Illamasqua Flagship Store

After visiting Pixi, my next destination was the Illamasqua flagship store on Beak Street, which was just a short walk away.

With the brand motto of "make-up for your alter ego", Illamasqua has quickly become a cult favourite and beloved by beauty bloggers for its well-designed products and rainbow of dramatic vivid shades inspired by the dark and illicit 1920s club scene. It's a bit like MAC before MAC became part of the Estee Lauder empire, but with a much bolder alternative vision.

The store is also a school that offers a variety of makeup courses. In London, Illamasqua also has a counter at Selfridges but I much prefer shopping at the Beak Street store as the sales pressure on the Selfridges beauty floor is intense with the SAs of various counters looking virtually ready to pounce. The service at the Illamasqua store was simply excellent without any pressure.


The Powder Blushers.

Powder Eye Shadows






The Art of Darkness collection for Autumn/Winter 2010.

Some of the makeup on sale.


A preview flyer of the next collection, Toxic Nature, which will be debuting in mid-March. All You Desire has swatches of a bright orange nailpolish from the collection.

I came home with the Powder Blushes in Thrust and Lover. Both are purchases for friends so I won't be reviewing these. Illamasqua.com does ship internationally so it's actually quite accessible even if you don't live in the UK or US.