Friday evening. A time when most people are rushing home for the weekend or on their way to a night out, except I was doing neither. Instead I made my way to a familiar haunt of mine – Illamasqua’s flagship store on Beak Street in Soho. Not for a spot of shopping, I hasten to add but for one of their make-up courses that they run in their school within.
Illamasqua’s School of Make Up Artistry is open to everyone from beginners to pros. There isn’t that air of snootiness about the place that automatically singles you out if you’ve not got a make-up qualification under your belt. Their approach is friendly, encouraging and in absolutely no way terrifying, and the variety of courses on offer will suit everyone’s schedules and budgets. From two hour master-classes to five day intense courses, there isn’t anything Illamasqua doesn’t cover from everyday make-up to drag queens.
I was booked for the Skin Sculpting course, a two hour session that would teach me about contouring and sculpting the face with the use of foundation only. To say I was excited was an understatement. I was positively eager.
Illamasqua’s make-up classes are always small and intimate. In my class there were only four but the maximum is no more than eight to allow students to pair up and work on each other if required. A small class is certainly less daunting as well, allowing each individual their own personal space as well as a chance to interact with the educator running the course.
My session was run by Tonee, a brilliantly funny, patient and tactful educator who divided the class in steps, using each student to demonstrate which was wonderful as each person’s face shape was different so we were able to see and understand how make-up was applied accordingly.
In short, the skin sculpting course teaches the tricks and professional techniques when it comes to adding light, definition and dimension to facial contours. Contouring draws the face in and makes it look slimmer (as I grow old gracefully, I definitely need that) and highlighting accentuates any features you want to stand out, making your face appear brighter and fuller. This class is about subtly so don’t expect the extreme war-paint routine Kim Kardashian does. Ain’t no one got time for that shizzle! Besides, you will look like a fool.
The session focussed on two looks – day time and evening. The main products we used were Hydra Veil (£30), Skin Base foundation (£32) and Skin Base Lift concealer (£17.50). The key tools were the Highlighter Brush (£24.50) for the foundation and a Blending Brush (£22) for applying concealer. As with all Illamasqua brushes, they are cruelty-free, synthetically made. Blending is the secret when working with Skin Base and with little pressure. Do it correctly and you will be rewarded with airbrushed looking skin.
Truthfully speaking, I was using my finger tips to apply Skin Base foundation (there is nothing wrong with that) but when I used the brush, it helped to distribute the product evenly and I noticed the profound difference not to mention how little product was used. I had fallen back in love with Skin Base and realised why it is my favourite foundation. It really looks like you’re wearing a layer of skin. Thank you, David Horne for creating this magical potion.
Now understanding the way skin sculpting works is actually not as difficult as it sounds. There are three main shades you work with – your foundation, a highlighter and a contouring shade. I had my Skin Base shade sorted but in order to highlight, the general rule was to go half as light as my regular shade. I’m a 12 in Skin Base foundation (which is the most popular shade and is always out of stock!) so my highlighter shade would be a 6 or a 6.5, which was the shade I used.
To contour we used a Skin Base Mixer, which I was thrilled about as up until the course I was unsure how to use. Skin Base Mixers are small tubes of skin base pigments that can be mixed into the skin base foundations to create the perfect matched base. In this case they were used to create the perfect contouring shade. Only a tiny drop is needed as the product is highly concentrated.
I used the darkest shade, Chestnut, which when mixed with my shade of Skin Base turned into a sludgey colour. Tonee made a very interesting point about the correct shade for contouring: essentially you are creating a shadow which the greyish, sludgey colour substitutes as. Using a bronzer to contour is effectively incorrect and may explain why when contouring goes wrong, it looks like you’ve got mud on your face.
To go from day to night, we used the Sculpting Powder Duo (£26) to build upon and add further definition on the sculpting foundation created. Throughout the course we were individually in charge of our looks.
When all these stages were put together, I could see how skin sculpting had changed and defined my face in a subtle and natural way. Suddenly the whole prospect wasn’t as daunting and difficult as it sounded, and it made me feel more confident about doing this alone.
Tonee really was a breath of fresh air. He suggested I use Skin Base Lift in Deep 1 under my eyes, which is horrifically dark but when applied, instantly lifted and brightened my under eye area which is normally dark.
I also learned a few things and some tricks. I would never have thought about patting on Berber pigment over my red lips painted with lipstick Box. I also learned not to be such a wimp with using a lip liner around my lips instead of on it, which made my lips smaller. Before I feared I would look like Kylie Jenner or Pete Burns (easy to get the two mixed up.)
Two hours flew by but it was long enough to cover all the crucial areas. There is also a 20% discount on the day of any Illamasqua products so a good excuse to pick up some favourites and some new ones used on the course. I’m an Illamasqua (ho)arder so I had everything but I went away knowing I could make good use of my stash.
The Skin Sculpting Course costs £60 for two hours and is easy to book online or by phone. It is on a first come, first served basis. You do not need to bring anything – the course provides all the tools and products. To find out more about the other courses on offer, visit http://www.illamasqua.com/explore/school-of-makeup-art/.
There is currently 15% off Illamasqua’s 2-3 hour make-up course if booked by 31st December 2014. To book, click here. I’ve already secured mine: it’s the Cut-crease Eye Design Course. I cannot wait to master this technique!
*I was a guest of Illamasqua on the Skin Sculpting Course, which was complimentary.
Leave a Reply