Free Sephora Classes| Bold Smokey Eyes Review and TIps and Tricks

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Hey Guys!
I went to another FREE Sephora class over the weekend and wanted to give you all the details and tips I learned. If you didn’t know, Sephora has free makeup classes a couple times a month (Check them out HERE) that are either before or after the store opens. You get one on one time with the makeup artists, get personalized tips and get to request what products you want to use. The first one I went to was the foundation class (Check out my post HERE). This current one was the Bold Smokey eyes class and I have already signed up for my next one which is Winged Eyeliner! I HIGHLY recommend these classes whether you are a beginner or an expert. They are an hour long and you learn so much!

The Bold Smokey eye class starts out by color matching you to a concealer. You then sit down at your station which consists of a mirror, multiple eye brushes, and other tools. The instructors then ask what your main under eye concerns are so they can give you an eye cream that is right for you. It is very important to put on eye cream at night and during the day. My main concern is dark circles so they gave me this one. It felt nice and lightweight and not sticky or heavy. You can also use it on your lips! Do you ever get little white bumps under your eyes or on top of the lid? Well I learned that this is a clogged pore that is caused by heavy eye cream or an irritating concealer. Try switching products and see if they clear up.

After we put our eye cream on we primed our eyes. I used the Two Faced Shadow Insurance which is one of my favorites. The instructors then ask what color smokey eye you want to create. Half of the class chose black and the other brown. I chose brown. They then handed out pallets to each person to use. Mine was the Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Contour Quad. It had an orange in it which scared me at first but turned out to be beautiful. It did have a ton of fall out and powder when everywhere when I dipped my brushes into it though so be warned. 

To start our smokey eye we took a fluffy blending brush (HERE) and took a shade slightly darker then our natural lid color. I mixed a light beige with a tiny bit of brown (all mattes) and put it into my crease using a windshield wiper motion and tiny circles on the outside corner. This really darkens up the crease and adds some soft dimension. You can do this for an everyday look if you just want to add some shadows to your eye. My instructor told me I have smaller eye lid space so to create the illusion of a larger eye to go slightly above my natural crease when filling in. I tried it and it worked! It didn’t look over done or over drawn but it naturally opened up my eye.

We then went in with eyeliner. The instructors emphasized that for this step we use a non waterproof coal based eyeliner. These will blend out the best and not dry down quickly like a waterproof one would. They gave us all the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil which are waterproof so we had to work quickly. They also gave use a smudge brush (HERE) to blend it out. They told us a smokey eye is like smoke from a fire, it is thicker at the bottom and gradually gets dispersed as it gets higher. I thought this was a really great visual to give. We took the eye liner and really darkened the lash line since this is at the bottom of the look. We then colored our eye about halfway up with the liner and looked a bit crazy! Then taking your smudge brush you want to work the upper part out and up toward the crease by used tiny upwards strokes. You don’t want to blend out the lash line since it needs to stay dark but focus on blending to the crease. Try to work one eye at a time so you can really focus on blending the liner out. This can take some time so be patient. Once it is all blended out you will look like a raccoon but it’s OK! It will be fixed soon. After liner you want to set it with eye shadow in the same color as the liner. This is important because it will take any shine away from the liner and also make the liner last longer. It’s like setting your foundation with powder.

Once you are done doing that you want to take that first color you used in your crease and go into the crease again using those same windshield wiper motions and tiny circles. This will help to blend out the harsh eyeliner lines into the crease and create that smokey effect. Blend really well, the more the better! After that is blended take a medium shade with a flat shadow brush (HERE) and pat it along the center of the eye and into the outer corner. This will create dimension and more color. I chose a mix of a burnt orange and dark brown. Once this is on take your blender brush and blend it all out. The key to a great smokey eye is no harsh lines and a smooth transition between colors. You want each color to blend perfectly into the next.

If your smokey eye is black the instructor recommend using eyeliner and shadow on the lower lashes. If it is brown or another lighter color she recommended to just used shadow. Using your smudge brush take your dark color and push it right into your lash liner. You don’t want to put it too far away from the line as this can weigh the look down. It is important to push that color right into the lashes. After that you can apply your favorite mascara! I tried out the Diorshow Mascara and loved it!. I do recommend using false lashes with a look this bold though since your lashes can get a bit lost against the heavy background.

For an added bonus the instructors pulled out the new Urban Decay Moondust cream eyeshadows to put on top of our eyes. I gasped out loud! The colors are so beautiful and pigmented. I chose the color Recharged which is a peach duochrome and bought it after! It is a beautiful sunset duo chrome that is super metallic and beautiful with a bronze eye. If you don’t want to use a cream they suggest either keeping the look matte or going in with a tiny shimmer shade right in the center of the eye and blend. I highly recommend the Urban Decay liquids if you are into metallic eyes.

After we were done they recommend going in with concealer to clean up any fall out from all the eye shadows. And then your look is complete! I didn’t realize how easy a smokey eye is!

Again I really recommend checking out your local classes. They are super personal, let you try out the latest products and are FREE!

Let me know down below what class you would attend? XOX Chan

Free Sephora Classes | Flawless Foundation with ColorIQ Tips+ Tricks!

