22
May
2 Comments
Posted in IMATS

IMATS London 2013: The Countdown Continues!

Wow, the last month has gone super quickly. You know what that means? It’s been exactly a month since my IMATS London 2013 countdown began, and it’s exactly a month to go until the inimitable trade show finally graces our shores again. Yay!

IMATS1 IMATS London 2013: The Countdown Continues!

As is now a tradition on Do Not Refreeze, my Countdown Continues post will be dedicated to my must-see talks and demonstration. Note that these are what I’m interested in as a general consumer and beauty obsessor – if you’re a SFX enthusiast or student there’s certainly no shortage of things for you to see either. Check out the official schedule to take a look at what’s on. If you want to check out a list of must-see exhibitors, be sure to check out my Countdown Begins post. There’s a pretty good lineup of talks this year, so we’ve got our work cut out for us deciding which ones we need to see! The schedule isn’t quite filled yet, with a few details still to be announced.

Saturday 22nd June

:: 10.30-11.30am – Royal & Langnickel presents Anabel Vargas in Transformations: Beyond Beauty for Women of Colour
Now, as a super-pale Caucasian Casper face, if I manage to watch this one it will be purely for my love of how makeup looks on ethnic skin. Sometimes I genuinely wish I was black purely so I could rock some amazing colours that just don’t work on my skintone! International freelance makeup artist and educator Anabel Vargas will be showing how to make the right choices for flawless foundation, colour-correcting techniques for skin with pigmentation issues, enhancing features and concealing imperfections. I would say this is definitely a must-see for women of colour, or indeed anyone who wants to learn the best techniques for making up women of colour.

::11.15am-12.15pm – MAC Cosmetics presents Terry Barber in Ultimate Beauty
Whilst I’m not a big fan of MAC as a brand, I do like Terry Barber’s work. Details of this class are yet to be announced, but I predict this one will be full to capacity as his talks are always popular.

:: 12.30-1.30pm – Bloody Mary presents Bobbie Weiner in Aftermath: Makeup to Die For
Bobbie Weiner (known around the Hollywood makeup circuit as Bloody Mary or the Queen of Horror) is a FX makeup artist specialising in absolute gore – right up my street. She got her big break working on James Cameron’s Titanic, making up over 200 ‘dead’ bodies. She’ll be demonstrating her techniques for creating decayed and rotted zombie skin (mmm), and her ‘Living Statue Makeup’ which sounds like fun. Everyone who attends the talk will also receive a free sample of her Concrete Makeup. I love a bit of horror, so this sounds like a good one.

:: 12.30-2pm – Make-up Artist Magazine presents keynote speaker Kabuki in Extreme Glamour
Versatile British makeup artist Kabuki is well known for his work in editorial, celebrity, runway, TV and film makeup and is in very high demand. I’m a big fan of glamour makeup, so I look forward to seeing Kabuki demonstrate his favourite techniques for taking ‘standard’ glamour makeup to the next level, creating a look worthy of being described as ‘extreme glamour’. Sounds like fun!

:: 1.45-2.45pm – Royal and Langnickel presents Kevin James Bennet in Tracking Trends: Fall 2013
As a collaborator on Royal & Langnickel’s [R]evolution makeup brushes, of which I’m quite the fan, Emmy award winner Kevin James Bennet is an artist who piques my interest. In a recap of the trends seen on the catwalks at the AW13 fashion weeks earlier in the year, he will show the tools and techniques required to recreate glowing complexions, bold statement eyes and signature lip looks featured on the runways. He’ll also be talking about the creative process of designing the [R]evolution brushes.

:: 2.45-3.15pm – Battle of the Brushes Student Competition: Beauty/Fantasy Awards Show
One hundred percent not to be missed. The student competitions are one of my favourite parts of the whole IMATS experience – you will be able to watch the students creating their looks throughout the day until the awards show in the afternoon. The work here is always absolutely outstanding. This year’s beauty/fantasy theme is The Elements, so we can expect some stunning work inspired by earth, air, fire and water. I can’t wait!

Sunday 23rd June

:: 11am-12pm – Royal and Langnickel presents Kevin James Bennet in Fast (and Fabulous) Faces
Here’s Kevin James Bennet again! This time, he’ll be sharing a wealth of tips and tricks for creating beauty makeup in record time. Whilst this will be focused on creating camera-ready looks to tight deadlines in production schedules, there’s certainly no reason that the Average Joe won’t be able to take away some of his secrets for speedy makeup to apply to everyday life. Frankly I’m sure we could all use a little help with speeding up our routines in the morning!

