Illamasqua Afterhours Makeup: Coming Soon

In a time when brands are pushed out of the market and limit their distribution, a new launch is always good news. According to WWD, Illamasqua, a British cosmetics company is coming to Sephora by the end of this month.

The interesting thing about Illamasqua is the concept: Makeup For Your Alter Ego. This is makeup for nighttime. They specialize in bold colors, false eyelashes and vampy nails. Judging from the photo on WWD, we won't see a "nude collection" here, though looking at the company's website, I see all the neutral colors one could need, so maybe it's not just for creatures of the night.

I'd love to hear from overseas readers who've tried Illamasqua products. How good (or bad) is it? What should I try? Please comment!

Photo of Illamasqua counter at Selfridges: WWD, Eyeshadow palette: illamasqua.com

The Lipstick Effect

One of the aspects of the slumping economy is the search for industries and products that are supposedly recession proof. The lipstick effect is one of these well-known concepts. Basically, when the going gets tough, the tough buy lipstick and go to the movies (or, at least, that's what they did during the Great Depression).

WWD tried taking the concept one step further and examine the other retail equivalents of the proverbial lipstick tube. More simply put: What are people buying to feel better?

They asked leading luxury retailers, designers and chain stores. Not all who were asked agreed to participate, and some of those who did seem to be spouting a marketing script for pushing their latest crap, but it's still interesting (even if I wouldn't base my future investment decisions on this little survey).

Bergdorf and Neiman claim that we're buying Manolos and Choos. The statement show, which in a way makes sense. You get more mileage from the perfect sandals than from one Versace dress. Both retailers have a winning red lipstick, Rouge G lipstick from Guerlain. At $45 I feel like doing a lipstick face-off between this one and the $75 Serge Lutens (only available from Barneys).

Other retailers are talking accessories: scarves, belts, headbands. Nobody mentions the "It Bag", so hopefully we're over that particular craze. The Gap is trying to convince us that their boxy cardigan is the item of choice that would make us all feel good (at $44, I'd skip the cardi and go for a Guerlain lipstick). Intermix are supposedly selling jumpsuits, but I'd rather believe we all have much better fashion sense than that. Only Bernie Madoff deserves a jumpsuits.

The one thing no one mentioned was perfume. It's making me sad.

Do you think this is accurate? Are you buying red lipsticks these days? What do you purchase as a pick-me-up? Please share in a comment.

Info: WWD
Top image: Joan Crawford and a lipstick organizer, 1929
Ugly jumpsuit: Proenza Schouler, $975, intermix.com

Are Stila's Troubles Over?

Were the rumors of Stila's demise exaggerated? It was no secret that the brand was in dire straights and product availability has been somewhat spotty lately. Their web site is mostly gone and there's a notice saying orders that were place on 3/23/2009 - 3/24/2009 may be canceled.

Stila has changed hands- Lauder sold it to Sun Capital who didn't seem to make it work, to the point that (according to WWD) they could not make payroll and have sent all employees home last month for an unpaid vacation time. The latest news is of another change in ownership. WWD is now reporting that Stila was sold to venture capital firm Patriarch Partners LLC.

Personally, I was never a big fan and had no Stila must-haves. I found most of the products overpriced for what they were, but I know enough beauty-obsessed who love the brand. Are you stocking up on your favorite Stila products?

Already Waiting For Spring

WWD has the photos from the Diane von Furstenberg RTW Spring 2009 show. The colors and prints are fabulous, but as the WWD reporter has noticed, almost everything shown was on the dreamy, hippie side, and very little you can take to the office or a NYC dinner party. However, from past experience I think we have reasons to hope that the fabrics would also end up in other shapes and cuts. I know I'd be happy to meet many of them in a wrap dress or a little blouse one can pair with a denim skirt or classic white pants. The ones I'd take as is are the dress Diane herself was wearing and this cute striped one (minus the model's horribly bony legs):


Images: WWD

Beauty Blogs Making Headlines

Women's Wear Daily has a semi-interesting article about beauty blogs, their growing influence on consumers and the way companies, retailers and traditional media are coping with us. Some are learning to live with it and even develop respect for independent opinions, others are launching their own blogs, trying to reach out more directly by skipping the usual purple prose of an ad campaign.

Here's the link, but you need a subscription to read the full article.

I had to stifle a little giggle when reading this quote by Stacy Baker, editorial director of Sephora: "A blogger has to know what she's talking about and have the résumé — or at least citations — to backbone her opinion,".
(For the record: My issue with Sephora was never with their beauty products, of which they still offer a great selection. My gripe is with their perfume department that is sinking deeper and deeper into the realms of Pink Sugar and the lowest common denominator)

What do you think? What bothers you more: lack of formal beauty credentials or the obvious obligation traditional media has to its advertisers?


Image: The Little Writer by Raccoon with a Cigar, from deviantArt

Ralph Lauren Perfumes: A Story in Pictures

This is a week of perfume annoyances, so why should I bother getting grouchy about the new Ralph Wild from Ralph Lauren?
From WWD:

Created by Ralph Lauren Fragrances' Linda Kramer in collaboration with Olivier Gillotin and Jim Krivda of Givaudan, the "wild fruity floral" fragrance has top notes of pink peppercorn, watermelon and wild strawberry; middle notes of cherry blossom, red rose pedal and sheer jasmine, and base notes of amber, sandalwood and musk.

The image above is the one we'll see in Ralph Wild ads. The target demographic is between the ages of 15 and 25.
I thought we all could use a reminder about the classic Ralph Lauren scents, Safari (now discontinued) and Lauren (reformulated and stripped from its soul):


Images: WWD, Okadi and Images de Parfums