Illamasqua: Beauty School Drop In and Generation Q

Today is another 2 post day for me!! I'm so inspired just lately! 

Yesterday i got to do something i've been dying to do for a long time. Before i moved to London i lived almost in the middle of nowhere and had little or no access to the resources and brands that my London peers were raving about. I've been gasping to do makeup courses for what seems like forever and a brand that has been getting me excited for a very long time now is Illamasqua. When i heard about their 'Beauty School Drop In' classes at their flagship Beak St store, held every couple of weeks, which ANYBODY can attend i almost fell over myself to get there!

Illamasqua inspire me for many reasons. Their mission to make great makeup accessible to EVERYONE just puts a great big smile on my face. They genuinely want their products to be used and enjoyed by women of all ages and backgrounds. Another reason is the stunning products and images created by their talented artists. Alex Box is someone who i have followed ever since i started getting REALLY into makeup a couple of years ago. Her work is simply STUNNING! 

I don't own too many of their products yet (trust me, as soon as my bank lets me, this will change) but every item that i do own has gained favourite status! Cream blush in Dixie and Skinbase Shade 9 (review coming VERY soon on that one) are brought out almost every day and their Freak Eau de Parfum is one of my all time favourite smells. 

 Whilst we waited around between classes i got my first chance to REALLY investigate everything they have to offer and i was bowled over by their most recent Generation Q collection. Carrying on the theme of ageless beauty, this collection of products was born with women of all ages in mind. All the models used in the promotional mix are real women who had been nominated by their families or friends on Illamasqua's website and all look stunning in the images.

 My favourites from the collection which were used on the day were:

Limited Edition Skinbase in shade Au which is a genius little product which, on paler skins can be used to bronze, but also can be underneath or mixed in with other shades to add a beautiful touch of gold sheen.

Eyeshadow palette in Complement which is an amazing palette comprising of matte, shimmer, powder and cream shades. It is visually stunning and it was a pleasure to watch artist Clare Lille create a beautiful smokey eye. Not gonna lie, i would KILL for this palette!! 

Precision Ink liner in Wisdom. A gorgeous dark green shade with gold fleck that shimmers beautifully in the light. 

Illamasqua Complement Palette (To. Die. For)

Unfortunately i didn't manage to capture any quality images of the actual demonstrations. I only took my iphone camera and they all just came up dark. Clare was brilliant though! The theme of the days' classes was all about makeup on more mature clients and working with those sorts of skin types and eye shapes. She demonstrated how to contour a mature eye as well as brighten and lift the skin. 

Even though i wouldn't class my skin as 'mature' i picked up some great hints from the day. I often do makeup on my mum for special occasions and always try and advise her on how to apply it as she likes makeup but is very often unsure. Clare also stuck around and listened to my questions about my awkward foldy eyelids and gave me some great hints on how to contour my crease and apply winged eyeliner. I couldn't be more grateful and can't wait to put all of this into practise. 

The next Beauty School Drop In classes are on 30th September and i will definitely be attending. Students from the classes are also entitled to 10% off classes at the Illamasqua School of Makeup which i am now DESPERATE to attend. I haven't been content with just being a hairstylist for quite some time now and one day i will have enough pennies to add makeup artistry to my list of qualifications. 

Thank you so much Illamasqua for having me. I came away with both knowledge and inspiration.

What inspires you when it comes to makeup?? What are your favourite Illamasqua products?? Are you a Beauty School Drop In??