Hey, guys! Thank you everyone for entering my giveaway, I’m really glad you liked it! Unfortunately I had to disqualify quite a few of you, because you didn’t follow the simple rules very carefully: all you had to do was Share the image publicly on your wall AND include a short message next to it. That was it!
So here’s what number the random.org widget chose from the list of participants:
Congratulations, Georgeta Mirela Iacob! I will be expecting your address, name and phone number in an email at lili@makeupbylili.com.
Thanks again, everyone, and see you again later, I’m off on vacation!
xoxo Lili
Hey, everybody! I really wanted to thank you all for your support in this new venture of mine, we really grew fast on Facebook, hitting 1000 Likes in 2 months! As a gratitude, I am launching a giveaway for all of you featuring my soul brand, Illamasqua <3
You can win:
ILLAMASQUA Powder Blusher in Lover
- beautiful soft apricot, matt finish, universal colour, gives you a lovely fresh flush of liveliness!
ILLAMASQUA Lipstick in Obey
- bright peachy pink, matt finish, very pigmented, perfect for summer and all year round!
I bought the products myself and chose them specifically to compliment each other and to fit just about everybody 
The colors are super pigmented and long-lasting, they’re just a bit on the bright side so to prepare you for the fun summer time!
Here’s a picture to show you how they look applied on the cheeks and lips, of course:
How to participate:
- Like MakeupByLili on Facebook
- Follow this blog through GFC (it doesn’t show up right now, I’ll try to fix it) and/or follow me on Twitter
- Share the first picture on Facebook on your Wall with some text, no blank shares. The first image will be posted on my Facebook so you just go to it and click the Share button underneath, include some text also, smth more personal, tell your friends about it. Make sure you set the visibility to Public, as this is the only way I can check your shares.
I will be counting just the Shares for the competition and I will be checking each one of them. You can Share on Facebook multiple times, but only ONE entrance per person will be considered for the giveaway. The GFC and Twitter subscriptions will be much appreciated, but not obligatory.
- Open internationally, anyone can enter.
- Deadline is April 10 or stops if we hit 1000 Shares until then (I really hope not 
).
The winner will be drawn out randomly, through random.org. The winner announcement will take place shortly after competition ends, but I don’t promise when exactly as I predict travel preparations next week, I’m travelling home for a short vacation.
Good luck, everyone, and I hope you like this giveaway and the products!
xoxo Lili
Hey, guys! I began the look today by completely concealing my whole face, especially eyebrows (I used soap & concealer). Then it was free-hand liner work, inspired by some Illamasqua artwork. I used black liquid eyeliner around one eye (Illamasqua Precision Ink in Abyss) and beige liquid eyeliner on the other (Precision Ink in Glister), for contrast. Red lips to add some glamour to this freaky look 
This was a nice exercise for me regarding covering eyebrows and precision work with the eyeliner, but the final look looks interesting, too, so I decided to share it with you:
xoxo Lili
Hey guys! I wanted to show you some images with a new face of Jill Models Management here in Antwerp, that I made up for a test photoshoot last weekend. She has beautiful pale skin and blonde hair, with an interesting eye color and gorgeous lips (that I couldn’t resist paint red!). The concept photographer is Asiko from London, who has just moved to Belgium himself! Loved the soft moody effect he added to the pictures and Charlotte was such a good sport with everything, here’s a selection of the end result:
Photography: Asiko
Model: Charlotte (Jill Models Management)
Makeup&hair: Lili Ursu (me)
Hi there! I had a few sad weather days where I couldn’t find my inspiration although I tried to, and that never works intentionally. Yesterday I finally got mad and painted my face in a chaotic colorful manner just to get all my frustrations out I had no idea what I was looking for as a result, but I said to myself I should just use pencils, as some sort of challenge. So I did. Aaand I realized I need more color pencils, because they’re fun to use and give you a superb color pay-off for any look. Anyways, this is what I got, keep in mind I did it in a hurry and not knowing what it should be
xoxo Lili
Today is the first day of Spring! In my culture, this is highly celebrated and we even have a symbol for it – Mărţişor! It’s like a “badge” that people give each other on the first day of March and they wear it on their chest. Nowadays it can have a million styles and colors, but originally it is a red & white string tied in a bow and with little white and red decorations on each end. Last night I decided to do another “lip art” feature with Mărţişor (pronounced Martzishor), but the close-ups turned out really crappy (bad light or flash). So I just opted for the full-face pics below, rest of the face has hardly any makeup on:
It’s nothing extraordinary, but I really wanted to show you this cute symbol! I just used 2 pencils, white and red
Have a wonderful spring, everybody!
