<3 Illamasqua Review <3
A few of my fans out there have commented a few times on my makeup looks, what I use and how I have created them, so I have decided to begin a series on this blog where I will regularly post reveiws and hints and tips. As a member of both Makeupbee and Beautylish, I have posted a few reveiws already for other makeup fans on these communities, so I have now opened this up to you all ^_^
The reveiws today are focused on a new staple brand of mine, Illamasqua. After an MUA friend of mine (Alice) suggested this makeup brand to me, I have pretty much become adicted!! So here are a few reviews of the products I used from the company ^_^
Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation - No. 5
I was desperate to try an Illamasqua foundation after a makeup artist I work with raved about hers and suggested I give it a go. A lovely lady behind the Illamasqua counter at Sellfriges was nice enough to spend time with me to go through a series of swatches, after a lengthy consultation on my ezcma, occassional breakouts, and difficulty in choosing the correct colour. Its the first time ive actually purchased a non-high street branded foundation, and Im so glad I did! The foundation is amazingly easy to blend, immaculately colour matched, and very light on the skin. One of my biggest pet hate is foundations either sliding, or becomming chalky over time, this foundation does neither. There is no ‘fake’ appearance either, a small amount is all that is required for a natural yet flawless dewy look. It does not aggrevate my eczma either! I tend to mix it with the Satin Primer for a more natural look, or over the Satin Primer for a more fixed coverage. Definately an Illamasqua convertee <3
Illamasqua Precision Ink Eyeliner - In Abyss
BEST.LINER.EVER!!! Normally I wouldnt really rave about something like an eyeliner, but ive only recently just purchased this little beauty, and its AMAZING! I wear liquid liner alot, but find that because I have naturally very watery eyes, it ends up running all over the place, or just simply doesnt have the staying power. After speaking to an MUA about the problems id been facing, she suggested this, and I am thoroughly glad I chose to follow her advice. Its incredibly easy to use with its felt tip like tip, and it doesnt budge at all, even with my watery eyes. Very impressed, and certainly recommend!
Illamasqua Cream Blusher - In Dixie
I stopped using powder blushers some few years ago when I noticed they were making my very dry skin look even chalkier and unatural, so I converted to cream and mousse based formulas. As an avid fan of Illamasqua’s skin base foundation, I requested that the lovely lady behind the counter at Selfridges help me pick a cream blush shade suitable for my pale skin tone. I was pretty suprised to find that my skin actually suited this stunning salmon pink, and instantly snapped it up. The pigment is amazing, when initially put on the skin the shade is exactly how it looks in the compact, but after a little blending, it turns into a lovely dewy, subtle shade that looks flawlessly natural (no streaks!). The one and only downside is that the formula is quite greasy in the compact, which can be slightly off putting. It does not, however, feel greasy on the skin.
Unfortunately, in my own opinion, its not all sunshine and roses with the brand…
Illamasqua Nail Varnish - In Whack
As a huge fan of illamasqua, I have to admit I was fairly gutted when I received one of these as a freebie with a recent illamasqua deal at sellifridges. Although the colours are stunning, I find the consistency is far too runny, making it awkward to paint with. I also found that its not very chip resistant at all, mine took less than a day to chip on at least four fingers. Really is a pitty, im just glad I didnt actually purchase this product, or I would have felt it was a bit of a waste. My personal opinion mind.
So thats the reveiws I have written thus far on the brand. I would love to start trying out some of their other products, particularly their lipsticks and eyeshadows (though I already have favourite brands for these!)
Hope you found it useful. Keep your eyes peeled for more in the series.
