I went to a NARS Masterclass at Selfridges in London today, held by the NARS' Global Lead Stylist Jane Richardson. She was an absolute delight to learn from with plenty of tips and advice throughout the class. She had a model in the front that she was going to put makeup on step by step, while we tried to imitate what she was doing on ourselves.
We were seated in tables of four, surrounded by fellow beauty junkies that were gasping at the beautiful table of make up that we could play with. The table had the new Summer '12 collection that was absolutely gorgeous, plus an AMAZING makeup laptop that made me hyperventilate. It had a generous selection of eye-shadows, blushes and bronzers.
Jane really stressed the importance of good skincare. Less is more when it comes to makeup, and good skincare really reduces the need for heavy makeup. After learning that NARS skincare uses SHISEIDO technology, I was very impressed. I always look at Shiseido as the epitome of skincare, and NARS definitely gained some brownie points from me after I found out that little fact!
The first step was moisturizing and priming to prep the skin. We started by cleaning our faces with the Nars Cleansing Water. We then applied the Nars Hydrating Freshening Lotion which I really liked, followed by the hydrating moisture cream and the nourishing eye cream. I then applied the SPF primer before using the sheer matte foundation in Syracuse with our fingers. We then used concealer (mine was a shade called Biscuit) which we applied with brush #7 over dark circles and any blemishes. We patted down the foundation base with some powder (a technique Jane calls Rock and Rolling), and applied some bronzer before starting on the eyes.
We used a smudge-proof eyeshadow primer (something I'd recommend purchasing from them- it's lovely and really holds in the eye shadow perfectly) before applying a light shimmery eye shadow. She taught us how to apply eyeshadow around the eye to shape it in a way to flatter our unique eye shapes and bone structure. We then used a darker eyeshadow with an eyeliner brush to draw a very subtle line on our lash line, before applying the mascara.
We then put blush on, and I was a bit adventurous and tried a shade called Exhibit A. It's a bright red that you can see below in all the pictures. I really REALLY loved how that looked. It's really not as intense as it looks. If you ask the lovely artists at the counter to show you how to apply it, I'm sure you'd be hooked just the way I was!
Finally, we put on some lipstick. I played around and tried on a bunch of different colours. Dragon Girl was a lovely red that is actually one of their best sellers. I also really liked the Never Say Never that's part of their new Summer Collection.
Here are some pictures!
Once again, I apologize for the terrible quality (all the pictures are from my phone because I forgot my camera in Dubai!)
The secret hallway on the 3rd floor that leads to BLISS.
*drools*
*still drooling*
(the blush Exhibit A is the bright red one on the bottom right corner just above the bronzer)
Our goodie bag!
We got cupcakes from Cake Boy- the bakery that designed Madonna's wedding cake! They had really funky cupcakes in different shades of the best selling NARS products
There was also a tiny bag of miniature samples of some of NARS' new or bestselling products. There was a small bottle of makeup removing water, tinted moisturizer in Alaska shade (way too light for me- does anyone want it?), a tiny sample of their bestselling blush, Orgasm (I know! I always giggle when I ask for it at the counter, but I've been a die-hard fan of it for years!). Finally, there was a lovely gold nailpolish called Senryou.
Overall, I had a lovely time at the class! I really do recommend a similar class if anyone gets the chance. It was basically free- the fee paid for the class is redeemable against any NARS purchase.
I ended up buying the SPF Primer, Sheer Matte foundation, concealer, brush #7, and the blush Exhibit A. I really had to try to contain myself and not buy everything I used! But there are definitely some other things on the list.
And that's about it! Hope you enjoyed this post and I hope it wasn't too long to read.
I'd love it if you drop a comment or an email with any questions, requests or comments. Please do follow my blog, I've got lots of great posts in mind for the future. It's super-easy. Just type in your email on the column on the right.
Have a good night!
X
Feryal
We were seated in tables of four, surrounded by fellow beauty junkies that were gasping at the beautiful table of make up that we could play with. The table had the new Summer '12 collection that was absolutely gorgeous, plus an AMAZING makeup laptop that made me hyperventilate. It had a generous selection of eye-shadows, blushes and bronzers.
Jane really stressed the importance of good skincare. Less is more when it comes to makeup, and good skincare really reduces the need for heavy makeup. After learning that NARS skincare uses SHISEIDO technology, I was very impressed. I always look at Shiseido as the epitome of skincare, and NARS definitely gained some brownie points from me after I found out that little fact!
The first step was moisturizing and priming to prep the skin. We started by cleaning our faces with the Nars Cleansing Water. We then applied the Nars Hydrating Freshening Lotion which I really liked, followed by the hydrating moisture cream and the nourishing eye cream. I then applied the SPF primer before using the sheer matte foundation in Syracuse with our fingers. We then used concealer (mine was a shade called Biscuit) which we applied with brush #7 over dark circles and any blemishes. We patted down the foundation base with some powder (a technique Jane calls Rock and Rolling), and applied some bronzer before starting on the eyes.
We used a smudge-proof eyeshadow primer (something I'd recommend purchasing from them- it's lovely and really holds in the eye shadow perfectly) before applying a light shimmery eye shadow. She taught us how to apply eyeshadow around the eye to shape it in a way to flatter our unique eye shapes and bone structure. We then used a darker eyeshadow with an eyeliner brush to draw a very subtle line on our lash line, before applying the mascara.
We then put blush on, and I was a bit adventurous and tried a shade called Exhibit A. It's a bright red that you can see below in all the pictures. I really REALLY loved how that looked. It's really not as intense as it looks. If you ask the lovely artists at the counter to show you how to apply it, I'm sure you'd be hooked just the way I was!
Finally, we put on some lipstick. I played around and tried on a bunch of different colours. Dragon Girl was a lovely red that is actually one of their best sellers. I also really liked the Never Say Never that's part of their new Summer Collection.
Here are some pictures!
Once again, I apologize for the terrible quality (all the pictures are from my phone because I forgot my camera in Dubai!)
(the blush Exhibit A is the bright red one on the bottom right corner just above the bronzer)
Overall, I had a lovely time at the class! I really do recommend a similar class if anyone gets the chance. It was basically free- the fee paid for the class is redeemable against any NARS purchase.
I ended up buying the SPF Primer, Sheer Matte foundation, concealer, brush #7, and the blush Exhibit A. I really had to try to contain myself and not buy everything I used! But there are definitely some other things on the list.
And that's about it! Hope you enjoyed this post and I hope it wasn't too long to read.
I'd love it if you drop a comment or an email with any questions, requests or comments. Please do follow my blog, I've got lots of great posts in mind for the future. It's super-easy. Just type in your email on the column on the right.
Have a good night!
X
Feryal
