I'm
finally getting around to filling all of you in on my MAC Studio Talk Class that I went to back in October. I'm so sorry it took me this long. As promised, I am going to share everything I learned at the class with you plus some of my thoughts. As you'll see, MAC products are recommended for use by the artist because of course they want you to go to this class then buy all their products! I added in what I use just so you have an idea of other comparable products.
The Studio Talk Class was taught by a very talented makeup artist who had a model up front to demonstrate on. She went over everything about prepping the skin for makeup, down to applying false lashes. Taken from my notes, here we go...
Skin-Apply a lip conditioner in the morning before starting your makeup, or the night before to keep the texture of your lips smooth.
-Use Fix + before putting anything else on the face. Fix + makes your moisturizer stick and also sets your powder after your makeup is done.
-After spraying Fix +, incorporate a moisturizer with an SPF of at least 15 (I usually use Sunscreen
as my moisturizer.)
-After applying moisturizer, put an eye cream on under your eyes as well as on your eyelids. Jessica recommended Moisture Lush eye cream for all skin types, and Fast response eye cream only with oily skin. Fast response also minimizes pores. (I use Neutrogena's Ageless Essentials Eye Cream).
-To improve the texture of the skin before applying foundation, use a primer. To apply primer, use the 187 brush. (I just use my fingers.)
-With the 252 brush, apply concealer under the eyes, going down-->up, so up towards your eye from your face. The 252 brush is flat, I use a similar one by Target that's a fraction of the price.
-Apply foundation with the 187 brush. With a matte foundation, use a matte under-eye concealer and vice versa.
-Contouring: I didn't write down the brush that was used for this, but you'd want to use an angle brush. Take a color a couple shades darker than your skin and work into the ear area, not down towards the mouth, but horizontally along the jawline. For contouring the nose to make it look thinner, apply the same shade on either side of your nose and set with powder. Highlight your nose down the center with a lighter color, and on your cheekbones towards the nose.
Brows-Apply Lingering Brow Liner in sparse areas on your brows.
-Set with a clear mascara.
Eyes-Apply Paintpot primer in Painterly over the lids to eliminate any redness or veins and to keep the eyeshadow in place. You can stop here for an every day look with no eyeshadow.
-Apply an eyeshadow 1-2 times darker than your skin color on your crease. You want the most intensity of color to be under your eyebrow arch. Soft Brown is the eyeshadow color most use for the crease. (I use MAC's Kid.) I also never thought of applying the crease color before anything else, but it actually works quite well.
-On the outer crease, use a darker color with light pressure, and apply upward in small circular motions.
-Use a liner on your upper waterline to make lash line appear thicker.
-Highlighting under the brow: Use a light colored pencil under the brow, draw it on exactly as the underside of the brow is shaped, then diffuse it down with a brush. After that, put on an iridescent shadow over the pencil, just under the arch.
-Apply Cream Color Base in Pearl on the lid, under the crease.
-For eyelid shadow, hold your brush upside down and move from the lash line up towards the crease when applying.
-Take a color darker than your lid shadow and apply where the crease and lid meet with a flat brush and blend.
Lips-Apply lipstick with a lip brush
-Apply Lip Liner
-Adjust lip liner with the lip brush
-Apply Gloss
Body-One of the makeup artist's gripes was that she often sees women wearing beautiful makeup, but it ends there. To keep it streamlined, so to speak, add a little shimmer to your collarbone/neck, and for a night out, apply shimmer on your arms, legs, and chest.
I really hope that was clear and that you picked up some new ideas/tricks! Although I already knew a lot about makeup and application, I did learn some in this class and I was so glad I went. If you're interested in attending a Studio Talk class, check with your local MAC or Macy's MAC counter to see when they offer one. It costs $50 but you get to choose $50 worth of products, or you will be refunded $50 if you choose not to purchase anything. Please let me know if you have any questions for me!!
I'll admit that I can get very lazy with caring for my makeup brushes, but I know that cleaning them is s0 important because doing so helps to keep your complexion clear. I learned from reading an article in Allure magazine that cleaning your makeup brushes with liquid dishwasher detergent keeps them clean and is damage free. What I like so much about using liquid dishwasher detergent on my brushes is that it eliminates oil/grease wonderfully. What I do is squirt a small amount of detergent into a small dish, swirl each of my brushes around in it, then gently massage the brushes under warm water until the water runs clear and then lay them to dry on a paper towel. I've used liquid dishwasher detergent on my brushes 3 times now and my brushes (and face) are still in good condition. In between washes (about once a week), I use Sephora's Daily Brush Cleaner; love this stuff. All you have to do is spray it directly onto your brushes and gently wipe onto a tissue to eliminate excess makeup before applying your makeup for the day. This helps to keep your brushes bacteria free every day.