:: 12.15-1.15pm – Royal and Langnickel presents Vargas in Fantasy and Faces: Beyond Color, Shimmer and Glitter Applications
World renowned body painter Vargas (not to be confused with Anabel Vargas!) is one of the most acclaimed artists in his industry. Visiting IMATS over the last few years has given me quite the fascination for body painting, and an admiration for Vargas’ work in particular. From the class description, I gather that he will be more focused on making up faces this time but I still look forward to seeing him in action – especially where the words ‘colour’, ‘shimmer’ and most importantly ‘glitter’ are involved.

:: 2-3pm – Make-up Artist Magazine presents Einat Dan in Fashion Make-up to Avant Garde
Award winning fashion makeup artist and educator Einat Dan will demonstrate her trusty fashion makeup techniques, then transform her fashion look into a powerful avant garde look. As a lover of all things OTT, I can’t wait to catch a glimpse of this.

:: 3.15-3.45pm – Battle of the Brushes Student Competition: Character/Prosthetics Award Show
Unlike its Saturday counterpart, the student competition on Sunday isn’t about creating the prettiest thing you can but don’t let that fool you into thinking that the work is anything less than jaw-dropping. I may have actually enjoyed last year’s character/prosthetic competition even more than the beauty/fantasy one, and that’s saying something! This year’s theme is ‘Oz’ – I assume as in Oz the Great and Powerful? Do not miss this!

IMATS2 IMATS London 2013: The Countdown Continues!

So, there are the things I’m most looking forward to in terms of talks and demonstrations this year. If you need any details for the show, here they are:

Saturday 22nd June: 8.30am – 5pm
Sunday 23rd June: 10am – 5pm
Kensington Olympia, London

A one-day ticket (for Saturday or Sunday) costs £45, or a two-day ticket (which I highly recommend) costs £70. You can buy tickets here.

If you’re still undecided about going, please do. It’s an experience I can’t compare to anything else, it’s honestly so much fun and I promise that any beauty enthusiast will absolutely love it. Hopefully I’ll see you there next month? :-)

Signature IMATS London 2013: The Countdown Continues!
20
May
4 Comments
Posted in Personal

Late to the Party: What’s In My Bag

Despite being something of an old-timer on the beauty blogging circuit, I’ve somehow managed to go all this time without ever having written one of those ever popular ‘What’s In My Bag’ posts. There are a couple of reasons for this: no one wants to see a bag lined with tobacco crumbs and old receipts, and I’ve never owned a bag worthy of sharing. Until now, I’d never bought a bag whose price tag was in triple figures (and I can safely say I will definitely never own one with a four-figure price tag).

So anyway, I recently had a Zalando voucher* to spend but had no idea what I wanted. I’ve shopped at Zalando a few times in the past, mainly for Anna Field boots which I absolutely love but I didn’t need another pair. During my deliberation, I bumped into Jen from A Beauty Junkie in London who had just bought this glorious little number and I instantly fell in love. I usually carry a black bag, so I was very excited to get a light coloured one that’s much more appropriate for Spring/Summer. That night when I got home, I promptly ordered the very same one, paying the outstanding balance myself (what can I say, I just loved it). A few days later I was swinging it gleefully from my arm, happy as Larry!

Whats In My Bag1 Late to the Party: Whats In My Bag

Whats In My Bag2 Late to the Party: Whats In My Bag

Whats In My Bag3 Late to the Party: Whats In My Bag

It’s from an Italian brand, L.Credi, which I’d not heard of before Jen introduced it to me. There’s just nothing not to love about it – I choose to use the short handles but there is also a detachable strap if you’d prefer to carry it on your shoulder. 100% leather outer, gorgeous cream and turquoise colours, plenty of zip pockets and extra compartments and my word is it roomy! I can get SO much extra stuff in here in addition to the crap I lug around on a daily basis, including a DSLR. Can’t say that for many bags – it’s a bit of a TARDIS/Mary Poppins type thing, much bigger on the inside!

Whats In My Bag4 Late to the Party: Whats In My Bag

And, well, since it’s not littered with tobacco crumbs and old receipts (yet…) now seems a good a time as any to show you the things I NEVER leave the house without.

