To mark the anniversary of Sophie Lancaster’s passing after being beaten to death two years ago because of the way she looked, the make up brand Illamasqua has announced this as its official day of mourning will be on Monday, August 24.
All of the staff working on Illamasqua’s seven national beauty counters – in London, Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, Cardiff, Belfast and Dublin will be showing their respect and promoting tolerance by wearing black silk arm bands.
All of the counters will be showing bold and beautiful on-screen imagery of Sophie, with messages about the SOPHIE foundation’s work. Also, anybody who buys the SOPHIE black pencil on the Illamasqua counters on this day will also receive a SOPHIE wrist band, enabling all who wear it to show the world they believe in tolerance and respect for all cultures – including sub-cultures.
Illamasqua, which has its roots firmly based in tolerance and self expression will also show its respect and support for Sophie’s family, by closing down its website and web shop, which receives over 4,000 worldwide hits a day. Instead, the site will display the charity’s advertisement, with a smiling picture of Sophie and a message that reminds everyone to be more tolerant of each other.
On Monday, visitors will be able to purchase just one product online – the Illamasqua SOPHIE pencil, where £3 goes directly to the charity.
Sylvia Lancaster, Sophie’s mother and driving force behind the Sophie Lancaster Foundation comments, “I want Sophie’s story to be an inspiration to us all to live in tolerance and to celebrate everyone’s right to be who they want to be. The Sophie Lancaster Foundation and Illamasqua are intrinsically linked – both promote and fight for the freedom to self-express.
“I applaud Illamasqua on its day of mourning for Sophie. It is simply about reminding people that they must take a stand and be exactly who they want to be, whoever or whatever that is – and that is also one of the main objectives of Sophie’s charity. She would be thrilled”.
Illamasqua is available at illamasqua.com, asos.com or at the following department stores:
- Selfridges London Oxford Street
- Selfridges Manchester Trafford Centre
- Fenwicks Newcastle
- Debenhams Glasgow
- Debenhams Cardiff
- Debenhams Belfast
- BT2 Dublin
For further information about The Sophie Lancaster Foundation or Illamasqua please visit the links.
