Illamasqua Generation Q (preview!) - Where beauty has no age limits

Illamasqua is a brand that make me fall more and more in love with them every time I attend their events, every time I see one of their collections or even walk past their counters in Selfridges.  I can not fault one thing about this brand – they are unlike any other makeup company out there and they are really trying to change the way women feel about makeup.

Earlier in the year, Illamasqua held a competition online where you could ‘nominate’ and ‘vote’ for a friend or relative to be the face of their new Generation Q campaign.  They urged absolutely anyone to send in their photograph, anyone you thought has a real sense of beauty.  Beauty has NO limits and Illamasqua want to celebrate this fact by using real people.  ‘Generation Q will go against the industry's unspoken and despicable taboo, by featuring old models as well as young.  Because to us, hiding your age is like hiding your true identity’.

‘Generation Q is a celebration of beauty.  Ageless, without limits or restrictions.  It’s our declaration to the world that beauty is inclusive, not exclusive’.

ILLAMASQUA GENERATION Q

At the preview event of the Generation Q range (which was held in the lovely Soho Cinema) we were able to have a play around with the new collection, as well as hear Creative Director Alex Box (possibly my favourite makeup artist, ever!!) and Director of New Product Development David Horne talk about what they feel about the range and why they made it. 

The whole evening was completely over whelming for me (being an emotional gal) and at one point I actually nearly broke down in tears – why should women feel like they can’t wear as much makeup when they hit 40/50/60?  They are the ones of have lived, loved and lost and hold so much more wisdom and in the words of Alex Box, that makes them more beautiful than ever. 

The range itself is simply stunning.  The two palettes are both absolutely perfect and will suit any age, skin tone or type.  Both the Complement and Empower palette each contain a New Liquid Metal, a New Pressed Pure Pigment and two Powder Eye Shadows – giving you a variety of textures to layer up and play around with.  I can not wait to show you swatches of the Empower palette as it is just incredible – after layering up the shades you are left with the most incredible two-tone green, purple, pink and brown mermaid-tail-like colour and texture.

generation q palettes
generation q range 

Also in the range are two Intense Lipglosses in Boost (a Blueberry Violet) and Opulent, described as a Rainbow Beige, because there are no other words to describe how unique this gloss is – it literally shines and sparkles every colour you can imagine in the light.  There are two blushes available – Sophie (a Peachy Golden Coral – pictured above) and Allure (a Dusky Rose Pink Shimmer).  Something I am very excited about are the nail polishes – Creator (a Magical Black) and Charisma (a Deep Raspberry Pink). 

There are two lipsticks in this collection – Underworld (a Blueberry Violet Shimmer) and Magnetism (a Deep Raspberry Pink), a new Gleam Lightweight Compact Highlighter which can be applied wherever you desire (cheeks, cupids bow, décolletage) called Aurora which is a Light Champagne shade – perfect for all skin tones and finally, a new Precision Ink pen in Wisdom which is an Antiqued Gold shade.

One thing that is very apparent in this collection is shimmer… hands up if you’ve ever read a ‘beauty bible/book’ state that you can’t wear shimmer makeup when you’re older?  I HAVE!  Illamasqua firmly believe that that statement is a load of tosh – I myself adore shimmer eye shadows, in fact I wear shimmer shadows every day and the thought of not being able to when I grow older is a little devastating for me – how will I emphasize my brow bone or cheek bones without a bit of shimmer highlighter?!!!!!  Well, with this new range and Generation Q campaign, Illamasqua are proving to everyone that you can wear whatever makes you happy and feel confident – including shimmer.  One of the models chosen to be the face of the range is Evelyn, who is 72 (and whom I met at the event).  She looked absolutely incredible (I hope to ooze confident, charm and charisma like her when I’m 70!) and she was wearing and embracing the Generation Q range (and all of its shimmer) and looked just, fantastic.  Evelyn was also wearing the shimmery black nail varnish (Creator) on both her fingers and toes and this added to her confidence and charm.

‘All products and shades included in Generation Q have been formulated and chosen irrespective of age, race, gender or sexual preference to give everybody the tools to express their alter ego’.

evelyn

Now, the bad news is that the Generation Q range isn’t out until September! Booooo!  Hopefully nearer the time I’ll be able to show you some of the products in a little more detail with swatches and tutorials but until then, I hope this feeds your Illamasqua thirst!

Do you like the look of this collection?  What do you think about age & makeup?

xxxx

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