Illamasqua I'mperfection Spring Collection

As a huge fan of Illamasqua since they first came on the beauty scene, I like seeing all their new and exciting collections. One thing I love about the brand, is that each collection will be so well thought out, and have so much meaning behind each product and specific "look". I was recently invited along to see the new Illamasqua Spring Collection and I wanted to share my thoughts with you all. 

One cannot simply snap away at new products without a comedy shot of their best friend inside a blusher compact...

The collection is titled "I'mperfection" (get it... I'M PERFECTION = IMPERFECTION) Personally, I think this is one the best collection names i've ever heard. So simply but SO clever. The difference an apostrophe can make! It's all about embracing the things that are typically seen as imperfections and highlighting them instead of hiding them away. 

Alex Box describes the collection as "a stand against the homogenised nature of the beauty industry today, and a celebration of freckles, scars and birthmarks - the things that make us who we are. To borrow a line from Marilyn Monroe, "Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring". I love that quote! 

The first thing in the collection that caught my eye was this gorgeous blusher duo in "Lover & Hussy*", both gorgeous matte shades. The colour that stood out to me the most was the orange/peach tone, as these shades really compliment my skin in the summer once i've had a bit of sunlight on my face! Illamasqua blushers are my favourite thing about the brand. They are far more pigmented than plenty of others I have tried and the consistency of them is really lovely to use and blend. 

Next up is the lipstick. Lipstick was the first item of makeup I ever bought from Illamasqua as they had such a vast and interesting colour range. They have the best selection of matte lipsticks you will ever find, and the colour payoff is amazing. This shade is called "Immodest*" and it's a gorgeous vibrant, fuchsia pink. The lipsticks are really long lasting and contain vitamin e for nourishment, which is almost a necessity when wearing matte lipsticks as many people stay well away in case of major dry lips. 

Above are swatches of the lipstick "Immodest" and both blush colours from the "Lover and Hussy" duo, as you can see, all three are extremely pigmented.

Next is a brush* which really excited me! Illamasqua have designed this brush for a more chiselled and precise blush technique when applying. This new "brush up" design has an ellipse shaped head designed to tuck directly under the cheekbone. Gone are the days of big rosy round cheeks, it's all about creating more shape and structure to your face (hello fake cheekbones) and the best way of doing that is a more precise way of applying your blusher. I am so excited to start using this on my face, although it definitely sounds a lot easier than it probably is, and could take a few attempts in order to make it look just right. 

Besides the brush, I was also really intrigued by the new nail polishes that Illamasqua had brought out with this collection. Each nail polish is in a pretty pastel shade with a speckled finish inspired by the beauty of a bird's egg. At first I raised an eyebrow at this bizarre concept, thinking it looked a little like sparse glitter, but the more I looked at these, and when I saw them on the nails, I was completely sold. They look SO good! The two shades I have above are "Freckle"* and "Speckle"*. Speckle being my favourite in a gorgeous pastel purple. I can't wait to do my next manicure with this and I also think it would look great on toes!

In keeping with the campaign and collection, they had also designed a speckled effect for the eyes using the precision ink liners in black (Abyss) and white (Scribe). I would have never thought to do anything like it but it looked amazing on the girls, and sounded so easy to do. I also love the other creative ways of using other colours with your eyeliner. Who would have thought white cat-eye liner would look really good with a neutral eyeshadow? Not me, but now I really want to try it. 

The one amazing thing about Illamasqua is that their collections aren't just "pretty" but inspiring, and the campaigns that run alongside new collections are really interesting and make you think outside the box. If there is ever a brand to open your eyes to the creative world of makeup, it's Illamasqua. You don't have to be daring in your makeup choices in order to indulge in any of the products, but keep an open mind and be inspired. Makeup can become a very boring chore in our every day lives, but it's nice to keep everything a bit fresh and exciting, and I always feel like Illamasqua do that. 

Buy items from the new I'mperfection collection here on the Illamasqua website

What are your favourite items from the new collection? Anything you'd love to buy and try for yourself?

♥

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How I Deep Clean My Makeup Brushes

Cleaning your makeup brushes is one of those mundane tasks that we must all carry out (unless of course you like to spread bacteria across your face). You'd be surprised at how many people I come across who have used the same foundation brush for months or years and NEVER washed it. Sickening isn't it. For those of you who don't wash your brushes regularly, let me tell you exactly why it's a very good idea. When you apply foundation to your face, you are picking up bacteria from your skin, and it's then left to fester in the brush after use. The next time you go to use it, the same thing happens, except the bacteria that has festered from the time before, it now ALSO on your skin. It's a vicious circle, that I can assure you, will only ever cause you to break out in spots. Obviously eye brushes are a less of a problem, but it's still important to do a deep clean (as opposed to a spot clean - cleaning quickly with a makeup brush solution after each use) every few weeks, just to make sure they are bacteria free. I am lucky in the fact I have quite a lot of brushes, so after using one brush, I can then use a different one another day instead of having to be constantly deep cleaning brushes 24/7. If you have problem skin or acne, I'd definitely advise that you clean your brushes a little more than average person, you may notice an improvement. 

1. Lay out all your dirty brushes ready for cleaning to commence!
2. Dampen the brush slightly with lukewarm water.
3. Pump your cleaning product of choice (I often use a mild shampoo but at the moment I'm using a Dove hand wash because it leaves the brushes exceptionally soft, and I like to think that the anti bacterial properties of a hand wash are beneficial in cleaning away all the nastiness.)
4. Start swirling your brush around on the palm of your hand, occasionally adding a little bit of water to lather up the product and allow the brush to be thoroughly saturated. 
5. Squeeze out excess product and watch all the foundation drip away into the plug hole!
6. Repeat if necessary (stubborn dirt or a very dense brush)
7. Marvel your clean brush (yes, that's very important...)

*Also, try not to use too much water, we don't like to waste now do we! It must be a running tap though, as there is no point washing your brushes in a pool of cloudy, dirty water. Just make sure you are turning it off between steps and between brushes*  

I also just thought I would add a little memo about my favourite brushes as a little extra to this blogpost (I will do a separate in depth blog post). As you can see, the green Bdellium tools brushes feature heavily. These are by far my favourite brushes for applying foundation. In particular, I love to use the 957 from the Green Bamboo Foundation Brush Kit (Shown in the photos & sold on Louise and I's "Louella" shop - get yours HERE) and the 959 which is a rounded top brush. I actually own 3 of the 959 brushes...yes, THREE because I love them so much. (This brush can be found in the Green Bamboo Mineral Kit also available on "Louella" HERE). I can't recommend them highly enough, I absolutely love them. They buff foundation into the skin like a dream. 

Hope you found this blog post helpful! How many of you are now going to run and wash your brushes?

♥