From one-hour lessons to four-week courses, beginners can learn how to apply products with confidence
Of course, I know that not everyone grows up this way. There are lots of people who never feel the pull of product, who feel entirely complete without ever picking up a make-up brush. I fully respect this, and essentially equate it to my disinterest in playing a sport. Athletes, I’m happy for you, but it’s just never felt like the life for me.
What I’d like to talk about today, though, are the people who don’t fall into either of the aforementioned categories. I’m talking about the people who’d really like to do more with make-up but have never quite managed to figure it out.
I wasn’t aware of how many people existed in this sphere until I started writing about beauty professionally and I started to hear from them, both on social media and in real life. The general message was this: ‘I wish I was good at make-up but I just don’t know where to start.’ Of course, I can recommend products to beginners, but application is something that needs to be taught and practised.
Fortunately, there are several excellent options when it comes to learning how to do your make-up well. Lisa Shannon is a renowned make-up artist who acts as a product, creative and education consultant for Pippa O’Connor’s excellent brand Poco Beauty, and she recently launched a new business, Refined Makeup Education. The aim of the business is to empower people to apply their make-up with confidence.
The Soft Glam workshop (€60 via refinedmakeupeducation.com) is ideal for beginners, covering make-up application from skin prep to flawless foundation application and a soft smoky eye. As it’s an online workshop, you can learn in the privacy of your home, which makes it ideal for anyone who feels self-conscious about the process.
Mac also offers make-up lessons by appointment. Make Up My Way (€60 via brownthomas.com) is an hour-long lesson during which a Mac artist applies a full face of make-up, educating you on the products and technique throughout. Afterwards, you receive a face chart to help you recreate the look at home, and the price is fully redeemable against product. I did one of these more than 20 years ago and I have used the skills I acquired ever since.
If you’d like something more extensive, Sculpted by Aimee offers a four-week course called Mastering Your Own Makeup (€500 via sculptedbyaimee.com), which equips you with skills in application as well as guidance on specific looks for special occasions. Participants receive a Sculpted brush set worth €50 and a €100 voucher to use against Sculpted products. As a brand, Sculpted by Aimee is all about enhancing natural beauty, so if that’s what you’re after, this could be right for you.
Buying Irish
Ealu Body Sand
Irish brand Ealu got my attention with its body gloss, a shimmering body oil which makes the skin gleam for hours. Now though, I feel absolutely compelled to tell you about Body Sand (€25 via ealu-moments.com), a vitamin-enriched foaming body scrub, which exfoliates beautifully and leaves the skin incredibly smooth and soft. A friend of mine swears this product significantly minimised the appearance of her keratosis pilaris (aka chicken skin), but it works for all skin types. Plus, Ealu’s signature jasmine and coconut fragrance smells like heaven.
Something old…
Makeup by Mario SoftSculpt Shaping Stick
The arrival of Sephora to the island of Ireland (it opens in Belfast on February 12) is exciting for many reasons, but the most exciting aspect for me is the opportunity to go and put your hands on the products people are raving about online. Up until now, there were several widely hyped brands we could only access online, and there’s no getting away from the fact that purchasing make-up you haven’t seen in real life is risky business. One brand arriving with Sephora is Makeup by Mario, whose products I’ve used extensively. Perhaps my favourite from the range is the SoftSculpt Shaping Stick (€38 via makeupbymario.com), a contour product that never looks muddy and blends like butter.
Something new…
Dior Forever Skin Bronze
Contour and bronzing sticks are big business these days. They’re incredibly handy, as they allow you to easily apply warmth and dimension to the face, and the best ones melt into the skin, delivering a natural finish. The latest product to join this category is Dior’s Forever Skin Bronze (€59 via dior.com), which has a soft and balmy texture, making application easy as pie. This product aims to mimic the bronzing effect of the sun, so simply swipe it on the parts of your face that would normally be hit by the sun, and blend with a blush or with your fingers via a tapping motion. Unfortunately, this product is only available in six shades, the deepest of which is nowhere near what is required by very deep skin tones. Hopefully this will improve.