have a look at. From day one, Illamasqua have supported this foundation, with its SOPHIE (Stamp Out Prejudice, Hatred and Intolerance Everywhere) wrist band and medium pencil - again, products I would urge you all to have a look at on the website.

So thank you so much to Alex Cummins for organising the whole fab thing, Alex Box, Krystal and all the lovely Illamasqua ladies, and a special thanks to Sophie's mum for coming along and sharing her story with us all.

Oh, and if you would like to see the products I recieved in my goodie bag - please check out my youtube video here!

MizzWorthy xxx

Illamasqua Update...

So those of you following me on twitter recently may have seen my rather cryptic messages last week about who would be willing to attend a bloggers event in Manchester... well the cat is finally out of the bag, and I can talk about it! I'm really pleased to say that Illamasqua are going to be launching their new collection soon, and part of that launch involves treating us bloggers to a great event!

There will be two events - one to be held in London, and one to be held in Manchester, to give those of us who live up north a bit of a break with the old travel (thank god Illamasqua have realised that everybody doesn't live in London lol!)

OK, so what will the event be about? Well, firstly it will be all about the new collection, called Dystopia...

"Dystopia is a reference to Berlins distorted and often Nightmarish films of the 1920's which came out of a hedonistic culture that had suffered greatly and had, in some ways gone mad.

Inspired by Fritz Lang's masterpiece Metropolis, Illamasqua's Autumn/Winter '09 collection is, in part, an homage to this visionary work. The film was groundbreaking, with cinema finally being considered an art form as a result of its success. Its eerie shadows and twisted monochromatic tones, ranging from stark white to ash grey and darkest charcoal black worked with opalescence, light and diffusion to create an intense and almost sinister palette.

Also heavily influencing the collection is 1020's silent film actress Pola Negri (pictured below) with her signature long arched brows and dark eyes graded with shades of black. On set Pola would often paint her face yellow or stain her lips a vivid purple to fool the audience and give the illusion of colour on black and white film. The concentration of dark pigment and soot-like kohl used to enhance the actresses eyes are not unlike the Goth inspired punk of the 1980's or the alternative EMO vibe, which still appears so modern today.

Insane nights spent at London club night Black Balloon also played their part in resurrecting our love affair with monochrome. Watching the fabulous Mika Doll, in ten inch heels, surrounded by club kids and the avant garde, clad head to toe in shades of black, inspired Illamasqua's artistic team to play with layering - black on black, black on charcoal, gray on smoke. Black is the new black, but better."

Sounds amazing - and about as far from Sirens as its possible to get! I'm so excited to see the collection in real life!

Alex Box and Adam (who did my amazing 1920's makeup look which you can see here) will also be on hand at the event, which is exciting in itself!

The event will also focus on the important S.O.P.H.I.E. campaign which commemorates the life of Sophie Lancaster, who was murdered simply for being different in August 2007 - Sophie was a Goth, and her and her boyfriend were brutally set upon by a group of youths for no other reason than that - she looked different.

Illamasqua is very rightly proud to work with the Sophie Lancaster foundation in order to fight against this kind of unacceptable prejudice. To mark the anniversary of Sophie's death, Illamasqua has also announced that Monday will be a day of mourning - staff on counter will wear black arm-bands as a sign of respect, and imagery of Sophie will also be streamed. If you pick up a Sophie pencil (the black liner) you will also recieve a S.O.P.H.I.E wrist band, enabling you to show your public support of this cause.

The website will also be closed down for the day, and instead will display the Sophie Lancaster Foundation image. Visitors to the site will only be able to purchase the SOPHIE pencil - of which £3 will go to the charity.

I am more excited that I can say about the event - I can't wait!
Hope to see you there!

MizzWorthy xxx

Illamasqua News - Alex Box Masterclass and Powdered Metals

Oooh, I have been looking forward to today for so long! (Well a few days anyway, but it's seemed like forever!)

I recieved an invite a few days ago to an Alex Box Masterclass in London - Alex is one of the artistic directors of Illamasqua and as a makeup artist, her work has appeared in mags such as Vogue, Numero, V, Another Magazine, Dazed & Confused, 10 and i-D. She has also worked with some fab designers such as Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen.

It goes without saying that I am very very excited about this! I have no idea what to expect, but It will be fab to see this lady in action!

Tonights class is all about creating alter ego looks and runs from 6-8pm in Selfridges. There is another class tomorrow too, focusing on glamourous night time looks. I just wish I could have gone to both lol! (Each class costs £20, but this is redeemable against anything from the range).

I was also overjoyed by the arrival of the postie yesterday - or rather at having to shoot-down-to-the-post-office-and-pick-up-a-parcel-because-the-postie-couldn't-be-arsed-knocking - because he brought me some fab samples of the new powdered metals from Illamasqua!

These are gorgeous - lovely, extremely finely milled powders which add a metallic sheen to the skin, and they are designed to be used on the face or the body. They would be perfect for adding a dramatic highlight to the cheekbone/browbone, or doing that sheen on the collarbones and down the leg thing!

