Search Results for: illamasqua

Illamasqua, I Think I’ve Met My Matte

June 23rd, 2009 by Karen 35 Comments

illamasqua makeup lestat powder eyeshadow
Illamasqua Powder Eyeshadow in Lestat

After several years dominating makeup counters, shimmery eyeshadows are letting mattes (viva MAC Matte2!) have the limelight for a while.

UK freshman Illamasqua has even gone so far as to make most of their Powder Eyeshadow singles ($23 USD before shipping) mattes.

I bet that pleases a lot of professional makeup artists who do work for photography; that’s somewhere I see mattes getting lots of use.

illamasqua makeup goddess powder eyeshadow
Illamasqua Powder Eyeshadow in Goddess

I think Illamasqua’s decision to make mattes their priority is a bold decision on the consumer end. Seriously, ladies love their shimmer shadows, so I can’t help but wonder: will Illamasqua’s gamble pay off?

illamasqua-powder-eyeshadows-in-mah-teeth-yo

Last weekend I sank my teeth into two of their matte shadows, Lestat (a chocolaty black) and Goddess (a turquoise blue).

Both were full of surprises. 🙂

Lestat

illamasqua makeup lestat powder eyeshadow

Lestat pays homage to his namesake, Anne Rice’s character from Interview with a Vampire. It’s a dark black with a pinch of warm, chocolate brown, and with all the talk about Twilight and Edward Cullen, it comforts my vampire-lurvin’ heart to know that the folks at Illamasqua have an appreciation for old school fang fiction. 🙂

Surprise: Lestat applies semi-sheer, which I didn’t expect at all. The other Illamasqua products I’ve tried applied with soooo much pigment, so I expected Lestat would, too.

My bad.

At first it put me off, but after playing with the shadow for a few minutes, I changed my tune.

For me, heavily pigmented deep black mattes can be tough to use. All it takes is one wrong swipe with an overloaded brush and that subtle smokey eye turns into an epic fail, so I love Lestat’s sheer color.

It allows me to build color slowly, maintaining control the entire time. Plus, because it is so sheer, I don’t feel like I’m wasting a lot of eyeshadow diluting it before application.

In terms of texture, Lestat feels soft and fine to me, like MAC Matte2 eyeshadows.

All that, and it’s super easy to blend, layers quickly and doesn’t irritate my eyes. Love this! Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A
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Illamasqua Lip Look: Thinking Outside the Box

June 20th, 2009 by Karen 31 Comments

illamasqua-box-lipstick-1-final1

KAPOW!

Illamasqua’s Lipstick in Box ($23 USD before shipping) hits like a heavyweight champ, and it may even give MAC Russian Red a run for its money.

Both are creamy bluish reds, but Box’s teensy touch of orange adds a warmth not present in Russian Red.

If you wanted to knock ’em out with Russian Red but found it too cool for your skin tone, don’t forget about Box.

illamasqua-box-lipstick-2

Named after Illamasqua co-founder Alex Box, it applies with opaque, rich color and lasts all day long without feathering.

I think I’m in lurve. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Let Illamasqua Sirens Seduce You with Color

June 19th, 2009 by Karen 38 Comments

illmasqua-sirens

Lately there’s been a lot of buzz around a bright, edgy new makeup line from the UK called Illamasqua, and the buzz recently kicked into high gear on our side of the Atlantic when the company started shipping across the pond.

To cultivate our new addiction, UK makeup artist Rochelle O’Brien wrote a guest post with a great introduction to the line (Illamasqua Makeup for Your Alter Ego), and this morning I took a break to play with a few goodies from the company’s latest limited edition collection, appropriately named Sirens.

Back in middle school I was a total FREAK for Greek mythology… I totes wanted to name my future daughter Athena, and the Sirens collection brought to mind images of gossamer gowns, glowing skin and long, angelic hair.

The 15-piece collection includes a nice spread of products for eyes, lips and cheeks ranging in price from $18-30 (US) and a palette of bronze, gold, blue, pink, green and brown.

The look’s all about glowing, golden skin punctuated by bright touches of bold, eye-catching color, BAM!

illamasqua sirens swatches pic1

illamasqua cosmetics sirens collection

illamasqua sirens swatches pic 3

The Sirens of Greek mythology were three mystical half-bird women who lived on a remote Mediterranean island. They were said to be so seductive that the sound of their voices on the wind could entrance passing sailors, causing them to run their ships aground on the rocky coast.

Playing with a few items from the collection, I think I know how those sailors felt!

Lipstick in Resist, $23

illamasqua sirens swatches resist lipstick

HOLY MUTHA. I would sooo crash my ship on the rocks for Resist lipstick, yo! One of two lipsticks from the Sirens collection, it’s bold AND sassy. She’s a creamy, hot pink demon! — and not for the faint of heart.

illamasqua sirens resist lipstick 2

Resist applies with rich, intense color. A single layer delivers full, opaque coverage that lasts for hours, surviving two slices of pizza and a glass of orange juice, too.

