Breaking News!! Joe Corre Joins Illamasqua...

Avant-garde, beautiful, daring, creative, explosive, inspirational, provocative. Words that you may well relate to Illamasqua.

At Illamasqua, we also relate them to Agent Provocateur, one of the world’s leading underwear brands. Agent Provocateur has always been a brand that we have been inspired by – unique, quality, luxury pieces, cutting-edge advertising, evocative, controversial and boundary-pushing campaigns. Who can forget the Kylie Minogue bull riding film or the orgiastic passion of the collections starring the voluptuous figures of Alice Dellal, Helena Christensen, Kate Moss, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley to name but a few?

You can imagine how thrilled I am, then, to announce that Joe Corre - co founder of Agent Provacateur and son of the British fashion icon Dame Vivienne Westwood - has become a formal shareholder at Illamasqua! He also owns the explosive menswear label A Child Of The Jago - you may remember that we provided the looks for his brooding models at London Fashion Week in September.

I am so excited to work alongside such a genuine legend [did you know he turned down an MBE from Tony Blair?!] and to help us look in to launching our own stand-alone stores!

Joe tells me that Illamasqua is “a British brand like no other! The heritage of [Illamasqua’s] products and formulation show that [Illamasqua] are the only colour cosmetic brand in the prestige market that can truly claim the word 'professional'. Born from visionary, passionate energy, which it exudes from every pore, Illamasqua celebrates the fundamental human desire for individual self expression. It is therefore a brand which transcends all boundaries. I am extremely excited to be on board and helping to make it a brand to be seriously reckoned with”.

Julian Kynaston, founder of Illamasqua, tells me “We know that we have turned many heads since we opened our first counter in Selfridges Oxford St back in November 08. To have turned Joe’s to the point where he really wanted to invest and become a part of the team however is an achievement and one I am very excited about.”

Christmas Gift Ideas

With December just around the corner, it's time to start thinking about Christmas shopping [unless you are like my Mother and got it all done in August and are now sitting smugly whilst everyone around you loses their heads...!] so I have put together some ideas for Christmas for you!

£15 and under

Cabaret: 30th Anniversary Special DVD - Liza Minelli stars in this highly entertaining 1972 musical whose cultural and stylistic influences reaches far beyond the confines of cinema.


Nail Varnish in 'Velocity' - £12.50 - 'grurple' at it's best! A perfect balance of grey and purple with a hint of blue, 'Velocity' instantly became one of our best selling pieces from the Dystopia collection.


£25 and under

Pantomime Nail Duos - £25 - for the Nail-ista in your life, you can bet they will love the Pantomime Nail Duos. 'Boo' has the best selling shimmering purple Nail Varnish in 'Baptiste' with the limited edition sparkling purple top coat. 'Hiss' contains the best selling pure black Nail Varnish in 'Boosh' with a glittering top coat of red, gold, silver and bronze.


Limited Edition False Eye Lashes - £25 - choose from 'Decadence', a beautiful, fluttering set of lashes with antique silver crystals, or 'Opulence', with vintage gold crystals to create alluring, party season eyes. Oh-so-OTT ...


A Goat - £25 from oxfam.com - For those of you who, like me, have too much 'stuff' as it is - how about a gift from oxfam? Hopefully my office secret santa isn't reading this post, as I bought them a present from this fantastic new venture from Oxfam. You can buy a variety of charitable goods from school supplies to chickens, goats and even camels! You then get sent a card - with a personalised note to the receiver - with details of the donation that you made in their name.


£50 and under

Silver Seductress and Golden Goddess Gift Sets - £42 - The most beautiful of gift boxes contains a cult Liquid Metal [Silver Seductress - Phenomena, Golden Goddess - Solstice], prized Pure Pigment [Silver Seductress - Android, Golden Goddess - Furore], best selling False Eye Lashes 019 and the iconic Sophie pencil.


Maitresse 50ml by Agent Provocateur - £46 - This delightfully packaged, seductive scent infusion including exotic ylang ylang and white lotus.


This Works: The Deep Calm Box - £28 at ASOS.com - Chamomile, lavender and vetivert are blended into a bath oil, shower gel and travel candle. A great gift, but even better to enjoy on your own post-Christmas...


Alex Box By Rankin - £50 - Available to purchase at www.illamasqua.com, this collaboration has been two years in the making. Ideal for the Alex Box fan, photographer, make-up student or anybody with an interest in art this book makes an ideal present.



£100 and under

Ambience Candle Set by Kiki De Montparnasse - £59.98 - quite possibly the most seductive, exquisite candles I have ever tried [and I have tried a lot!] these are perfect for travelling, or for dotting around your bedroom and bathroom. Beautifully packaged, too.

£150 and under

C9 Styling Irons - £129.95 - If you are like me, occasionally you wonder how you actually functioned properly without your trusty GHDs. Well, I've recently been introduced to the Cloud 9 hair straighteners and these irons put my old GHDs to shame. The variable, flexible temperatures allow you to create styles from tight curls, luscious volume, soft waves or poker straight looks and the pack comes with a manual to help you achieve any number of different looks at home. They are, quite simply, a revolution.


Vivienne Westwood Crystal Embellished Orb Pendant - £145 - As a big fan of the eccentric punk-rock Brit, this pendant is high on my Christmas wish-list.