Illamasqua's newest collection: Theatre of the Nameless

Campaign imagery provided by Illamasqua

So as a beauty blogger and a makeup artist, I pride myself on knowing a LOT of info about a lot of different brands. That being said, I've always seen Illamasqua around and enjoyed the colors, but had never really touched it/played with it/used it on a client. Big mistake. HUGE. Cue my fellow bloggers rolling their eyes at me for my ignorance.Well my first foray into the genius that is Illamasqua was last night, at the launch party for their new collection: Theatre of the Nameless. This collection is inspired by the self-expression of 1920's Berlin, and Illamasqua is definitely a brand that encourages self-expression. This is a darkly sensual collection with its intense, long-wearing pigments.

The collection was presented to variousmakeupjunkies/bloggers/etc by Illamasqua's education specialist, Kim Anderson (who is a wealth of information), and their lead US makeup artist, Andrea Helgadottir. As Kim walked us through the collection, as well as some best-sellers that have been around for a while, Andrea created multiple makeup looks on a model using the products. Andrea started with a more subdued, glowy look using the Shimmer Powder Blusher ($24) pictured below. The new colors in this collection are Ambition, which is a neutral shade, and Morale, which is a rose pink. She also used the very versatile Pure Pigments ($24) to add a highlight to the upper cheekbones and underneath the eyebrow. The new Pure Pigment colors of the collection are Zeitgeist, which is a darker shimmer, and Beguile, which is a lighter shimmer.

For a cat-like eye quality, Andrea used Precision Ink ($27.50) in the new Havoc color. The Precision Ink is extremely versatile because it has a wet finish, but stays put ALL day. Andrea started by just using this for a cat-eye liner, but as the look developed further, she used it as more of an avant-garde drawing tool on the eyebrows and face. Kim Anderson even pointed out that the Precision Ink is SO precise that it can be used as a nail art pen if you put a top coat over it!

And speaking of nail art... Illamasqua is definitely known for its funky colors, and their new Nail Varnish colors ($14) are no exception. The new shades Taint (stone brown), Kink (green), Vice (cerise, which I'm wearing in the picture below), and Faux Pas (blue violet) all have a very cool rubber-looking finish.

To finish off the looks, whether a more neutral or a more dramatic look, Andrea and Kim recommended the Intense Lip Gloss ($20). The new shades Facade, a grey-ish pink, and Belladonna, a bright pink, are both long-wearing, super glossy, and don't feel waxy or crackly on the lips. In this final look below the model is wearing the Belladonna shade, and in the first natural look above she is wearing facade.

So, as you may have guessed, I have a lot of experimenting to do with this brand, but I think it will suffice to say that I have a new obsession. The Theatre of the Nameless collection is available on Sephora.com now, and will be available in select Sephora stores on Thursday, September 15th.

A giant Thank You for giving me some of these products to take home!