As if the incredible color weren’t enough, the moisturizing, fragrance- and taste-free formula feels silky and feather-light on my lips. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+

illamasqua sirens resist liptick 1

Bronzing Duo in Glint & Burnish, $30

illamasqua sirens swatches bronzing duo glint and burnish 2

Glint & Burnish, one of two Bronzing Duos in the collection, comes with a shimmery golden brown powder and a golden peach, both for face and body.

The colors remind me of amped-up versions of MAC Beauty Powders.

illamasqua sirens swatches bronzing duo glint and burnish

These also pack intense pigmentation, and both finely milled powders feel ultra soft to the touch, literally melting into my skin.

illamasqua sirens swatches bronzing duo glint and burnish 1

And then there’s the glow…

THE GLOW!

It’s magical. Super fine shimmer particles — no chunky bits of disco glitter up in this mo’ fo’ — make skin glow like a pearl.

At $30, these duos aren’t Chanel-caliber expensive, but they’re not exactly budget, either. Here, though, taking into account the large compacts, I think you get a lot for your money. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A
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Illamasqua: Makeup for Your Alter Ego

June 9th, 2009 by Karen 23 Comments

Today UK makeup artist Rochelle shares her thoughts on Illamasqua, a new makeup line that some are calling the next MAC.

illamasqua cosmetics fantasy collection

Britain’s up-and-coming Illamasqua launched in Selfridges, London in September 2008 and has since rolled out to a limited number of stores across the UK and online (click here to see their online store). And the company now ships to the US, so you guys can also get your hands on the goodies, yay!

illamasqua cosmetics counter
The Illamasqua counter

Developed by professional makeup artists and produced by Kryolan, Illamasqua is fast becoming a MAC rival, and perhaps it’s no coincidence that their flagship concession is right next to MAC in Selfridges, London. Like MAC does, they pay special attention to professional MUAs, giving them a generous 40% discount.

illamasqua cosmetics romance collection
Illamasqua Romance collection

I was so excited when I saw the visual promos for this brand. They’re really stunning and unique and unlike anything I’ve seen before — quirky, like the Carrie Bradshaw of the makeup world.

illamasqua cosmetics sirens collection
Illamasqua Sirens collection

Illamasqua’s tag line is “makeup for your alter ego,” and they break the brand down into four stories:

1920’s Berlin
Noir
Fantasy and Romance
Sirens (limited edition)

We’ve all got a hidden siren inside, haven’t we, girls? 🙂

illamasqua cosmetics fantasy collection 2
Illamasqua Fantasy collection

The brand has a slightly dark, naughty feel to it, and I would have so loved to have been in the meeting room when they came up with the names for the products (slut, moan, sadist anyone?!). It’s all about bringing out that sexy alter ego.

A few notes on the products

illamasqua cosmetics

The eyeshadows, in particular, are unusual in that all but two or three of them are matte shades. I think it’s so nice to have a brand that has kept the colours striking while simultaneously keeping them simple and not overloading the shimmer.

The cream eyeshadows are also lovely, and Illamasqua also has a line of pure pigments with amazing colour payoff. The company is very generous with the eyeshadow pans, too, which are larger than MAC pans, and they offer the option to customise eyeshadow quads by choosing your own colours to go in each of the palette’s four pans.

illamasqua cosmetics 1920s berlin collection
Illamasqua 1920’s Berlin collection

I’m a bit of a Magpie when it comes to gorgeous packaging (hel-loooo, Chanel!), and I haven’t been disappointed by the beautiful but simple designs of Illamasqua’s products.

Sleek black compacts with a discreet Illamasqua logo, and the pigment containers are particularly novel in their design, which stops you tipping out too much (ever had your heart stop after accidentally knocking over a MAC pigment and seeing all that lovely stuff fall on the bathroom floor?).

illamasqua cosmetics 1920s berlin collection 2
Illamasqua 1920’s Berlin collection

If you’re ever in London, get yourself down to Selfridges to check out their concession. You can even book a makeover (Â£30, redeemable against products), and the stand has laptops on each counter that MUAs can use to research looks for you. You can Google Dita Von Teese, or whatever floats your boat, and voila! You’ve got a picture on hand, and you also get a DVD of your makeover to take home with you. How cool is that!

illamasqua-noir-collection
Price-wise, I would say it’s mid-range. Expect to pay around $21 for a single eyeshadow, $18.50 for a lipgloss and around $29.50 for a foundation, so slightly more than MAC, but not as much as Chanel.

I have to say — I really love this brand and think it’s become my new favourite obsession. 🙂

This post was written by Rochelle, a freelance makeup artist from the UK. When she isn’t doing bridal makeup, creating special looks for as many as 100 brides a year (that’s a lot of makeup!), she enjoys spending time with her husband, Paul, and 5-year-old daughter, Emma, who is showing absolutely no interest in makeup.

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 760

May 7th, 2023 by Karen Leave a Comment

Tabs loved to travel. Yeah, he loved hanging out in airports, loved the whole routine of it all, the getting up early, sleeping on the plane, sleeping in the car on the way to the airport…the duty free shops, playing on the people movers, hailing cabs, riding cable cars, Uber. He loved it all.