If youd like to find out any more from me, dont hesitate to get in touch :)
‘till next time,
Leila <3
>.< ~~~Healthy?? My Ass!!~~~ >.<
Allo Tumbling world! As you well know from previous blogs, I have had no end of hang ups with the way that I look. So, ive attempted recently to do something about it, the RIGHT way (not that id ever manage to be anorexic again :/). The correct way has been going to the gym with a personal trainer for a month, but annoyingly ive reached that irriating plateau where you cant shift weight without that extra push, so ive reorted to joining a weight loss course at the gym I go to. Fine, Ive got problem with watching what I eat and working my arse off to get good and sweaty (calm down! Not in a ‘good’ way :p). However, what I wasnt expecting was a 14 day detox programme >.< Bit of history as to why this sucks…
Ok, so I was one seriously sickly kid growing up, I was ALWAYS ill, and I mean always, id get every bug going, and as soon as I was just getting over one, id get another. So yeh, baisically, I was always under the weather. I was in and out of hospital alot, having loads of tests and what not, and yet never really came out with a clear diagnosis. So it kind of just got ignored :/ Still, this went on for years, and my immune system even now has totally shot it, so irritatingly, I still catch any bugs floating around. So anyway, mum has been handed a pretty bad time of it too, and about 5 years ago, they were wondering if some of her problems were down to diet allergies, so she was required to go on a month long detox programme. Me, being as supportive as I could, joined her. Well….it was hell!!!! I hated every second of it! I couldnt sleep from feeling constantly sick, acidic and suffering from stomach cramps from having NOTHING in my tummy from the fast period, I couldnt do anything for the headaches and total zero lack of energy, I was moody as fuck, I hated life, my skin broke out into really painful rashes, my hair felt awful, my skin felt awful, My time-of-the-month fucked up all the time, I felt full of flu 24/7…needless to say it didnt make me feel anything other than shit. And, just for the record, GOING CINEMA WITH WATER AND CARROT STICKS AND A BIT OF LETTUCE DOESNT CUT IT!!!! >.< Gah! But, by the by, when we were allowed to start introducing things back, it became automatically evident that I had some pretty severe food allergies, granted not enough to make me anaphalactic, but bloody close! When bread was reintroduced, I was hurrendously sick for hours on end, my insides felt bruised like someone had been in the boxing ring with my stomach. When I re-introduced shellfish (mainly prawns) my throat swelled up and I rahsed up like a bitch. So all in all, as I used to eat these in fairly decent amounts, I had effectively been poisoning myself for years, which is why I always such a sickly kid! Woo…so theres that out of the way…
All I could think of with this detox is how crap it made me feel first time round, so yeh, was not looking forward to it AT all. However, thankfully, this one does not contain a fasting period, its just straight into the concept that I can only eat an extremely limited number of foods (mostly raw), whilst cutting out everything else. And ill tell you what, I didnt think I had that much caffeine and sugar before this, but i must have done! The headaches >.< God the headaches! I suffer with migranes anyway because of my car crash (another story!), but these are different, but just as annoying. I feel constantly stoned out of my mind >.< Literally any time I move, sit, stand…whatever, the room just swims! and it makes me feel sick as hell! Nearly at the end of week one and already feeling permentantly hung over and trying vainly not to faint all the time >.< Not enjoying this, not at all! And hard core exercising alongside it is NOT helping with matters. I. Have. No. Energy! >.< Bleurgh!
Will keep you updated as to how/if im surviving! Got 14 weeks of this course, luckily only one more week of detox after this! Lets see if I make it…
For now, Leila <3
My baby brother Jake (Cubby) turned 18 a couple of weeks ago >.< How freakin weird is that???
Spent the weekend having a bit of a tourist moment in London ^_^ Was good fun! Revistited one of my favourite places in the world after a five year absence, Camden, only to find it wasnt quite so awesome anymore :( When and why did all of these silly little vintage boutique stores open around the market??? Last time I went the place was full of metal heads, metal music, punk and metal clothes, tattoos and piercing parlours…the good shit! \m/(>.<)\m/ Camden…gone trendy??? Oh Camden, what happened to you >.<
How tall are you? Have you ever wished to be a different height?
5”5 >.< Id love to be taller! I know its fairly average and it could be worse, but its not the worlds most useful >.< Plus my size makes me look dumpy :/
What seperates you from all the other alt models?
Ooo, interesting question! Id like to say its because im not stuck up my own arse like most model types are, but that would kind of go against why I enjoy working in this particular category of the industry, its incredibly rare for me to actually meet someone that I dont like through my work, everyone seems to be genuinely down to earth and is doing it for fun, as opposed to some crazy portenteous ego boost (might be me in my naivity). So I dont know, im not a massive fan of ‘bigging myself up’, so to speak. I guess I just like to have fun with it, and enjoy creating artistic images, as opposed to just standing around in front of a camera trying to look pretty. Apparently im kind of fun to work with, im genuine, bubbly, loud, and cock-sure/ cheeky (not sure if thats a good thing or not, but so far its been seen as amusing, so im told!).
