The biggest launch in Illamasqua's history, our Debut fragance Freak today launches across www.illamasqua.com, across our Selfridges counters and Flagship store in the UK and an immediate roll out across Australia, Sephora, Croatia and Dubai in the coming weeks! Sephora.com will go live from 2nd week of November and Sephora stores from March!
This exotic and unconventional scent is not alone...to accompany the launch of Freak, we have created a capsule collection of three Limited Edition products whose shades reflect the rare blooms that make up this concoction of dangerously exotic unconventional flowers.
Embracing the mysterious histories of their namesakes are hardwearing Nail Varnish in Hemlock (pale opal green iridescent), the nocturnal heart of Pure Pigment in Queen of the Night (blackened plum), and a sensual Sheer Lipgloss in Datura (neutral mauve).
The capsule collection is also included in a Limited Edition Gift set, comprising Freak, Nail varnish in Hemlock, Pure Pigment in Queen of the Night and the exclusive Sheer Lipgloss in Datura. The gift set is available for £80, offering a saving of £21 and makes the perfect Christmas gift - or a little indulgent treat for a make-up lover.
The British brand Illamasqua is about to release their first fragrance, called "Freak".
TOP NOTES
Black Davana, Opium Flower and Belladonna bewitch the senses into uncontrollable lust and passion.
HEART NOTES
Poison Hemlock, Datura and Queen of the Night blossom, caress and kiss.
BASE NOTES
Aromas of Frankincense, Oud and Myrrh, addictively mesmerises and captures the senses.
Yesterday I had a lovely black package in the mail which contained a small bottle of "Freak":
This is how the press release describes the fragrance:
The rich and daringly provocative opening notes of Black Davana cast a magical spell of desire across the senses to celebrate the night. This compelling burnt orange bloom base is highly prized the world over for its ability to enhance the wearer's natural perfume. The subtle mustiness of Posion Hemlock haunts the background tone of Freak, adding alluring depths of mystery.
Datura, the Moonflower, an intoxicating scent that has long been used as a heady aphrodisiac.
The exquisitely rare Queen of the Night blooms fleetingly for a single night each year, and completes this daringly provocative concoction with its warm, soft floral scent touched with sweetness.
With the help of Master Perfumer, Azzi Glasser, Illamasqua has created a powerfully addictive potion.
I've been wearing "Freak" since I received the package & I've to say that I'm really smitten with this fragrance.
It starts out fairly strong & it stays that way. It's a heady fragrance, so if you prefer light fresh scents, you should look elsewhere.
The top notes are slightly sweet & floral, but you'll already notice that there's something darker laying just under the surface. The Davana is quite prominent with it sweet balsamic smell. Davana is known for its soothing, strengthening qualities.
Then the spicy notes kick in & they stay until the drydown. The spices & floral notes mix perfectly creating a scent unlike anything else I've smelt before. It's dark, but also soothing & I'd say it's absolutely unisex. I spritzed some on my BF & it smelled great on him, too. His skin emphasizes the spicy notes, making the whole compostion smell even darker.
"Freak" slightly reminds me of the Ormonde Jayne perfumes, mainly "Ormonde Woman", in case you're familiar with them.
Mind you, they smell nothing alike, but maybe it's the use of Hemlock that made me draw this comparison. The resinous note of Hemlock has a really unique smell, it's spicy, a bit musty (but in a very compelling way) & sultry - all in all simply stunning. Hemlock is a type of spruce, also known as Mountain Hemlock.
If you like dark, heady fragrances, you should really try this one. It's perfectly suited for fall & winter. But I could also imagine that it'll be polarizing love or hate fragrance. IMO it goes very well with the brand's image.
"Freak" will be available in one size - 75 ml EdP - that will retail for 59 GBP. You can pre-order it from tomorrow, Octobrer 3rd, at illamasqua.com.
With the release of "Freak", Illamasqua will also bring out a nail varnish in "Hemlock" (pale opal green iridescent), a pure pigment in "Queen of the Night" (blackened plum) & a sheer lipgloss in "Datura" (neutral mauve).