He got bit by the travel bug as a kitten and must have filled half a dozen passports with stamps from his adventures around the world. In fact, I can’t think of a country he didn’t go to.

Maybe Vatican City?

Oh, wait — he went there in 2016 to meet the Pope.

He went everywhere. He saw it all. I mean, that’s not a big surprise, right? For the world’s most successful — and first — kitty supermodel?

One day toward the end of his career, I asked him what his all-time favorite destination was, and he was such a sweet boy — you know what he said? He looked into my eyes, gently put his paw on my thigh and said, “Meow.” Right here with you. 😢

I know he was just being his usual charming self. I mean, really, how could Novato ever compare to Paris? Or Milan? Or Hawaii, Tokyo, New York or Rio???

But, you know, I’m sure he also loved being home. Even the world’s greatest travelers need someplace to come back to. Everyone likes to have a place they call home, and this was his. ❤️

Rosie

Rosie, on the other hand, who’s also known as Rosie Parmigiano, is a total homebody.

Don’t let her cosmopolitan interests and her close ties to the international cat science community fool you. If Rosie had her way, she’d never leave our circle. She’s perfectly content to work on her experiments here and communicate with her global cat colleagues by video chat and email. Some Microsoft Teams too.

Some cats love to see the world in person, while other cats really like to stay local.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 737

November 20th, 2022 by Karen 4 Comments

Tabs the Cat — supermodel, philanthropist, barrier breaker and arctic explorer.

That husky boy loved the snow. In fact, I think his whiskers might have drooped a little if he had found out we wouldn’t have been able to go on a trip to Lake Tahoe due to a last-minute illness, which is basically what happened to us this weekend.

No, it wasn’t Covid. Just another virus, but all three of us got it, which is why I’ve been out of commission so much this week. I’ve been absolutely delirious from lack of sleep since Wednesday.

As Tabs would have said, though, tomorrow is a new day. We’re all feeling quite a bit better now, but we still had to cancel the trip we had planned to go play in snow at Tahoe this weekend.

Tabs’s loving touch would have been handy to have around this weekend, because it never hurts to have an extra set of paws to nurse one back to health.

He was an angel when it came to caring for his assistant when she was down for the count.

That said, there were a few times when Tabs overly enthusiastically offered to operate on me…and whenever I told him no, he seemed shocked by it. I don’t know how he received a medical degree amongst all of his other endeavors, but he did!

Rosie

Rosie, another a lover of snow, also holds a legit medical license.

Even though she’s driven by the cold, hard facts of science, she too is loving and sweet when her assistants aren’t functioning at 100% efficiency, so she was a good caregiver this week.

One thing though? I don’t know if this was a crazy dream I had due to the lack of sleep, but for some reason I vaguely recall being transferred on a gurney into a surgical observation room at one point. In the fever dream, Rosie had her scrubs on and that cold, curious look she gets sometimes when she’s deep in pursuit of scientific knowledge.

Yeah, I don’t know what was up with that… 🤷‍♀️

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 629

October 18th, 2020 by Karen 3 Comments

Along with exhibiting a growing interest in the kitty modeling arts, Rosie has been going through the company archives of Tabs the Cat Industries, LLC to study the work of the company’s founder and try to ascertain how he achieved kitty modeling greatness.

With Halloween approaching, she paw-selected the following seasonal ad campaigns featuring Tabs as her Halloween favorites, all of which were filed in the company database under “Fabulously Frightening.”

Rosie’s Sunday walk

Connor escorted Rosie on her morning walk today while she inspected the grounds and performed her cat calisthenics.

Tensions weren’t high this time, which was nice, because Harris was nowhere to be found.

Rosie was able to truly relax and recharge once she was confident Harris wasn’t around. It was great that she could do her stretches without having to constantly look over her shoulder.

Oh! — last night Rosie also worked late to help us decorate the company entrance with customary seasonal accoutrements. She’s really becoming a valued member of the Tabs the Cat Industries, LLC team.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 574

October 6th, 2019 by Karen 7 Comments

Tabs’s relationship with birds was complicated. On one hand, he deeply believed, to the core of his being, that he was a birder.

Not a mouser, but a birder 100%.

This, of course, was all fine and good till he actually had to work with birds. I can’t imagine how challenging it must have been to pose alongside a coworker, while also wanting to gobble them up.

But Tabs was a consummate professional. He never actually ate a bird on set…that we know of.

I’ve been thinking about him a little more than usual today because we have a woodpecker issue. The exterior walls of our condo are being pecked into Swiss cheese by a gang of angry woodpeckers!

OK…I don’t actually know if they’re angry, but I think they are.

I don’t think Tabs would have viewed them as his enemy though. During his golden years, he was kind of like the cat equivalent of the Dalai Lama, and he was all about zen and living peacefully with other creatures, including ones you want to eat.

Oh, how I wish I could evolve to that state of enlightenment with these woodpeckers…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen