I was back at the Illamasqua counter in Selfridges today. (I am lured there like a dizzy bumblebee.) I happened to choose one of the evenings this month where Selfridges stages their “Beauty 100″ event. This seemed to involve DJs, people with champagne flutes, a brief appearance by celebtritress Rachel Stevens, and the startling descent of several male models clad only in yellow underpants from the upper escalator. Lucky I had my camera.

This is by the by, of course.

It reminded me that I hadn’t written up my last visit to Illamasqua, and my ongoing fascination with this rather wonderful newborn brand.

Read my account of an Illamasqua close encounter…
[Read more →]

Apologies for the break in posting guys. Here’s a brief update with some breaking news. It’s not strictly beauty related but I reckon you might be interested. Instore tomorrow and until the end of this week, Marks and Spencer will be staging their 125th anniversary celebrations with a remarkable promotion. It’s called “Penny Bazaar”, in homage to their roots as a penny-goods stall. As the name suggests - goods for a penny.

For three days only, you can pick up items for just 1p each from the special anniversary display. Sadly we’re not talking dresses, coats and bottles of champagne, but there are some sweet-looking items on the list including jewellery sets, knickers, luggage tags and men’s ties. Customers will be limited to 5 items each, and I believe they’re expecting some mighty queues and throngs! Stake out your store early and you’ll also receive entry into a prize draw to win £12,500.

“This is money” has the full list of goods. Marks and Sparks haven’t publicised this on their site, but an email announcement went out this evening to their mailing list.