Please also take a look at the great "Freak" video:
So I've heard lots of bad things about this polish & guess what: They're all true! "Androgynie" looks stunning in the bottle. It's a black jelly with fine gold glitter, multicolored prismatic glitter particles as well as large multicolored hex glitter. Doesn't that sound in fab...(at least in theory)?! So far, so good :-D
Well, now the bad news: The hex glitter particles don't make it out of the bottle! *duh* I'm not sure why that is. There are lots of them & they don't even sit at the bottom of the bottle or anything like that. Still they seem to be really shy & prefer to stay in the safety of their familiar bottle-home *lol* I read thinning would help, but as the formula is already a bit on the runny side, I haven't tried it, yet. Instead I decided to layer "Androgynie" over a black base. As basecolor, I chose my favorite black of all time, Illamasqua "Boosh". It's opaque with one coat & simply the shiniest black I've ever seen.
Then I layered one coat of Orly "Androgynie" on top. The gold glitter shows up pretty well, but to get more of the lovely hex glitter particles to show up, I used a toothpick to apply a few more to my nails. It was a bit of work, but manageable.
*Please click to enlarge*
Even though I wish the formula was easier to work with & no "glitter-toothpick-ing" would be necessary, I've to say that I still like the polish. I don't have anything like it in my collection, so IMO it's worth the hassle.
As I already told you, I have a few Illamasqua products to show you & I decided to begin with the nail varnish & the lipstick.
"Faux Pas" is a blurple (= mix of blue & purple) polish with a rubber finish. The rubber finish is - like the name already suggests - a non-shiny rubber-like finish. It's like a mixture between shiny & matte & I've to admit that I really, really like it :-) It's a bit reminiscent of the Orly Plastix collection polishes from last year which I also liked a lot. Even though I have a slight aversion to matte polishes (mainly because they show any - even the slightest *ugh* - imperfection of the nails), the rubber finish is much more forgiving & flattering - & it gives a really cool effect.
Application of "Faux Pas" was absolutely flawless. It simply glides on the nail & gives very good coverage with just one coat. Out of habit, I did two, though. This is what it looks like:
I think it's not only perfect for fall, but for all year around - especially when you're such a purple lover like me :-D
"Kontrol" matches "Faux Pas" very well, as it's in the same color family. It's a matte blurple lipstick that applies extremely smooth. Smoother than other Illamasqua lipsticks that I own & that sometimes require a little more work to apply evenly.
This color isn't for the faint of heart, but it's right up my alley as I was lemming a shade like this for quite a while. Even though it's a matte finish, it's creamy & has very good staying power without drying out the lips.
This is how it looks on my (rather pigmented) lips:
If you're now curious about the "Theatre of the Nameless" collection, here's an overview of the items it contains:
Cream Pigment £17.00
Brazen new shades – Androgen(Coral) and Depravity (Magenta) –introduce new levels of excess to this uniquely Illamasqua, intensely colour-rich and crease resistant matt formula.
Pure Pigment £15.50
These versatile performers are there to be played with, giving a high-shine metallic finish of pure colour in shimmering Zeitgeist (Dark Shimmer), Beguile (Light Shimmer)and Berber (Auburn Shimmer).
Precision Ink £17.00
Our most exotically coloured Precision Ink yet, Havoc (Aubergine) lets you scrawl hidden messages across your naked flesh, to be discovered at midnight by your secret lover.
Nail Varnish £13.50
Taking a lead from the colour-coded specialities of the Wittenberg Platz’s domineering Boot Girls, Illamasqua introduces confident new shades in Taint (Stone Brown), Kink (Bottle Green), Vice (Deep Cerise), and FauxPas (Blue Violet).
Shimmer Blusher £16.50
Mirroring the glimmer of starlight that illuminates this insomniac’s lair of unending night-time pleasures, the dusting of shimmer in our new blushers, Ambition (Neutral) and Morale (Rosed Flush), adds a rich radiance to your face.
