LGFB Beauty Editor's Day 2011 - Full Review

I was absolutely shattered at the end of this year’s beauty editor’s day after spending the day talking to amazing PR people, beauty editors and make-up artists about all things beauty. It was not only arguably the most fun I’ve had all year (I know, I’m sad, but seriously there was a LOT of make-up to explore and take in) but it appeared to be a hugely successful day in terms of raising money for the Look Good, Feel Better charity.

Lisa Oxenham, Beauty Editor @ Marie Claire

My first appointment was with Lisa Oxenham who is the Beauty Editor for Marie Claire magazine and she was paired with Nars this year. I’ve been lucky enough to meet Lisa before and she is someone who is so incredibly easy to talk to and willing to offer advice on how to proceed with making my blog the best it can be. I spent 20 minutes discussing this with Lisa before I was handed a Nars goody bag to take away. After the initial confusion of trying to work out what it was when I stopped for a quick drink in the champagne bar that overlooks the accessories area, I realised that I had in my possession the infamous Nars Bento Box which is based on the Japanese concept of Kabuki make-up. Contained in this gorgeous box is 1 Kabuki lip brush and 2 Kabuki cups filled with hand poured lipsticks in bright pink and bright red. Not only are the colours absolutely beautiful and strangely very wearable (even my boyfriend liked them on me, which is not like him as he doesn’t like anything colourful or theatrical) the set itself is just delightful. It’s like a perfect blend of beauty and make-up laced with cultural reference that takes this set from make-up to art. I am so very in love with it and consequently afraid to use it for fear of taking away from it’s beauty. But I will, as I love the colours! The fact that Nars felt it was wise to give away this in the goody bag is truly inspired and puts them in a league of their own when it comes to giving the LGFB attendees the perfect present.

After my time with Lisa and Nars, I visited the Giorgio Armani stand. I was very excited about this as I don’t have a GA counter near me and I’d heard all sorts of brilliant reviews on this brand, but I was reluctant to order from them until I’d had a chance to experience the make-up myself. I pitched up and prepared myself for an introduction to the brand and was very fortunate to have a lovely make-up artist who talked me through what GA had to offer. The two things I’d heard most about were their various foundations and their Eyes to Kill mascara. I’m still kicking myself for not purchasing the mascara, but I did purchase their Luminous Silk Foundation of which I’m most pleased with; full review to follow. I also had their loose powder, blusher, bronzer and under-eye concealer applied and thank god I didn’t have my credit card with me as I would be in serious debt if I had. I’m always a bit reluctant to have my make-up done at counters because nine times out of ten I leave looking heavily made-up. However, I left looking healthy and radiant, a lot like the make-up artists working there look. I really am impressed with GA and I intend to purchase more from them – I’ve already planned my next visit to Selfridges to do so! There were two brands I fell in love with on the day and this was one of them. The other one was……

Illamasqua blush in Katie.

Illamasqua, who I’m only really familiar with because they do a very pale pink blush (Katie) that I’ve been hunting down for a while but to no avail as it was out of stock everywhere. I thought I’d try my luck to see if it was available at the stand and the incredibly helpful make-up artist said he’d go and check his stock. On his return he had found the last remaining Katie blush and I was thrilled! Obviously I had some time to kill whilst I was waiting for his return, so I had a mooch through their various product displays. Being a bit of a blush obsessive, I was blown away by the colours they have on offer. Their cream blushers come in beautifully bright colours (one’s already made it on to my next shopping list) and their powder blushes are highly pigmented in equally unusual colours. They also do a lot of matte blushes which I personally really like, as I’m not a huge fan of shimmer in a blush. Illamasqua is a brand that you NEED to acquaint yourself with if you’re looking for something a bit different. They pride themselves on being a break from the norm and provide make-up that can be used to create intensely dramatic yet wearable looks. I can’t do them justice by writing on here, so I strongly suggest you take a look at their website to see what I mean!

Kim Parker, Beauty Editor @ Red Magazine

After Illamasqua it was my turn at Chanel who were paired with Kim Parker from Red Magazine. Kim offered me very helpful advice and suggestions on how to go about writing and detailing my experiences of all topics relating to beauty and was also incredibly charming and easy to talk to. The wonderful girls at the Chanel counter also let me have a sneak peek at the new Rouge Allure Velvet lipsticks that were launching the following day, info of which can be found on my blog about the launch here.

In the Chanel goody bag was a copy of Red magazine and a lovely selection of Chanel goodies including Rouge Coco Shine (I really do love that name) in 54, Boy, an Anti-Yellow Protective Base Coat for the nails, A Touch Up Brush (which is FANTASTIC for applying setting powder – what a difference a brush makes!) and samples of Vitalumiére and Inimitable mascara. I really love Chanel so I was really happy to receive such a lovely selection of goodies housed in a gorgeous make-up bag.

So it was a truly amazing day that I will definitely be booking onto next year and I suggest you do the same, especially if you’re as obsessed with make-up as I am and realise the importance of the Look Good, Feel Better charity.

As I mentioned at the beginning, I met some truly talented and brilliant individuals, all of whom bent over backwards to help me in anyway they could and I also got a great introduction to Georgio Armani and Illamasqua, so for me, the day could not have been more enjoyable.