I had been very apprehensive at the thoughts of having my make up done. I've only ever had it done once or twice for my school formals but otherwise I always do my own makeup on a daily basis. Having no older sisters in my family I hadn't really been taught about makeup growing up. I turned to the world of Youtube beauty gurus and my favourite Pixiwoo Sisters for everything. I have learnt everything about makeup and beauty from the online community. I'm constantly reading blogs and watching Youtube tutorials about makeup looks but I knew that there was only so much I could ever learn through a screen.
So it was the night before the appointment and on the voucher it was suggested that you bring your own make up bag so that they can see what products your using at the moment, ways to use it and suggest new products to try. If you know me then you'll know I'm a serious over packer. So trying to narrow down all the make up that fills my Ikea alex 9 drawer to a small makeup bag caused me a lot of stress! (update: I ended up bringing three make up bags opps!)
I arrived at the store bare faced and was trying to take in all the gorgeous make up products that were surrounding me. The lovely Emma C was the make up artist who was teaching me on the day. She asked me about my skin and daily make up routine. She talked me through the skincare that would suit my skin (Oily) and proceeded to talk me through the different steps and the reason behind using certain products.
The lesson is based on the make up artist showing you how to apply make up on one side of your face each step at a time and then allowing you to apply the make up to the other side of your face. Emma was so patient and reassuring to me. I really wanted to focus on eye and eyebrows as that is the areas I find the hardest to do. She talked me through techniques such as holding the brush at the end of the handle and being gentle and of course BLEND BLEND BLEND! I swear the new techniques have totally changed my eye make up routine. She suggested that I use copper shades to really bring out the blue in my eyes.
At the end of the lesson, she talked me through all the products that she used and wrote them down on a handy face chart (which has now become my shopping list- I've been buying one thing at a time!). The lesson that was suppose to only last an hour had ran into an hour and a half and Emma did not rush me at all. She walked me around the store pointing out the things that I was looking to buy and making sure I was picking the correct colours.
*CAUTION* Below is a before and after picture. I took the before picture after I had gotten out of the shower the morning of the lesson. As you can see my skin is very sensitive, it flares up and goes red even with just touching it. It is also quite shiny but otherwise is in a good condition at the moment. The after picture shows exactly what I want from makeup, a base that has good coverage to hide my redness but it still glowy on the cheeks. A defined brow - one that I am not blessed with due to having quiet fair hair. An eye that doesn't look to tired and doesn't scream "I've been up all night cleaning my makeup brushes and have got about 2 hours sleep!". I'm not one to be very adventurous with my lip colour so I stuck with a nude/pink shade with a little bit of gloss in the middle.
I have nothing but great things to say about the store. The staff are all so friendly and helpful and the range of products that they stalk is second to none. Some of the brands I was most excited about were Zoeva, Illamasqua, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics and Make up Pro (Paddy's own brand!). I was expecting the store to be expensive but some of the brands are really reasonably priced, I'd say prices comparable to Mac if not cheaper.
I managed to pick up the Illamasqua Skin Base foundation (in the shade 6) which is the perfect colour and tone for my skin FINALLY! I also picked up 2 sneaky brushes, en eye blending brush from Zoeva and a stippling face brush from Make up Pro. I have been using them the past week and I have really noticed a difference in the way my foundation looks
when it is properly blended.
I would highly suggest visiting the store and calling in. I bet you won't be able to leave without buying something, and if this isn't true then please tell me how you have so much self control!
Happy Shopping,
Lots of Love,
Maria xx
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