This is a review I did on a Pro Class I attended for Spring. It was amazing! And I pretty much use a lot of the techniques everytime I do my m/u-because they work not only for spring. PLMK if you have any questions. This is REALLY LONG, so Thanks for reading!


I attended yet another MAC Class. This time the class was taught by Jane from Toronto. She is the only part time Pro Artist with MAC and has been with them since the creation of the company. This class was based on tips and trends for Spring 2006, but also taught techniques for everyday application. Also included at the end of my review are tips from other MAC Pro Artists I thought you might enjoy.


Skin: the trend is glowy, glowy, glowy. No surprise right? It's been the trend for at least the last 5 years. The easiest way to get this is by using Strobe Cream. It works for all skin tones except very dark because it can take on a silver cast. Exfoliating with a product like Microfine Refinisher will help as well since it will add additional brightness to the skin. For those who like chemical exfoliants, BHA and/or AHA are fine too. For those of you with oilier skins, using a primer such as Prep and Prime Skin could be an option in lieu of the Strobe Cream.

Allowing your glow to show means avoiding heavy, full coverage or opaque foundations and a lot of powder. Jane is a minimalist when it comes to perfecting the skin. She doesn’t believe that most women need to cover their entire face with foundation. In fact, she recommends only applying foundation or concealer to the T-zone. After applying Strobe Cream with the 190 brush, she applies Select Moisturecover Concealer to the sides of nose, chin and forehead with the applicator. Next she again takes the 190 brush and blends most of the product thru the T-zone. The concealer is then feathered and faded out to the outer edges of the face. She also likes to use Select Moisturecover Concealer to hide discoloration under the eyes. Go for a shade that brightens the under eye area, not the same color as your foundation/concealer used on the face. For those you that have more to hide under the eyes she suggests Select Cover-up.

To set your foundation or concealer use a sheer powder like Blot so that you don’t mattify your glow. A very light dusting is all you need. If you have a petite nose, it’s ok to leave it unpowdered. However, if you aren’t to fond of your nose or it’s not petite, powdering might be a be a good choice since the shine will draw attention to it.

Now is also a good time to apply Lip Conditioner or balm.


Bronzing: Applying bronzer is the first thing that Jane does after her canvas is prepared. The first place to apply bronzer is the hollows of your cheeks. After tapping off the excess product from brush 129, suck in your cheeks (like your making a fish face) and apply your bronzer. This allows the brush to hug the contours of your cheeks for proper placement. Blend the bronzer up to your temples and along the hairline of your forehead. Next, run the brush down your nose. You can also apply some bronzer to your chin if you like. For most people, the one place you should avoid applying bronzer is the center of your forehead because you want there to be light from the center of your face. After bronzer add highlights to the face. Dip brush 109 into Silver Dusk loose powder and tap off the excess. Apply Silver Dusk in a C-shape from the tops of cheek bones to the top center of your eyebrows. You can also use Silver Dusk on the center of your forehead, the bow of your lips or anywhere you want to add some extra light to the face. After you have contoured and highlighted it is time for cheek color. Because you have contoured with a bronzer your blush will be applied to the apples of the cheeks only. Smile as you look in the mirror and layer on your color of choice (Pinch O Peach is a lovely color for spring)using brush 129 or 118.

Smokey Eye: Start with an eyeshadow base or primer if you need one. Next, take an eye kohl such as Teddy, Smolder or Prunella and draw a tapered line from the outer to inner corner. The line should start out fairly thick at the outer corner and then become quite thin at the inner corner. Proceed to use the 219 brush to feather upward the top edge of the line only. You could also try using a Q-tip or your finger to feather the line, but it will remove more product than you want. After you have created the smoky line, use brush 224 to layer a dark color (such as Demi-Sweet from the Sweetie Cakes quad)in the outer corner and crease, fading into the crease. Now apply a light color to the lid (like Gateaux also from the Sweetie Cakes Quad) using brush 213 followed by a lighter color such as Shroom on the inner eye (the inner eye is the hollow part near the side of your nose). Again using the 224 apply a mid-tone color to the crease such as Kid, Cork or Wedge. This color should preferably be matte if you have used other colors with a satin or frost finish. When applying a color to your crease make sure that you look straight ahead into the mirror. This way you can see the contour as you apply the shadow to your crease. When you close your eye to apply a crease color, you lose the contour. Most women do not need to carry the color all the way across the eye. This tends to make the eyes look smaller or too close together. If you find that you need more definition along the lash line, go back with brush 266 or 208 and dot along the lash line with a deep color like Carbon. Again, there is no need to go across the entire eye-applying Carbon to the outer ¼ of the eye is sufficient. To add more smokiness to the eye, using Powersurge eye kohl along the bottom lash line is fabulous. It’s sultry enough to add depth without looking harsh-which is essential if you are really fair skinned. Apply Powersurge just as you did your top color-start at the outer corner with a thicker line and taper in to a thin line at the inner corner. Finally, curl your lashes and apply mascara to the top and bottom. If you have a fair amount of darkness under your eyes, you may find it better to skip liner and mascara on the bottom as it can make shadows more prevalent. For more drama you could now apply false lashes. Jane loves using 7 Lash by cutting off the outer ¼ of the lashes and then applying them to the outer corner of the eye.


