Rawrgirls Review . . . Illamasqua Precision Brow Gel in Stare!

My love for Illamasqua really bloomed when one of only three standalone stores opened in Liverpool's Metquarter shopping mall, probably my fave shopping haunt in the city. The Metquarter is always chilled, pristine and houses many of Liverpool's cool designer stores and eateries. If you're a local, you'll also know that they are home to the best courtesy bathrooms in the city centre. If you're not a local, there's a little tip for you before you go spending your change elsewhere ;)

Anyhoo, last week I was invited to partake in an Illamasqua make-up tutorial to celebrate the launch of their latest product, Illamasqua Precision Brow Gel (£18.50 each). It's different to powder and pencils because it allows you to draw finer hairs and fill in gaps more realistically. The Illamasqua MUA working on me had the most fabulous brows I've seen in a long time, so I knew I was in good hands. She decided that I would suit the darkest shade, Stare, and proceeded to demonstrate a couple of different looks on my brows. She showed me how to work the angled brush to avoid the dreaded Sharpie look in favour of a more natural, soft colour. Secondly, she explained how to get a more dramatic look by angularly defining the top line of the brow more, and highlighting it by using a concealer on the forehead so the dark brow gel pops against the skin.

The gel applies like a dream and is so easy to work with, and a little goes a very long way. I also purchased the Illamasqua Angled Brush (£19), because after the session I realised just how rubbish the supposedly angled brush that I had been working with actually was!

I'm still practising my fine lines and the fading technique, but I couldn't be happier with my 'new' eyebrows! I'm super impressed with the staying power too. My old powder which is from a very famous eyebrow-centric brand isn't very durable if I'm honest, but this cream/gel formulation is water resistant and I actually need to use eye make-up remover to get it all off at the end of the day!

So yes, I can't pimp this product enough! And I also recommend popping to your nearest Illamasqua store or counter for a tutorial on a planned, or new, purchase. It's not something I usually do, being from the 'sorry to bother you' school of cosmetic buying, but I learnt so much from the MUA in such a short time that I would definitely ask for a demonstration and application advice on an unfamiliar product next time, it really does make all the difference to how you use it when you get home.

Huge thanks to Metquarter and Illamasqua for the invite :)

J - Make 'em Stare.