Lipgloss £13.00
Full, glossy lips in dark, sultry Intense Lipgloss Façade (Grey Pink), Belladonna (Deep Pink) and Sheer Lipgloss Violate (Dark Green Shimmer) give you the ultimate high-shine power-pout that will stop them in their tracks at a hundred paces.
Lipstick £15.50
Colour-intense lipstick with a highly pigmented formula in the dark, sultry and powerful shade Kontrol (Blue Violet) to give you the deep-down confidence to dominate any situation.
False Eye Lashes £16.00
The Theatre of the Nameless brings two new lashes to our extensive handmade range of styles and colours – the fluttering, tapered extravagance of the aptly named Grandeur and the thick, long, luxurious Blackened Auburn Weimar.
Just a few days ago - on September 2nd - Illamasqua released their new collection "Theatre of the Nameless" which was inspired by Berlin in the 1920s - please read more about it on their website.
The lovely people at Illamasqua were so kind to send me a few items to review & I was really smitten when I opened the deliciously smelling package - yes, it smells great of what I'd describe as a sandelwood mix :-)
My package contained the following items:
Nail varnish in "Faux Pas", described on the Illamasqua website as a blue violet which is spot on. It has a rubber finish, meaning it's not shiny as most polishes, but also not matte, either.
Lipstick in "Kontrol" which is also blue violet & matches the nail varnish very well.
Pure pigment in "Zeitgeist", described as a dark shimmer. It's black with pink & silver flecks & indeed very shimmer-y.
Precision ink in "Havoc" which is aubergine.
Please stay tuned for swatches & product reviews which I'll post within the next view days!
You already know this nailart from my last OotD photos, but I wanted to do an extra post on it to show you a more detailed pic.
Actually, I planned to do a tutorial showing you in which order to apply the polishes, which brush & dotting tool I used, etc.
But then it happened...*tension is rising*...my camera broke! It suddenly showed "card error" & from then on I couldn't take pictures anymore :-(
My memory card is integrated in the camera, so I don't know if it's possible to repair it without costing a fortune. It's only 2 1/2 years so I didn't expect any issues, yet & I really need my cam! Hopefully, tomorrow I'll know more. At the worst, I need to buy a new cam. Geez, this is so sucky, first my modem, now my cam - as if I had a cash cow...
So all I can show you at the moment is a picture of my floral nailart:
I used one coat of Illamasqua "Boosh" as a base. It's important to use a polish that only needs one or two coats so that it dries quickly. If you don't wait until the base polish is dry, you'll mess up the design.
Then I used a fine nailart brush to apply small strokes of Orly "Pixy Stix", Illamasqua "Jo'Mina" & Orly "Gumdrop" that formed the flowers. The last step was to apply small dots of Misa "Happy Happy"as the center of the flowers & to highlight the design.
It took me about an hour to do this design, it's the most complicated nailart I did to date.
I'm not sure what's wrong with me, but I feel so exhausted & tired after a pretty long, stressful week. I even went to bed shortly after midnight *gasps*. (Usually, I rarely sleep before 2 or 3 a.m. - I'm a real night owl :-D)
Anyways, due to my drowsiness I don't have any new make up looks for you, but I'd like to share a new nail art with you.
Last week (or maybe it's already 2 weeks ago?) I saw the first daisy of spring in our garden:
It inspired me to do the following nail art:
I used Illamasqua "Milf" as a base, sponged with Orly "Mint Mojito" (nearly invisible) & Nubar "Forest" & dotted the daisies with OPI "Alpine Snow" & Misa "Happy Happy".
BTW: I'll do a tutorial on how to sponge as soon as I can, but I really suck at things like that, so please bear with me ;-)
3 days ago, the first duck (a male :-D) visited the pond in our garden & comes every day since *yay* During mating season, ducks always like to visit our pond & I really love it! They are so cute :-) They know they'll always get something to eat: chicken feed & (unsalted!) peanuts, so they're eagerly waiting for that, too. Sometimes they even knock at our door to make sure we don't overlook them *lol*
This week I'm rather busy & so far didn't have any time to take photos of my make up, clothes or something else.
