MAC Technique Eyes and Lips Class

I’ve wanted to follow a make-up technique class thaught by make-up pros for a very, very long time. My mom once gave me a voucher for a ‘class’ in one of the beauty stores in Roeselare (Vancora) for my birthday. Boy, was that a serious waste of time and money (€ 50!!)! I just had to sit in a chair, while one of the sales ladies did my make-up while explaining what she was doing.

Puh-leeeaase! First of all, she later admit that the course was intended for young girls (as in 12/13 year olds) that had never put any make-up on in their lives. Yes, she had the guts to tell me that AFTERWARDS, while I clearly had make-up on when I entered the store + I was 22, what did she expect?? Second, how am I supposed to learn how to apply make-up when 1) I cannot even see what you’re doing and 2) when you are doing instead of me? Third, of course she couldn’t teach me anything and fourth, I didn’t even get to take any products home! Have I already mentioned it was € 50?? It’s a downward rip-off!

It’s a good thing I have a blog to let these frustrations out of my system sometimes. Have you ever been ripped off in a beauty store? Please respond in the comments!

Now, on to the positive stuff. I was pretty beat down after my first make-up class experience, if you can even call it that. But then I noticed a flyer on the MAC store window announcing that they were looking for new ‘pupils’. By that time I had already read a positive review by Hanne from Snow White Glamour, so I was pretty psyched to try this one out. Plus, I knew it was only €35 and you could choose MAC products for that amount afterwards. MAC has never let me down before, so what could possibly go wrong?

I chose for the Eyes + Lips class because I had the Closet shop opening to attend in the evening and I wanted to do something special. The MAC class above the MAC store in Ghent was a teeny-tiny room that just had enough space to seat 12 people and the 2 make-up chairs to demonstrate the looks in the front. Each person got his own make-up case with a mirror, brushes and a folder that we could take home with a MAC Technique pencil, a couple of sheets to take notes and 3 booklets containing info on the MAC products.

Our teachers of the day were Liz for the smokey eye look and Katleen for the bright lip look. They each asked a volunteer to demonstrate and explain their master techniques as a MAC make-up artist. They created both looks at the same time while alternately explaining what they were doing, so we had enough time to try one of the looks afterwards since the class only lasts 2 hours.

Below I’ve listed all the tips that were given during the demonstrations:

Smokey eyes:

– Take away the puffy eyes with Fast Response Eye Cream
– Use a little bit of the Painterly Paint Pot as a base, above and below the lashes. This way, the colors will stay put and appear more intense
– Draw a fluent line with the Smolder Eye Kohl and blend with the Blender Brush °217
– When you absorb colors from your palette, always tap the brush so the loose powder comes off
– The darketst color goes near your lashes and the lightest color in the corner of your eyes and brow bone (go from dark and blend to go lighter)
– Color the eyelid with circle movements and blend until you reach the brow bone
– Add a very light shade in your corners and just below the brows to create highlights
– Redraw the kohl line to make it look more intense

Gel Eyeliner + Bright Lips:

– Use Prep & Prime Primer as a base to have a longlasting effect
– Go light on the inside and dark on the outside
– A brush with short hair will absorb more color pigment, a brush with longer hair is used to blend
– Use a brush with flat hairs to apply a gel eye liner; again absorb with the brush and tap on your hand
– Start in the middle of your eye lid and work your way to the side, then start in the corner and work your way to the middle
– To apply mascara, start with the lower lashes and afterwards, go over the whole lash from left to right with the tip of the mascara
– To apply brow gel, comb the hairs upwards to ‘lift’ the brows and then comb the upper brow hairs outwards
– Lips: follow the lip contours with a Lip Liner.
– Then, hold the Lip Pencil vertically and color the lips
– Take a bit of color from the Lip Stick and apply it onto the lips
– A light color enlarges, a dark color makes them appear smaller
– Add Lipglass for an extra dimension

I chose to create the smokey eye look, but with a fun cat eye twist, which therefore makes it a Smokey Cat Eye. Kathleen helped me apply some tape to my face, so I would know what line to follow when I was blending. I looked like a total dumbass who just had plastic surgery and I was rather uncomfortable with 14 other people in the room. Eventually it was totally worth it because it really helped me to get those lines straight! It’s extremely difficult to get the look even at both eyes, so thank you to let me in on that little trick, Katleen!

The Result:

I used the Carbon, Deep Truth, Fresh Water and Seedy Pearl Eye Shadows for this look and I ended up taking  the Fresh Water, Deep Truth and an empty palette (4x) with me home.

I’m pretty happy with the result. It was something I’ve never tried before and it perfectly matched my new Navy dress with open back (outfit pics coming soon)! I’ve had a wonderful experience with the MAC Technique classes and I will certainly try to pick up some more in the future! I would definitely recommend following a MAC Technique course if you have the chance. The MAC ladies guide you through the process and help you when you need it. They’ve certainly helped me a lot!

What do you think of the look? Care to follow any MAC Technique classes in the future?

Thanks to the wonderful ladies of MAC Ghent!

www.maccosmetics.be