Yesterday I was most excited as I went on my first Illamasqua training course at the SOMUA (School of Make Up Art) in the Victoria Arcade, Leeds. This was a 2 hour course which focused on the technique known as cut creasing.
Illamasqua have ran training courses in London for a long time, and although its something I've always wanted to do I've never got round to booking one. So when I heard that the store in Leeds were trialing putting on some training sessions I jumped at the opportunity!
I decided on 2 courses to start with- a Cut Crease and a Skin Sculpting course (I'll be blogging about that once I've been next week). I love doing cut creases but as they are quite technical and can take a long time I was eager to pick up some tips and try different styles of application. Plus I got to play with lots of Illamasqua products!
Cut creases are nothing new, although they are featured all over social media and have a huge following. Probably the most iconic figure most people will be aware of who rocked the cut crease was the beautiful Audry Hepburn. Teamed with winged liner, it is easy to see why this 60's look is still so popular today.
The intensity of a cut crease can range from quite subtle, to very extreme- which is also why drag artists love this technique so much! The main aim of the cut crease is to make the eyes look bigger, and put plainly involves putting a light shadow on the lid with a darker shade above the crease. Often, the look is intensified by very clearly 'cutting' above the crease with a solid dark line, hence the name 'cut crease'.
Luckily for me, there was only myself and another makeup artist at the training session, which was ran by the lovely Charlotte Gabriella (Illamasqua art collective member). Super knowledgable and professional, Charlotte easily broke down the steps involved in the cut crease and tailored the session to what myself and the other MUA wanted to get out of it. As we covered the steps quite quickly, we were then able to apply a full face and try a whole range of Illamasqua products, including items from their new 'May Queen' range, which had been released that day.
My personal favourites from the day was the cruelty-free fine eye liner brush (which surprised me as it wasn't angled but made the eyeliner application a dream!), the Beyond Powder in Deity (a beautiful, pearlescent highlighter; part of the limited edition May Queen range), and the pigments in Furore (which I already own) and in Beguile. The only reason I didn't buy this is it reminds me of the Peaches and Cream pigment in Pearl which I own already.
I loved the session and so looking forward to my next training session next week. I already know that I love Illamasqua products as they perform so well, and are cruelty free and (almost all of the range) is vegan, which is extremly important for me, and to a lot of my clients.
My pictures from the day are below, plus a little 'play around' from today. Let me know what you think, and feel free to contact me and book in for me to try the cut crease look on you!
Charlotte can be followed on Instagram at charlottegabriellax.
