Note: This is a picture-heavy post.

Illamasqua was finally, FINALLY launched in MYER Melbourne (Bourke Street) on November 20. Well, it’s about time, don’t you think? We want makeup for our alter ego too, hello! Well, whatever my alter ego is. My ex-colleagues back in Malaysia would probably ask “what sort of makeup do you have for a DRAMA QUEEN?”

Ahem.

When Christabel of Makeup Mole invited me to a special bloggers’ event in conjunction with the launch on November 21, I was very quick to RSVP a very sound YES. After all, a few of us beauty bloggers were already catching up in the morning for yumcha, so what better way to continue the day than playing with lots of makeup and having amazing makeovers? Of course I’m in!

Illamasqua had their made-in-London mannequins shipped to MYER for the launch of the brand, and here they are. My favourite was the one with the orange and black mohawk. If you look closely at the head, you’ll see that the black bits of the mohawk are actually mascara wands.

A myriad of va va voom colours at the Illamasqua counter. For the next hour and more, we were busy trying out the makeup from the Art of Darkness Collection.

I didn’t think makeovers were on the agenda for all of us, but some of us got lucky and snagged a few makeup artists who weren’t too busy to give us makeovers. Including yours truly.

Daniella and her makeup artist. He did such a great job on her eyes and cheeks.

Mine was done by the lovely Giselle.

With Amy. Her makeover was also by Giselle.

L-R: Hannah, Daniella and Jess

The pièce de résistance of makeovers was Val’s. Hers wasn’t just a makeover. It was a transformation to the alter ego.

International makeup artist Daniel Bussotil working on creating the look for Val

Violet and Val

‘Tis a pity I didn’t take a photo of the eye makeup Giselle did when it was still fresh, because she really did an amazing job with the combination of colours she used. By the time I got home, my lids had gotten so oily that the pigments just slid off my skin. I was left with a few lines of colour on the creases 🙁

My original to-buy item from Illamasqua was the nail polish in Viridian. After being cruelly tempted by Jacie and Stef, how could I not get one for myself too? After the makeover, and having a play with the Liquid Metal eyeshadow, I added the quad palette in 02 into my shopping bag as well. The lipstick in Diablo and Medium Pencil in Sophie were gifts from the goodie bag. Sweet!

All in all, a truly fun day with the girls. Many thanks to Christabel for the kind invitation and organising the bloggers’ event, and also to Illamasqua for the fabulous makeovers and goodie bag!

Ladies in attendance for the Illamasqua event in no particular order: Val, Stef, Hannah, Nadia, Jess, Celeste, Celina, Amy, Jacie, Violet, Daniella, Mel, Akisa, Maddy. Please let me know if I missed anyone.

Note: Will update with a group shot when I get the pictures from Violet.

I don’t know about you, but I have this secret stash of bath products which I do not place in the bathroom (ie share with the husband). It was an idea I took from LeGeeque. You know that luxe shower gel you normally wouldn’t pay that much for (when bodywash you can get for less than a tenner from Coles would normally suffice), but still do anyway, so you only use them on special occasions? Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about.

I recently added a new body wash into my secret stash, and that’s Weleda’s Lavender Creamy Body Wash.

The body wash was not as rich as I expected, even after shaking the tube. It’s actually quite runny. But the scent. Oh the scent. Imagine lying in a field of lavender on a sunny, summer dress-y day. Mmmm. It smells absolutely wonderful. None of that overpowering drenched in lavendar oil, sickeningly cloying fragrance. But enough for the lovely, calming effect during the shower, with a subtle lingering scent on your skin.

Awesomeness.

I love this one to bits. I stupidly left it out on the bathroom sill a few days ago, and the husband sneaked a few washes with it. And now, I cannot put it back to my secret stash because he called me selfish for not sharing the, and I quote, “shower cream with the very good smell“.

Selfish? Me? The nerve!

Ahem.

Weleda Lavender Creamy Body Wash retails at AU$19.90 for 7.2oz (203.6g), and is available at selected health stores and pharmacies nationwide. For stockist enquires, please call 03 9723 7278 or visit their website, www.weleda.com.au.

What I like about it: Beautiful, non-cloying scent of lavender. Free of synthetic fragrances, colours, preservatives and all that bad shizz.

What I do not like about it: I now have to share it with the husband. Hmph.

What about you? Do you have a secret stash of luxe body washes you don’t share with anyone?

Everyone knows that Bobbi Brown is world-famous for her makeup abilities, her makeup line, the shimmering bricks, neutral eyeshadow palettes etc. Skincare … perhaps not so much. When I was given the opportunity to give the hydrating eye cream a go, I was quite keen to try it out. At the very least, the sleek glass jar alone had me at hello.

Description:
A Bobbi Brown Must-Have. Bobbi uses this ultra-gentle moisturiser as the first step to flawless application of her Creamy Concealer Kit, the secret to the beauty universe. Hydrating Eye Cream is formulated for the delicate skin around the eye and minimises the look of fine, dry lines. Dermatologist and Ophthalmologist tested.

The eye cream is fragrance-free, which is a check for me. Texture-wise, it’s slightly lighter than the Strivectin-SD Eye Cream I’ve been using for almost a year (but err, still haven’t reviewed. Oops), but still richer than most eye creams I’ve used.

Sad to say, this did not work for me. For some reason, something in the ingredients irritated my undereye area when I applied the eye cream, and it stung a little. Still, for the sake of *ahem* research, I persevered for two more weeks. Without any other changes to my skincare routine, with twice-weekly exfoliating, I was shocked to find milia sprouting below my eyes! With that, I immediately stopped.

I reckoned the eye cream was just a little too rich for my delicate undereye area. Pity. But now I have these unslightly bumps under my skin which I cannot remove just like that. If anybody has any suggestions as to how to get rid of them, I’d high appreciate them in the comments.

Bobbi Brown’s Hydrating Eye Cream retails at AU$75 for 15ml and is available at all leading departmental stores.

What I like about it: Sleek jar packaging, fragrance-free.

What I do not like about it: Expensive, too rich for my skin, and I still swear it gave me milia.