My passport is something that’s always safely zipped away but always on me. I actually hardly ever get ID’d for anything, but sod’s law the day I don’t have it on me is the day I get asked for it. I don’t drive, so haven’t got a driving license meaning it’s the only proof of age that I have! Then headphones, just the bog standard iPhone ones, because who wants a life without music? Tissues, because no one likes to be caught short with a runny nose, and sweeteners, because if an impromptu cup of tea situation presents itself I don’t like to be forced to have real sugar!

Keys are something I always double-check for before leaving the house. Colin and I had an unfortunate incident a few weeks back where we left the flat to go food shopping and both of us forgot our keys. Dropping an unexpected wad of cash on a locksmith is not something I want to have to do again! Then an umbrella, because you never bloody know in this country. Benefit’s Laugh With Me LeeLee perfume is always on me in case I feel the need for a fragrance top-up, I’ve been wearing this one for years and like to think of it as my signature scent. My little purse from New Look years and years ago – I can’t be dealing with big, long purses thanks. My on-the-go makeup bag, whose contents are rotated regularly according to what I’m wearing that day but the items that never leave it are a black pencil, a mirror, eyelash curlers and my favourite Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfectors. Oh, and there’s a bottle of antibacterial hand gel from Bath & Body Works for any hygiene emergencies.

Last but certainly not least – my electronic cigarette. I have finally started to take steps towards quitting smoking! So, hopefully a bag littered with tobacco will no longer be a blight to my life – I haven’t yet quit completely but I’ve stopped taking tobacco out with me during the day, and just have a couple of ‘real ones’ of an evening. The rest of the time, this Tornado Tank e-cig is my new best friend and I’ve been loving experimenting with mixing different flavours (currently toking on a cocktail of Butterscotch and Banana for a cheeky banoffee pie experience!). It’s like carrying a mini shisha pipe with me at all times! Awesome.

So, those are the things I don’t go anywhere without. If you’re liking the look of the L.Credi tote, you can find it here for £125.

What do you always carry in your bag without fail?

Signature Late to the Party: Whats In My Bag
18
May
3 Comments
Posted in EOTD, Eyeshadow, Illamasqua, Palettes, Rave, Review, Swatches

Illamasqua Paranormal Palette

You know what they say about not judging a book by its cover, right? That definitely applies to the Illamasqua Paranormal Palette. Though it admittedly looks a little frightening, especially to devotees of neutral shades, you’d be really surprised at how wearable these uniquely textured, water-resistant eyeshadows are.

Illamasqua Paranormal Palette1 Illamasqua Paranormal Palette

Illamasqua Paranormal Palette2 Illamasqua Paranormal Palette

Illamasqua Paranormal Palette3 Illamasqua Paranormal Palette

These shades are definitely having a bit of an identity crisis, and never has that had such cool results before! They can’t quite decide whether they’re a cream or a powder, you really just have to feel the silky, silicone-rich texture for yourself to understand how unusual these are.

In terms of colour, I know it looks scary. But as you can see from the swatches above, they’re not quite as terrifying as you think at first glance with a soft-focus, blends-like-butter finish and a slight silvery shimmer.

When I bought this, I knew instantly that my favourites were going to be Paranormal and Aura (the cerise and copper colours). I wasn’t expecting to love Trance or Possession (violet and green) quite as much as I do, but I’ve decided they make for a really cool and unusual pop of colour in an eye look.

In the look below, I’ve added Trance along most of the lower lashline with just a touch of Possession on the innermost part of it. I love the way these colours look against the surprisingly almost neutral look of Paranormal and Aura on the lid.

Illamasqua Paranormal Palette4 Illamasqua Paranormal Palette

Illamasqua Paranormal Palette5 Illamasqua Paranormal Palette

One little niggle I do have is that I seem to be getting through the colours at an alarming rate despite only having used the palette maybe four or five times so far. I think it’s down to the extremely soft texture, and the way it’s so pliable – the colours move around a little in their pans and if I use a brush, I tend to pick up more colour than I actually need which leads to wastage. I’ve found the best way to get my value out of the shadows is to use my finger to apply them where I want them, then go in with a brush to blend.

Overall though I am in love with this new formula from Illamasqua, and would really love to see them bring out some more palettes (perhaps in some shades with a more universal appeal – I like these colours but I know not everyone will!), or even some single eyeshadows so people can try out the new formula extensively without dropping the dollar for a whole palette, particularly if you don’t like the look of every shade in a palette. Fingers crossed!

The Illamasqua Paranormal Palette costs £34 and is available on counters, in standalone stores and online.

Signature Illamasqua Paranormal Palette