Oh, that trip to Sephora the other day with all the dudes milling about? I forgot to mention that I didn’t leave the store empty handed.

Nope. I walked out of there with a scribe…

Scribe? The white liquid liner from Illamasqua?

From the makers of White-Out correction fluid, LOL! No, no, but it looks a little like that, doesn’t it?

I picked it up because of that speckled cat eye look Illamasqua did for their spring 2013 Imperfection collection. Ever since I saw that promo pic, I’ve been obsessed with the idea of dotted cat eyes with black and white…

This afternoon I decided to give it a try, and the first thing I did was line my upper lash lines with MAC Blacktrack Fluidline, because I wanted something with a matte finish to contrast with the liquid liner’s shine.

Then, I did the white dots using Illamasqua Scribe, and finished with some black dots using Milani’s new Ultrafine Liquid Eye Liner in Black Vinyl.

Give it a try! — and if you do, um, save your mascara for the very last step. I made the mistake of doing my dots last and ended up with white liner all over my mascara…

Yup, hot mess.

I was already wearing two coats of Chanel Le Volume and didn’t want to make matters worse, so to clean up the white on my lashes, I painted over it with the black Milani liquid liner I used for the dots (Black Vinyl).
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The new Illamasqua Blush Up Brush ($40), available now at Sephora and sephora.com

I keep having visions of myself using Illamasqua’s new $41 Blush Up Brush while I’m on the elliptical machine at the gym, I think because Illamasqua refers to the shape oval brush head shape as an “ellipse.”

(I know, I know. I’m easily distracted.)

You might wondering, “Why would anyone apply blush in the middle of their workout?”

Honestly, I don’t know…but I’m someone who applies makeup to run to Petco in the middle of the night, so I don’t rule anything out anymore.

About the brush, Illamasqua says it opens doors to a bold new world of blush application! The secret: the elliptical shape.

It’s designed to fit snugly beneath your cheekbones. Just gently pull the brush upward along the cheekbones to create a soft gradient of color.

Here’s the recommended step-by-step instructions I’ve been following…

Looks as easy as 1-2-3

I’m intrigued, but I’m also pretty set it my ways when it comes to blush application. I’ve been doing the bounce and swirl for so long that I could do ‘em hanging upside down in a pitch black room.

After trying Illamasqua’s technique and the new brush for a few days, well, I think I’ll eventually get the hang of it, get to where I could create some sharp, defined ’80s-style cheeks, but it’s still a little tricky for me now.

First, the stuff I like about the brush: the soft bristles, and the long handle feels sturdy and comfortable in my paws.

Long, sleek and sturdy black handle (um, this is a good-looking brush!)

Oh, and the density of brush head? Amazing. It’s so thick! It picks up plenty of powder and deposits it smoothly and evenly on the skin.

Really great for strong, defined blocks of color.

Illamasqua Blush Up Brush in my hand for scale

Wearing the new Illamasqua Beg & Bronzerella Blusher Duo ($41), one of two new Blusher Duos released with the Imperfection spring 2013 collection

If acid-washed jeans can make a comeback (seriously?!), then it’s just a matter of time before bold, stripy ’80s-style blushes enjoy a renaissance.

And I can’t wait.

Oh, the number of falling stars my 8-year-old heart wished upon for cheeks like Joan Cusack’s in Working Girl…

Visions of those fabulously chiseled ’80s cheeks danced in my head when I opened Illamasqua’s new powerfully pigmented Powder Blusher Duo in Beg & Bronzerella today. “Ooh, yeah!” I thought, when I swatched matte dusty rose Beg and shimmery copper Bronzerella on the back of my hand. “I’m gonna Joan Cusack the CRAP outta these, woop-woop!”

But old habits die hard. After I swept stripes below my natural cheekbones using Beg and Illamasqua’s new $40 Blush Up Brush (review coming soon!), the urge to blend kicked in, and I ended up with my regular look — diffused blush on the apples of my cheeks — which I still like, but I couldn’t help feeling like I let Joan Cusack down…

Oh, well. I guess I just wasn’t ready for that jelly today.

Whether you like the look of strong, contoured cheeks or prefer softer, more natural looks, the new blushes in this duo are flexible enough to handle either extreme. Rich and indulgent like fine chocolate, these potent powder blushes are also as smooth as a tabby’s tum, and a little goes a long way.

Beg on the left and Bronzerella on the right

One swipe! — that’s Beg on the left and Bronzerella on the right

Wearing two layers of the new Illamasqua Specked Nail Varnish in Scarce, one of five nail varnishes in the new Imperfection collection, available now at Illamasqua counters and illamasqua.com

When I was a kid, I really had no concept of time or seasons (seriously, some things never change). In fact, if it weren’t for candy, I wouldn’t have followed any calendars at all!

What I mean is, I used to figure out what season it was by the kinds of candy I was eating, like “Oh! Cadbury Mini Eggs? It must be spring.”

Illamasqua’s new limited edition $16 Speckled Nail Varnishes remind me of the chocolate Easter bunnies, Peeps, Jordan almonds and, of course, speckled Cadbury Mini Eggs that always used to signal the arrival of spring.

The Cadbury Mini Eggs were always my favorites…

I’d eat the pink ones first, which is probably why Scarce, a pastel pink with navy blue speckles, sings to me like the birds outside my office window, and makes me want to nibble at my nails (probably not a good idea).

I’m wearing two coats here, but I’ll have to get back to you about the wear time, as I’ve only been wearing it for a few days (so far, so good). Already, though, based on how smoothly it applied and the pigmented color, it gets a thumbs up from me.

I dig the combination of tiny micro-glitter and bigger hexagonal pieces. Really reminds me of Easter candies, or little bird eggshells.

Cool!

Here’s something my fellow nail nerds might appreciate: when you apply more than one layer, the glitter in the bottom layers shows through but looks like it’s further away, so you get a mix of shiny glitter in the top layer and dimmer glitter in the bottom layers that gives the effect extra dimension.

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Wearing Illamasqua Shoot Intense Lipgloss ($22) on my lips from the new Imperfection spring 2013 collection, available now at Illamasqua counters and illamasqua.com

I really couldn’t say if Illamsaqua’s new Intense Lipgloss in Shoot will find its way into the purses of pouty-lipped cougars stalking Thursday happy hours, or whether it’ll take the makeup world by storm! — like NARS Orgasm blush did, but I will say that based on my time with this pureed pea green gloss, it’s actually, well, pretty darned wearable!

All things considered…

Perhaps it’s due to the way this leafy green shade, with its waxy shine, contrasts against the skin?

Or maybe it’s because I feel like a kid again when I wear it, like I’m sitting on the lawn at recess with my friends, watching our tiny fingers thread through blades of grass as we look for ladybugs, four-leaf clovers and Smurfs.

Yup, it’s a gloss

Hmm…

Let’s face it, this color’s a little cray. Even El Hub, who’s infamous for never noticing these things (it took the man a week once to realize that I’d dyed my hair pink), blurted, “You’ve got Hulk lips,” when I came walking down the stairs.

If you like to scoot under the radar, you might want to wear something else…but if you like to push the boundaries between beauty and botany and/or work in an environment where bright green glosses are the norm, why not?

Sealed with a green kiss!