The Brits Do It Better...

It's no secret that I love anything remotely related to the British. I first visited the UK sophomore year of high school as a foreign exchange student. It was an opportunity given to the girls in the 10^th grade English Honors class and something my mom did not want me to pass up. So she somehow managed to raise the funds necessary and off I went for a week to the house of an English girl (hey Valerie!). It was amazing. My most memorable experience- sneaking out of Harrods during a day trip with my friends and running into the Burberry store- BURBERRY! I still have my Burberry scarf that I paid ten pounds for.

Ever since then I've been determined to move to London (something I plan on doing after graduating college here in the states). And now, London is calling my name and tempting me with sweet, sweet makeup. And they call it Illamasqua.

Illamasqua is a UK based makeup company founded by makeup artist Alex Box. The slogan? "Make-up brand for your alter ego". Loves it. Seriously. I think they were secretly thinking of me when coming up with this. My everyday look consists of foundation, mascara and lipgloss/lipstick. If I'm feeling adventurous, I might use a little bit of eyeliner. I own squillions of eyeshadows but they don't get any play. So all of the intense eyeshadows from this brand was meant to unleash my alter ego.

A night-time make-up that brings premium, professional products within reach of the high street. Illamasqua is for the bolder, darker person hiding inside us. It is an act and an attitude. A symbol of tolerance. A celebration of idiosyncrasies. A confident statement of self-ownership and self-expression. Illamasqua is your alter-ego. From their blog


I first discovered Illamasqua while watching a YouTube video of one of my fave Guru's Richie Nickel of What Style Is To Nickel. While he showed us viewers the products I "oohhed" and "ahhed" and immediately went onto their website for purchasing. But I soon halted after converting the British pound to the American dollar. le sigh.

If it were here in the States, I think this brand would be giving MAC and Make Up For Ever a run for their money. The quality of the makeup looks incredible. By the raves it's been getting from the UK based YouTube guru's I watch... I fully trust it (and covet) the brand. Part of me, however, just wants to suck it up and spend the heart wrenching amount. The eyeshadows are intensely pigmented and the lipsticks are just SCREAMING at me to buy them.

And I just might...ain't no stopping me this time...