Category: USA

Illamasqua now at Sephora.com!

Cold Cream 'n' Roses


Illamasqua brand image

Last September, I reported on the pending launch of Illamasqua in the UK, initially at Selfridges. Since that time, Illamasqua has expanded through the UK.

I wrote to Illamasqua, and asked when it would come to the U.S. A representative flatly wrote back to me that Illamasqua had no immediate plans to expand in the U.S.

Now, according to an authoritative source, namely The Official Blog of Illamasqua, Illamasqua will arrive in the U.S.:

Yes you’ve heard right, the rumours are true. We’re thrilled to announce that Illamasqua will be launching in the brand new Sephora store, 5 Times Square on 31st July.

Although we weren’t planning to retail in the US quite this soon, the demand from our American fans has been phenomenal so we just didn’t think it was fair to keep people waiting any longer. …

… We knew what we were doing was groundbreaking, but we honestly didn’t anticipate such an incredible global reaction.

Our US rollout will begin on 31st July with a coveted spot in New York’s newest beauty mecca, Sephora 5 Times Square. We will then be bringing our artistry to a further 26 Sephora stores across America by the end of October.

Now those of us in the U.S. don’t have to wait any longer: today, The Official Blog of Illamasqua announces that Sephora.com Goes Live! As for me, I’m springing for the nail polish in Unnatural (blood red) to go with Ellis Faas liquid lipcolor in its signature blood red Ellis Red.

I predict that Illamasqua will have a cult following on the order of MAC or NARS Cosmetics.

Wondering about Obama

Cold Cream 'n' Roses

I know that I’m breaking my own rule about discussing politics on my blog (given my dislike of fashion magazines that cover politics and social issues on one hand and fashion and fashion and beauty on the other), but given the enthusiasm that my fellow beauty bloggers have expressed via Twitter concerning Barack Obama’s clinching the Democratic nomination for President, I find it hard to restrain expressing my own opinions.

Now since Obama will face national elections, he’s going to have a hard time of persuading Americans to vote for him. The United States of America, as a whole, is centrist to conservative in its politics. In past elections, liberals who have secured the Democratic nomination have been decisively trounced in the general elections.

If his associations are evidence of his own views, Obama is not merely a liberal, but a leftist. Diehard conservatives might not share my opinion, but what distinguishes a liberal from a leftist is that a leftist has contempt for his/her country, while a liberal essentially wishes his/her country well. Rev. Wright (“God damn America”) and Michelle Obama (“for the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country …”) are leftists, while those Democratic nominees (McGovern, Mondale, Dukakis) who crashed and burned in prior elections were liberals.

Another concern I have about Obama is his willingness to negotiate with anyone, even a nutcase like Kim Jong-Il of North Korea or a religious fanatic who uses violent and genocidal rhetoric like Mahmoud Ahmedinejad of Iran, without pre-conditions. After Obama was criticized for his stance, he has been furiously back-pedaling to say that “preparations” are necessary, an approach that a recent commentary in the International Herald Tribune call “nuanced”!

On the other hand, I’m not ready to commit to McCain, as he pledges to maintain the U.S. presence in Iraq.