Illamasqua OTT Evening Glam Eyes

"We are colour, you are beauty." - Illamasqua 

Not being a particular lover of bright/bold/heavy eye make-up venturing down the Illamasqua route was a bit of a surprise for me, so on a evening out I tried to maximise a dramatic smoky eye look with a bit lot of glam. Many make up artists particularly those in the theatre and arts have raved about Illamasqua's range of bold and bright colours suiting the daring and complimenting the lighting on stages and photographs, giving you the 'da-dah' pop the staying power is great as to be expected. Illamasqua products have versatile usages, for example pure pigments can be used not only as an eye shadow but highlighter or to contour cheeks etc and is 'made to be played with'. 

I purchased the following items from Illamasqua website:

1. GLEAM in Supernatural WARM BRONZE - £18.00 Back by popular demand, and with a new and improved formula, Gleam's lightweight, iridescent finish sensuously highlights the natural beauty of your face and body. A solid, cream compact, containing lustrous pearlescent pigments. Smooth Supernatural (warm bronze iridescent) over skin with fingers or a brush for an alluring glow that lifts and highlights wherever it's applied. This is light-reflecting beauty. 2.  PURE PIGMENT in Furore CHAMPAGNE PEACH SHIMMER - £16.50 Made to be played with. A metallic, high-shine, pure-colour powder that highlights eyes, cheeks and brows. Mix with eye shadow, blusher or use it on its own to intense effect. Bring out your bold side. 3. CREAM PIGMENT in Hollow – £17.50 This intensely colour-rich, matt and crease-resistant formula has been designed for use on the face, eyes, lips and body. Apply with an Illamasqua brush or simply use your fingers for a buildable, water-resistant, highly pigmented finish.   4. EYE LINER CAKE in Mislead PURE BLACK – £15.50 Take the art of making-up to new extremes. Mix with water or Sealing Gel and apply with an Illamasqua Angled Eye liner Brush to create bold, dramatic looks from retro flicks to cat eye shapes. Colour-intense, quick-drying and non-smudge, it ensures your creation lasts all night.

By no means am I a make-up artist by any means; I was just experimenting and trying to create a bolder take on the smoky eye, and here are the results... 

Overall very striking and bold, I would definitely only create this look on a glamours evening with muted lips. I was impressed with the pigmentation of the pigments and eyeliner cake (see above product details). 

All the above can be purchased from Illamasqua on-line website here.

...ArA...

Autumn/Winter 2013 Make-up Favourite Looks

"The most beautiful makeup of a woman is passion" - Yves Saint-Laurent

Berry/Wine/Plum Lips

Embrace your inner Goth and go for an edgy dark berry lip colour keeping the eyes simple – an instant winter statement. I particular love the matte plum shades, you can simply blot any excess away to tweek the pigmentation to your liking and you are ready to go. The versatility of a matte lipstick means you can finish it off with a hint of gloss for a night out!

Left to Right: Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Rouge Volupté Shine lipstick in shade Prune in Fire £24 from Selfridges | 

Rimmel Kate Moss Matte Lipstick in Wine £5.49 from Superdrug 

Classic Smokey Eyes

My all-time favourite look, yes the classic smoky eye is a timeless look that can bring out the depths of your eye colour if worked correctly. For Autumn/Winter I like to experiment by mixing subtle plum colour for my bottom eye line – I then team this up with my trusty black kohl liner and blend to create a subtle impact. For instant drama I like to pin my hair back and letting my eyes do all the taking, this adds instant glamour without overdoing it, remember to keep the lips nude for a balanced look.

Nude Lips

Yes the au natruale nude lips are still dominating this season, an easy way to create and lustre and youthful complexion if done correctly! See my earlier blogpost on finding the perfect nude lip shade for your skin tone here.

See my earlier review about the Perfect Nude Lipstick by clicking on the above link!

Bold Brows

I am proud to embrace my natural thick eyebrows, dare I say it they have become one of my signature beauty traits (and have done so for some time)! The likes of Miss Delevingne have certainly shown that having a fuller brow not only makes you look a lot youthful but can transform the whole shape of your face. I tend to use my HD Brows kit to perfect my brows. Another trick is to use a little bit of Vaseline to add instant definition to your brows. Less of the plucking now ladies!

HD Eye & Brow Palette in Vamp £19.96 from HD Brows 

Brrr-ace yourself for Winter!

...ArA...