That's why I decided to post a few manicure pics I did in the last months.
Enjoy :-)
Sponge mani using MAC "Light Affair" as a base, topped with one layer of Kiko #298. FingerPaints "Art Dealer Teal-er", Barielle "Berry Blue" & China Glaze "Fairy Dust" for the design.
Another sponge nail at using Sally Hansen Insta-dri "Rose Rush" as a base & China Glaze "Grape Pop" for the sponging.
OPI "Day at the Peach"
OPI "What's Dune"
OPI "My Private Jet" (holo version!)
Mille Feuille nail art with China Glaze "Grape Pop" as base & Illamasqua "Load" for the design.
Sephora by OPI "Read my Palm" as a base, Maybelline "Coral Cabana", China Glaze "Grape Pop" & CND "Silver Chrome" for the dots.
OPI "Grape Fit" & CND "Asphalt" for the base. Essence tip painter in "Heavy Black" & "So Funky", L.A.Colors art deco nail art lacquer in "Vibrant" & "Purple/Blue Glitter" for the nail art, OPI "Dim Sum Plum" for the dots.
Mille Feuille nail art with Zoya "Kelly" as a base & Illamasqua "Load" for the design.
Last night I was singing a few songs with the band of my best guy friend. They had a gig at a tiny punk club & needed a female singer for some of the songs, so they asked me. I enjoyed it & everything was cool, but my heels were killing me (I'll show them to you later on ;-)).
Unfortunately it was way too dark there to take any good pics, but I took a few photos at home before I left:
eyes: Illamasqua "Furore" pigment on lid & in crease, MAC "Gesso" to highlight, Essence "Berlin Story" liquid eyeliner to line.
face: Dianne Brill Smoothing Coverage Foundation in "01 Geisha Pearl", MAC "Tahitian Sand" beauty powder
cheeks: MAC "Pinch o' Peach" sheertone blush, the shimmery side of MAC MSF "Light Medium/Natural and Shimmer" as highlighter.
lips: Kat von D "Adora" lipstick (A big "Thank you so much!" to sunfish who swapped it with me :-))
nails: China Glaze "Red Pearl" (another TY to dear sunfish)
bow: Punk Up Bettie etsy store (Check them out, they're great!)
After I took these pics I realized that the top I was wearing was the one that I wore on our last gig, so I needed to change my outfit & switched to my favourite dress.
As you can see, my neck looks so much lighter than the rest of my face & my body. It's always like that, as if it belonged to another person *lol* Usually I'm using self tanner to adjust, but admittingly I got lazy over the winter & didn't use it. Need to change that asap as it looks pretty much ridiculous at the moment :-D Oh well, nobody's perfect *g*
Those heels are maybe cute, but they are the most uncomfy shoes I've ever worn! Last summer I broke the little toe of my left foot & the minute I put on these heels, it started hurting again & it still does *boo*! But beauty knows no pain, right?!
Ever since I saw the promo pictures for Illamasqua's "Throb" collection I was in love with the look & I thought Valentine's day would be perfect for doing my own take of this look:
(Unfortunately the lighting conditions weren't the best, so some of the pictures don't have the best quality...)
Oh, a gift? For me? I wonder what it is!
It's a heart!
I have your heart inside of my hands
Will I play it to the beat?!
eyes: MAC "Blanc Type"all over lid, "Wedge" in crease & on outer lid. "Blacktrack" fluidline & "Fairylite" pigment mixed w/ mixing medium to line upper lashline.
cheeks: NARS "Exhibit A" (Shoutout to lovely Sunfish for sending it to me!), NARS "Albatross" as highlighter
lips: Illamasqua "Sangers"
A while ago My_private_Jet did a post about Cupid nails on her blog & I liked it so much that I decided to do something similar. So here comes my Valentine's day mani:
I used Illamasqua "Load" as a base & I painted the hearts with Illamasqua "Throb".
My boyfriend was such a sweetheart & gave me the following things (together with some chocolate truffles but I already ate those up :-D) as a Valentine's gift:
I wish everyone an awesome Valentine's day - have fun :-)
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