These were actually developed after the Illamasqua Sirens collection shoot - Alex Box created them after getting fed up with having to hand grind various products down to get that gorgeous sheen seen on the models skin - "After an age of hand crushing the Powder Eye Shadow in 'Moonflower', Liquid Metal in 'Solstice', Pure Pigments 'Furore' and 'Marvel' and blending them together, she started to mix them in a pot." (Quote from the Illamasqua blog). Here they are used to their full glory;

The powders come in three shades, and they have chosen names of Goddesses for them (which I think is a lovely touch).

Erzule - The Voodoo Goddess of Beauty - Described as a golden bronze shade with a brown base (made for olive/black skin-tones). My initial thoughts on this one? Definitely made for darker skin tones as a highlighter, BUT I did quickly swish this over my eyes last night to see how it worked and it was lovely, so I will def use this for eye looks, and should I ever get one of those deep tans (Stop laughing you!), I could use this on skin - down the legs...

Thalia - The Greek Goddess of Poetry - Described as a warm bronze with a gold undertone (for medium skin tones). My initial thoughts? A gorgeous golden bronze shade - Great on the body - I've fake-tanned my legs recently (testing out the Garnier spray tan!) and this looks great dusted over that. I have also just swatched this on my cheekbone and it adds a lovely warm bronzed sheen.

Bebhionn - The Irish Goddess of Pleasure - Described as a light bronze with a pink under-tone (for pale skin). My Thoughts? I think I want to buried with a pot of this, in case I do get to be a goddess of some form when I die - it's divine on pale skin! It looks amazing as a highlight both on the face and body (I will be dusting my collarbones and arms with this today and testing its longevity in the heat), and somehow it gives me a summery sheen whilst still playing up my paleness - the pink undertone seems to brighten the skin as well - I love the fact that Illamasqua cater for us pale types!

All three colours just give a lovely sheen to the skin - they don't mattify and they are NOT glittery, but they add a gorgeous metallic sheen.

As you know the winner of the contest gets to pick one of these for their very own! I shall post swatches asap and will also report back about how well these lasted in the heat of the tube etc in London! Don't forget to get your entries in asap - contest closes 7th!

I have also just spoken to Alex at Illamasqua, who has informed me that following the rush on Liquid the Liquid metals and the sirens collection, the company are going to be setting up a waiting list facility on the website hopefully in the next couple of days - so if you want to be certain of getting your hands on these then keep checking the website out for that!

MizzWorthy xxx

Contest... Here We Go!

Well, I am VERY pleased to finally announce the first contest in the series which myself and Illamasqua are hosting...

For the first contest in the series, we want you to come up with a look inspired by, yep you guessed it a myth/legend... So this is your chance to reveal your inner Aphrodite, greek god/goddess, mythological creature, daemon, Faerie, Pixie, Elf or any other creature or character from legends or mythology... I'll be making regular inspirational posts to help inspire you!



We are looking for ORIGINAL and CREATIVE looks, and most of all, we want you to have lots of fun creating your looks!

The rules?

• Your entry can be in the form of either a blog post or a video (videos don't need to be a tutorial, but we'd like you to explain in the video which myth/legend inspired you and how it led you to create the look you came up with, as well as the products used). If you do chose to do a video entry, please email some stills to myself for judging purposes - jennifer.worthington1979@gmail.com


• In your post/video, please tell us about the myth/legend you were inspired by and how it led to the look you have created. Also, because we are nosey,and obsessed with makeup, tell us about the makeup/products you used to create the look! Don't forget to email me stills if you decide to do a video entry!


• When you have completed your entry, please post a response below to let us know, complete with a link to the entry. If I don't leave a comment letting you know I have seen you entry, feel free to harass me til I do, as it may mean I haven't seen your entry.


• You do not have to use Illamasqua products for the entry, as we know that not everyone has a counter near them!


• You may do as many entries as you like, just make sure I am aware of each one by posting a link in the comments... Each look will be considered as a seperate entry.


• If you don't want to be photographed yourself, that's fine, you can use a willing volunteer, just so long as you have created the look yourself!


• The contest is open internationally.


• Please make sure you are a subscriber to this blog to enter!


• The contest closes at midnight on Sunday 7th July, UK time.


• Myself and Krystal will narrow down the entries to finalists, and the winners will be chosen by Alex Box, who is an international makeup artist and the creative director of Illamasqua. She has very kindly agreed to help us with the hard part!


• The judging process will take approx 1 week. Winners entries will be published on this blog and the Illamasqua blog (http://www.illamasqua.blogspot.com/), as well as the Illamasqua website.

The Prizes!

There will be two winners, ie, first and second place!

First Prize will be;

1 x liquid metal in the shade you want (yep, this includes the permanently out of stock Solstice!)
1 x bronzer in the shade you want
1 x nail varnish in the shade you want
1 x Sirens Shadow Quad
1 special gift (I don't even know what this is yet! This will be a BRAND NEW product, which I launching on the 13th July - in other words, the winner will receive this on the same day that it launches, before anyone else has tried it!)



Second Prize will be;

1 x Liquid metal in the shade of choice
1 x nail varnish in the shade of your choice.
1 x Sirens Shadow Quad

Remember - Be original, be creative, but most of all HAVE FUN!