Beauty of Age: Illamasqua’s New ‘Generation Q’ Collection

Beauty is to be celebrated at any age. Who wants to stop wearing a bright red statement lip just because they hit a birthday? Not us! Illamasqua feels the same way.

The brand’s new fall collection, Generation Q, is a beautiful follow-up to their latest endeavor, Human Fundamentalism. Generation Q celebrates beauty at any age and proves that you never have to put down the lipstick... or the eye shadow... or the blush...

For their inspiring subjects, Illamasqua took to the streets with an open "Beauty Before Age" casting call for the fall collection’s campaign. Thousands of people were considered, with only a final few chosen to represent Illamasqua's vision of beauty at any age. The models included Mairi (age 39), a makeup artist and former snowboarder, Evelyn (age 72), discovered at the Illamasqua counter in Manchester, UK and Patricia (age 55), mother of Alex who works in the Illamasqua flagship store. Even the men were represented! Ian (age 40) was also transformed by Alex Box for the campaign.

Each of the models were surprised to hear they had been chosen, with many of them saying they thought a mistake had been made. Even though many of them were in front of the camera for the first time, there was a shared appreciation for the gorgeous artistry of Alex Box and as Patricia said, the "vibrant, organized chaos" of the photo studio setting.

The statement that accompanied the launch of Generation Q reads like a beauty manifesto we can get behind: "Generation Q is a celebration of beauty. Ageless, and without limits or restrictions. It’s our declaration to the world that beauty is inclusive, not exclusive. In fact, Generation Q is a clear message to everybody, everywhere that beauty is not young, old, black, white, male or female, but anything, everything and everyone. If you’re someone who does not want age to define them, don’t want to blend in and fade away, you are Generation Q."

We couldn't have said it better ourselves!

Look for the gorgeous Generation Q in stores September 2012.