xoxo Lili
First it was the trend with one different colored nail (ring finger or/and thumb), which I didn’t care much for. It just seemed too obvious to me, very few combinations that I actually liked. Then there was the ombre effect on each nail, with the tip color fading smoothly into the base of the nail in the opposite intensity or complementary color. That I liked, but haven’t had the experience or frankly enough excitement to do it on my own nails Then I stumbled upon this fun, super easy take on the ombre, which is actually painting each nail in a different color of the same family, from dark to light. I currently have some problems with my nails, they brake and exfoliate severely, so I had to cut them really short. I desperately wanted something that would cheer them (me) up, so I remembered about this method. Awesome! I didn’t have a super smooth fading of colors, but I worked with what I found in my polish collection. So here’s my take on it:
I love that they look like candies!
The polishes are (from thumb to pinkie): OPI Lincoln Park After Dark, Catrice 200 From Dusk To Dawn, OPI Parlez-Vous OPI?, Astor 102 Dawn Lilac, Flormar 29.
Btw: What natural oil is beneficial (I mean magical) for nails? Have you tried any good remedies?
xoxo Lili
So yesterday I presented myself with a pink challenge. The idea was to use lots of this color, also to incorporate some flowers and to make a semi-fantasy/wearable look that would transmit a romantic and ethereal mood. It was Valentine’s Day, after all! And I know I won’t be in the mood for so much pink sweetness too often otherwise.
Luckily, I found a fake pink orchid from Ikea I bought a long time ago and pinned it to the side of my head. From there I got the rest of the color inspiration and the softness of the shapes created. I messed up two major elements, because I wasn’t sure of the end result: first are the eyebrows that I totally ignored, thinking of making them as unnoticeable as possible. The thing is that elongating the eyeshadow shape so much, plus the flicked out lashes, requires a matching longer brow. Secondly – the lips, wish they were much pinker! But I’m happy with the result, nonetheless, hope you enjoy:
xoxo Lili
Hi, lovelies! I’m back with my thoughts and pictures from last weekend’s International Make-up Artist Trade Show in London! I booked my ticket and Eurostar train a month ahead of the event and I was lucky to have my very good friends host me, so I really looked forward to it. IMATS is one of the very few make-up shows that I know of and it’s the biggest and most talked about, at least in the online world. It takes place once a year in different parts of the world, London being the only European city on its “tour map”, which is too bad… I think make-up fanatics in Europe would love to attend to more huge events like this, have masters from the industry hold speeches and masterclasses, exchange techniques and knowledge.
The trade show took place at the beautiful Alexandra Palace, a huge luxurious venue pretty far from the city centre. It is surrounded by Alexandra Park and it located on top of a hill, so, honestly, the last climb by foot felt literally like reaching to the “top of the (makeup) world”. I went there by myself and I was smiling walking up the hill (after a 2-overground-trains-and-one-bus trip), it was like the exact physical representation of what I felt like finally getting to the event. The beautiful palace slowly starts to come through the tree branches and it has a lot of stairs until you get to the door/gate. Fairytale!
