Letting men have a say in makeup can result in some interesting outcomes - Specktra’s Miss Pumpkin is one of the luckier ones. Wonky eyeliner, clown cheeks and Herman Munster brows are common results of amateur males let loose with traincases, if the livejournal communities I’ve browsed are anything to go by.

So when I asked my boyfriend what colour eyeshadow I should put on yesterday, I wasn’t totally surprised when he pulled a mischevious face and said “Yellow!”.

I’m not a piker though - it took about 10 minutes but I finally dug out my one yellow eyeshadow and got to work with it.

Here’s what I used:

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
Ruby and Millie Eye Colour Yellow 220M
Illamasqua Yearn eyeshadow
MAC Fluidline (Blacktrack)
Maybelline Full’n'Soft mascara

I’m actually really pleased with this. (Apart from the wonky-looking eyeliner in the second picture - it was alright IRL.) The yellow brings out the green colour in my eyes, which I hoped it would. The green accent on the crease helps too.

I went across to Selfridges yesterday for a browse and paid a visit to beautiful Mika at the Illamasqua counter. He mentioned that the Youtube video I posted of my Illamasqua makeover has been getting a lot of notice, and so I thought I’d give it an official home on the blog.

This was a Makeup Lesson, one of Illamasqua’s counter services. It’s an hour long session with an Illamasqua artist, and it’s all filmed on a DVD for you to take away at the end. What you see here is an hour’s worth of footage, edited into a few minutes.

The Makeup Lesson costs £30, which is redeemable on products at the end of the session. There is also a Transformation session, which is a full-on makeover ideal for big nights out.

www.illamasqua.com

Now normally, nail polish isn’t something I splash out on. Polish is polish, I tend to think, and I buy Barry M, Boots 17, or Bourjois. I expect them to chip in a couple of days. That’s OK, then I get to try a new colour.

I’m colour-driven. I’m only lured out of my budget habits by the most exquisite shades or unusual duochrome finishes. (More about my love of duochrome in another post). Muse leapt out at me from Illamasqua’s display for its totally unique hue - it’s a pure, solid petrol blue/teal. Deep turquoise. A very warm toned blue, if you like. A kind of faded, but vivid teal, like the flank of a gorgeous old car. I’ve never seen anything quite like it in a nail polish - so I pounced.

The picture above doesn’t really do the exact hue justice - for a truer representation, here’s Illamasqua’s own depiction of the shade.

The bottle is square glass with a glossy black plastic lid, and the brush is pretty typical - it’s not a flattened brush or anything, it’s pretty old-school, but it works. The colour inside is a medium consistency, smooth, not runny and not goopy. It goes on easily, and the pigment is very intense. Total, opaque glossy coverage in two coats. Drying time is quick as a result.

The lasting power is positively other-wordly (as is fitting for the Sirens theme). A week later, I still have glossy, perfect petrol-blue nails that look great with a surprising number of different outfits.

This is nail polish in another class - and I will be more than happy to invest in other Illamasqua shades, for colour, but also for the divine finish and application and the phenomenal lasting power.

Muse is limited edition with Sirens, which is the first ever Illamasqua LE collection (there will be 2 collections each year). It costs £12.50 from Illamasqua

For Selfridges’ 100th anniversary, limited edition items in the signature yellow hue have been produced by everyone from Moleskine to Coca-Cola. As the newest and brightest addition to Selfridges’ Beauty Hall, it figures that Illamasqua would be joining the party. They have created a limited edition gift box containing both the black shade “Boosh”, and a centenary special edition yellow called “Self”.

It costs £25 - the same price as two nailpolishes from the regular line. Only 200 sets have been made. With Illamasqua’s reputation rapidly climbing, and the added prestige of the Selfridges’ connection, this is probably a wise investment for collectors.

However, I doubt if many people could manage to stop themselves from using the vivid yellow before it matured to collectible status!

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…
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