Lips: Beautiful lips are simple. Blot off the Lip Conditioner or balm you applied earlier. Next, apply a gloss such as Pink Meringue. Follow your lipgloss with Spice liner on the lip line only. Start in the outer corners and fade the liner towards the center. The liner should appear darker to the outside and lighter to the center. This is a subtle effect. Because you are applying the lip liner after the gloss the color will not adhere the same as it would on bare lips-therefore making it lighter in color. This can be done with any gloss you choose and it’s a wonderful technique.

The Final Step: If you want more glow spritz with Fix+. I personally wouldn’t be without this product. It hydrates, sets makeup, takes away the look of powder and adds glow to the skin.


Tips & Tricks from the top MAC Makeup Artists

Gordon Espinet, Executive Director of Makeup Artistry

Gorgeous, Glamorous Lashes
Curl your eyelashes three times starting at the base of the lash hair and slightly moving to the end of the hair shaft with each curl using a MAC Eyelash Curler.

Immediately apply a generous amount of MAC Prep and Prime Lash starting from the base of the lash hair and push back with the wand to emphasize the curl. Allow to dry for about 45 seconds.

Apply one coat of MAC Zoom Lash Mascara to your lashes using the same application technique, but this time jiggle the wand sot that it coats the entire lash (top and bottom) with color. Allow a few seconds to dry. Repeat step number two.

Terry Barber, Director of Makeup Artistry

Brows That Wow
This seasons eyebrows are a little fuller and natural. Use MAC Brow Set to comb the brows upwards. After this has dried use strokes of MAC Brow Liner in between each hair to create a fuller, more textured brow effect.

The Perfect Pout
Lips are about looking moisture plumped and fresher in color this season. Use a mix of MAC Crèmestick Liner and MAC Lip Conditioner as a base, then tap lipstick or gloss in the center for a long lasting, sexy, plumped mouth.

Bianca Alexander, Director of Makeup Artistry

Summer Bronzing
Sun kissed skin steals the show for spring and summer! Hydrate and protect your skin with MAC SPF Day 15 Moisturizer, then follow up with MAC Brush 190 to blend a sheer application of MAC Studio Fix Fluid for a flawless natural finish. Skin will be protected and perfectly polished.

Those Sultry, Runway Eyes
Get “runway” eyes in seconds that will last all day by blending MAC Paint in Architecture or Deep Shadow with your favorite eye pencil. Use MAC Brush 217 to build the intensity by the lash line, and then blend through the crease and brow bone for an instant sultry effect.

Gregory Alt, Director of Makeup Artistry

Simply Beautiful Skin
Skin is your canvas. Treat foundation like skincare. If you skin is oily, go with a matte finish. If you are dry go with a more moisturizing foundation. MAC Studio Fix Liquid looks like skin and holds up for many hours. Set with MAC Blot Powder Loose to keep it lightweight and ‘real’ looking. Powder your WHOLE face, including over the eyelids. It will help other products such as blush and shadows to adhere to the skin longer.

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What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

very helpful!

This is freaking awesome!! Thanks soo much!

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Kisses and hugs!!! Brad

wow! very helpful!!

good to read and know

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www.myspace.com/annmarie91

how handy! thank you so much for this.

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"We all die in time. It's not just the world that moves on. But we will be magnificent."

These tips are just awesome, thanks so much for taking the time to type everthing!

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*I can resist everything - except the temptation* Oscar Wilde

Thank you so much for the comprehensive and well-written write-up! I've been doing that lipliner trick for awhile, but couldn't really figure out how to write it out. The bronzing and highlighting tips were helpful and I got some new ideas reading your eyeshadow desciptions. Really enjoyed reading it!

merleskaya

these tips are very helpful! thank you, thank you, thank you for taking the time to write all these things done!!

Thank you!The contouring/highlighting part was very helpful!

really helpful thankyou.

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thanks loads !

awesome tips! thanks so much!

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