I got there at around 9:15 (doors opened at 8:30) and was able to quickly check in at the online pre-sale booth , few people in line. They give you a plastic bracelet that you’re supposed to wear both days of the event (if you go). Inside – an immense ceiling, open space hall area with an egyptian theme and huge plants.
You could then leave your coat and other unnecessary baggage for 1 pound at a counter and get your IMATS branded big bag. It was pretty cold though and I got my coat back for the second part of the day After another long corridor with immense conference rooms on the side, there goes the main room where all the exhibitors showcased their products, and where everybody met everybody:
For the full list of the attending brands, go here. The big hits where Illamasqua, MAC, Make Up For Ever, Inglot, NYX and Royal & Langnickel brushes. They had the biggest and busiest booths. I was particularly happy to see such a vast choice of different brush brands and finally got to touch Hakuhodo brushes. O. M. G. I think I heard angels sing when I felt the soft touch of a Hakuhodo blush brush, incredible!!!
Wandering about the booths to check out all the brands so I could have an idea of everyone present, I stumbled upon a makeup demonstration of Eve Pearl herself, a Youtube guru I follow for a long time! Well, she’s not known primarily for her Yt channel, she’s a renowned celebrity make-up artist: 5-time Emmy Award winner with ABC’s The View, also works with NBC’s Today show, Good Morning America, The Academy Awards, and also has her own makeup line. I told her how much I like her work and she was very sweet in response:
Next stop is Illamasqua! My sould brand, my *imaginary* family, no but I felt very warm and fuzzy inside as I approached their su-per busy stand… Because they’ve hosted me with so much love and care during a week as their School of Make-up student a few months ago. I was happy to meet Daniel and Clare again (my teachers), David Horne (Director of School & Product Development), Spob (Head of Professional Development) and Chinyee (School Manager). I also had a lovely chat with a blonde-haired lady (forgot to take her name!) with whom we joked about how crazy the kids where to attack the Illamasqua counter and about MAC’s very Illamasqua-ish take on a makeup demo.
David Horne & Spob being interviewed:
Me with dearest Daniel, Educator & National Make-up Artist at Illamasqua:
Follows, a few striking makeup demos observed throughout the day at IMATS:
There was a corner at the venue, entitled “Make-up Museum”, with some head molds, special effect materials and works of art:
Apart from the products and makeup looks I wanted to enjoy at the event, I really wanted to attend the speaker’s classes or, simply, demonstrations and pieces of advice from the industry professionals. Speeches were held all throughout the day, many overlapping, so you had to be selective and choose to your desire and interest. This is who I’ve managed to see and hear:
Damien Dufresne – award-winning make-up artist and photographer (France):
David Allan Jones – high-fashion runway and editorial make-up artist (Canada):
Terry Barber - M.A.C. Director of make-up art for the United Kingdom and Europe (UK):
EnKore – Youtube guru, 20 years experience as a professional make-up artist (USA):
Valenté Frazier - Emmy Award-winning celebrity make-up artist, A-list clients including Rihanna,Tyra Banks, Iman, Heidi Klum and others (USA):
For the complete set of pictures, please check out my Facebook! For stuff I bought on Saturday from the IMATS, you can visit this blog post on my Romanian page
All in all it was a beautiful experience and most of all I enjoyed the artistic juice, the atmosphere and the inspiration that I was filled with afterwards. I would not recommend you go there just to buy some discounted products, because the offers were generally not that significant, considering your entrance ticket and the trip to London or even to the venue. I’d highly recommend it for true passionates and professionals, plus… the majority of brands are from the professional range and pretty high-end (except for a few local brands like Sleek, and the American NYX).
The sad part was that the next morning I woke up with a swollen cheek and had to find a dentist asap. It also started to snow heavily and, in the end, I wasn’t able to get to the show, although I was dying to meet the Pixiwoo sisters in person and make some of the bigger purchases. I’m not that sad, because my tooth is now healing properly and, oh well, I really enjoyed the first day of IMATS!
xoxo Lili
