Category: UK

Illamasqua

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The U.S. is not the only country anticipating debuts of new cosmetics lines: the UK is anticipating the launch of Illamasqua at the tony Selfridges department store.


Illamasqua brand image
from Beauty Counter interview with Artistic Director Alex Box

Illamasqua was developed in association with Kryolan, the leading company for theatrical makeup. Illamasqua founder Julian Kynaston from Propaganda said, “We were shocked that the make-up market appeared to have no real emotional brands … there was a lot of loyalty, but that loyalty was not at a brand level it was at a hero product level. You would see girls who were loyal to a particular lipstick from say Chanel, certainly Yves Saint Laurent’s Touche Eclat had incredible product loyalty.”


Illamasqua

The article from The Drum further notes,

During their research Propaganda emptied over 1,200 make-up bags and they found little evidence of dominance of any one brand. Typically there were 14 different brands in the average make-up bag. From here on, Kynaston’s goal became to ensure that the make-up bag of the future consisted of 50% of their brand, in their target market, with the other brands sharing the remaining half.

It will be interesting to see how creating brand loyalty will work out. Only MAC seems to command that sort of brand loyalty nowadays.

Demystifying eye makeup

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Perhaps I was a bit critical of Stila’s Smoky Eye Palette – I’m not adverse to pricey brands (particularly if they provide something I can’t find in less pricier brands) and some folks seem to like the palette. Still, I think it was nervy to insert an audio commercial advertising other Stila products on a $40 item.

That said, eye makeup is the trickiest part of makeup application, and it’s to a makeup company’s advntage to provide guidance on applying makeup to sell product. Here’s a rundown on products with accompanying guidance:


Bare Escentuals Get Started Eyes

Bare Escentuals Get Started Eyes and Bare Escentuals Tutorials – Lesson 1: Smoky Eye provide guidance with the set. I think that the lid and eyeliner shades on the model are great, but I’m not smitten with the pale pink highlighter, especially with deep-set eyes like mine (and the model’s). I wish the Chocolate Raisin liner was sold individually – it sounds like the dark-dark brown-plum I love (see also Constant Color Gel Eyeliner)

Jemma Kid Eye Wardrobe Eye Shadow Quartet
Jemma Kidd is a London-based makeup artist. She’s also the sister of model, champion polo player, and race car driver Jodie Kidd; great-granddaughter of press magnate Lord Beaverbrook; and wife of the grandson of the current Duke of Wellington – whew! Advice on application may be downloaded from Jemma Kidd’s website, as well as her columns for The Mail on Sunday (UK).


Mally Beauty City Chick Smokey Eye Kit

Mally Beauty is a makeup line from celebrity makeup artist Mally Roncal (she’s the one who makes Beyoncé always look fabulous). Originally available through QVC, Mally Beauty is available at Amazon.com. Mally Beauty City Chick Smokey Eye Kit comes in five different color themes: Brownstone (browns), Skyscraper (slate/gray), Central Park (greens), Nolita Navy (blues), and Plum Chelsea (guess). Each palette comes with eye shadow base and eye liner pencil.

Pop Beauty Eye Class – Smokey Eyes is the most diversified palette of the lot, and features these shades: jet black, smokey steel gray, sapphire blue, silver, deep plum, deep violet, burnished bronze, emerald green, olive gold, nude glow, opal gold, and sparkling white. Examples of application are provided with the palette.

Pai skin care

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Chamomile & Rosehip Sensitive Skin Cream

Pai is a new skin care brand from the UK (via New Zealand) that uses natural ingredients such as chamomile and rosehip in this lotion. Other faves from Pai include the Bergamot Lip Balm.

Pai was developed by Sarah Brown, who had suffered from skin rashes and itching and decided to create her own plant-based skin care line.

Pai is available only in UK, but plans to expand internationally later this year. For more information about Pai and its products, visit Pai’s web site at www.paiskincare.com.

UPDATE 11:36 PM
Sarah writes, “I’ve had a few enquiries from the US over the past month or so, so am planning to get my an international orders function set-up on the site over the next few weeks.”

Anglomaniacs

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Style.com, the home of Vogue and W online, has a terrific Flash presentation on British style, starting with Saville Row (men’s tailoring) to Carnaby Street (Swingin’ London of the 60s) to Kings Road (the birthplace of punk) to Central St. Martins, the fashion design school that produced Stella McCartney, among others.

This presentation was created to mark the opening of the Anglomania exhibit at The Costume Institute in New York City. Suzy Menkes of the International Herald Tribune reviewed the exhibit in her article Sex and the Brits: An ode to irony. Hilary Alexander, Fashion Director of The Daily Telegraph (my favorite “old” source for fashion) covers the opening night gala in her post on Madcap Anglomania.

If you want an entertaining read about Swingin’ London and its movers and shakers, pick up Ready, Steady, Go! : The Smashing Rise and Giddy Fall of Swinging London. Nowadays we might think of Vidal Sassoon as a tired line of hair products, but his short haircuts helped liberate women from perms and helmet dryers. Also, while sales of hosiery are falling off, it’s easy to forget that miniskirts (which Mary Quant helped popularize if she didn’t invent them) necessitated pantyhose and took women out of girdles and garters. The changes spawned by Swingin’ London are with us still.

The cover of Ready, Steady, Go! : The Smashing Rise and Giddy Fall of Swinging London features model Peggy Moffett in a signature Vidal Sassoon haircut