Illamasqua Leeds Store Launch

A couple of weeks ago Illamasqua launched their latest standalone store in the Victoria Quarter in Leeds. Illamasqua are one my favourite makeup brands. The first time I visited their London Selfridges counter I left with the perfect red lipstick & lipliner combo and a bright magenta blusher. Then Alex Box, Illamasqua's creative director, told me she liked my newly pinkified hair & the MUA serving me told me that Courtney Love had visited the counter the day before and bought a ton of stuff. I was completely sold. I instantly felt an affinity with the brand as I've always been drawn to dramatic makeup & expressing who you are through your image. I longed for them to open a counter nearer to me. I haven't visited the one in Meadowhall yet but otherwise the trip to the Trafford Centre in Manchester was way too long for my liking. Thats why I was over the moon when I got sent an invite to preview their Leeds store.

I met up with some of my fave bloggers including Ray, Tor, Laura, Sinead, Danielle & Nicoletta and we all got to explore the new store together. The shop itself is really beautiful. It fits perfectly into the boutique stores of the Victoria Quarter. I loved the second floor with its glittery walls & black vanity tables with mirrors. If I ever get the chance to redecorate my own room, I would probably go for something similar. It was brilliant getting to have a good play with all of the products & we all had the chance to get mini-makeovers. I really wanted to recreate the blusher from this Theatre Of The Nameless look but they didn't have any of the shimmer blushers in stock yet. It still looked really nice but I don't have any pics because I collapsed in a drunken mess as soon as I got home. Thats what I get for drinking whole bottles of cider & not having anything to eat all day!





At the end of the night we were all gifted with a wonderful goodie bag. Sinead, Ray, Laura & I also went to a late night Topshop event where we got this photobooth pic of us pulling our best duckfaces. Love these girlies! In my goodie bag I received a pair of false eyelashes, a bottle of Illumine Oil in Pulse, the Bronzing Duo in Glint/Writhe & an Intense Lipgloss in Femme.




I also purchased two items - a Cream Pigment in Hollow and a Pure Pigment in Breathe. Hollow is a toffee coloured matt finish cream which is, hands down, the best contour product I have ever tried. I've tried the Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel, MAC's Harmony blusher, Sleek's Contour Kit & the Bourjois Delice De Poudre, none of which come anywhere close to how amazing this pigment is. I literally take one swipe of this on my finger and run a line underneath my cheekbones & jawbone. It blends out so easily and looks so natural, like a shadow on your face which is exactly how a contour should look. Can't recommend this enough for anyone looking for a really easy way to contour your face. Breathe is a white pearl shimmer loose pigment which I think is really wonderful for highlighting with. I dip my Sigma F35 Tapered Highlighter brush into the little hole at the top of the packaging and then blend it over the tops of my cheekbones, under my eyebrows, down my nose & on the top of my cupid's bow. If you couldn't tell, I like to use a lot of highlighter haha.



This is how I did my makeup using some of these products. Ignore the mental face, totally failed at taking any flattering pictures today!

Makeup - Bobbi Brown Light Bisque Corrector, Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation 02, Collection 2000 Fair Lasting Perfection Concealer, MAC Pearl Cream Colour Base, Illamasqua Hollow Cream Pigment, Illamasqua Thrust Blusher, Illamasqua Breathe Pure Pigment, MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural Light, MAC Brow Shader Browning/Porcelaine, MAC Clear Brow Set, Lancome Doll Eyes Mascara, L'Oreal Carbon Gloss Super Liner, Illamasqua Femme Intense Lipgloss



To top it all off Hayley, who invited me to the event, sent me this gorgeous Christmas card through the post. I can't thank her enough for everything. The whole Illamasqua team are just lovely & so are their products. They've even got a sale on their website right now where you can buy some of their best products for a ridiculously low amount of money. If you've not checked out the brand yet you really should. Everything I've tried has been amazing & I can't possibly express how much I love Illamasqua!