Hey Guys!

I recently attended a Free makeup class at my local Sephora. Check out and schedule a class HERE. They have different ones all the time but the one I tried out was the Flawless Foundation Class with ColorIQ matching. I didn't know what to expect so before I went I did my morning skincare routine and went to the store without any makeup.

Since the class was on a Sunday we got to go into the store 2 hours before it was open which was amazing. This helps the staff focus only on you and it is also nice and quiet. When I went in they took me over to their ColorIQ station to color match me to a foundation. The ColorIQ is a little gadget that scans certain parts of your face and then tells you what shade you match with in every brand of the store. It's amazing! The associate also asked what my skin concerns are and what kind of foundations I like to wear. I told her I have oily skin and I like a medium to full coverage foundation. 

My associate then told me to try the Laura Mercier Silk Creme Oil Free Photo Edition Foundation. It is a Long wearing photo ready matte foundation and retails for $48. Check it out HERE.  She then took me over to our set up. We each had our own station that included a mirror, foundation brush, concealer brush, Beauty Blender and other makeup tools. I was really impressed. Everything was clean and the staff was super friendly.

While we waited for everyone else she brought me over the Belif The True Cream Aqua Bomb Moisturizer which retails for $38. Check it out HERE. This moisturizer is good for all skin types and is a lightweight gel cream texture. She then brought over the Kate Somerville Goat Milk De- Puffing Eye Balm which retails for $38. Check it out HERE . This Eye cream is cool because it comes in a balm like stick. It is super cooling and felt amazing! Next she brought me the Cover FX Mattifying Primer With Anti Acne Treatment which retails for $38. Check it out HERE.  This went on super creamy and is long lasting. She then got me the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer which retails for $29. Check it out HERE. The final product she got for me was the Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder which retails fro $38. Check it out HERE. This powder is silky and lightweight with a matte finish. 

Once I sat down we got to work. They first showed us how to apply our moisturizer. They said to work it from the center moving hands in a butterfly wings motion and then working it into our forehead. The moisturizer I tried was super lightweight and hydrating. I wish it had SPF in it though since I only like to use day moisturizers with SPF. They told us to make sure that we not put the moisturizer too close to the eye area because it will interfere with our eye cream. Next we put on our eye cream. I usually only put eye cream on at night but they said it is important to put on during the day to help with under eye concealers. They said to not apply it too close to the lash line because this can cause irritation. You want to use a half pea sized and your ring fingers to apply. Ring fingers have the lightest touch so this is perfect for your delicate eye area. The Eye Balm I used was amazing and felt so cooling and refreshing. It also sank in super fast and didn't feel heavy under my eyes.

After skincare we moved on to priming. They told us to focus the primer on the center of the face and move outwards. I liked this primer because it didn't feel super slippery. I also learned that you can use more than one primer depending on your skin concerns. So if you have an oily T zone and large pores on your cheeks you can use a mattifying primer on the T zone and a pore smoothing one on the cheeks. You want to make sure that your foundation and primer both have the same base as well. This meaning if you use an oil based primer you must use an oil based foundation or a water based primer with a water based foundation. Water and Oil repel each other so if you mix them the foundation separates and melts off. I never knew this and I thought this was a great tip!
 

We then moved on to the foundation application. They dampened our BeautyBlenders and taught us how to apply foundation with it. I have never used my BeautyBlender for foundation or damp so I was super excited to learn. They told us to apply a small amount of foundation on the backs of our hands and dip the blender into it with the wide side and work from the center outwards. This will help you get coverage where you need it most and avoid the harsh neckline we sometimes get. She said to dot and roll the blender. Since it is wet it sheers out the coverage a bit giving a more natural finish and helps the sponge not soak up excess product so you don't waste it. I tried this and loved it! It did take a bit longer than using a brush but the results were so natural and not cakey at all! I would have preferred a little more coverage but I just used concealer and that helped alot. The damp BeautyBlender also felt really cool and refreshing on the face. 

After foundation we took our concealer and dotted it under the eyes and around the nose. When applying the concealer you don't want to apply it too close to the lash line because it will cake and crease up. Application of concealer depends on the formula. I was told the NARS one can be applied with a blender, a brush or the fingers. I chose to use the blender. It did crease a tiny bit but it might be because I didn't set it right away. It was super creamy and blended out great. 

We then learned to set our face. They taught us there are 2 types of powders, Setting and Finishing. Finishing powders contain an ingredient that has silica so nothing moves. So if you try to add any product over top it won't work. It also can have a white cast in pictures. Setting powder is what we used because it can be used at any time and doesn't cause a white cast. They told us to use a big fluffy brush and instead of brushing it all over the face we should pat it. This gives more coverage, helps diminish pores and smooths out any uneven foundation lines. 

Since our class size was smaller they let us try out the new Becca x Jaclyn Hill Champagne Splits Shimmering Perfecter Mineral Blush Duo which retails for $38. Check it out HERE.  One side had a blush and the other was a highlighter. I don't normally wear blush or highlighter because I never really learned how to apply them. They told us to use our powder brush for the blush and only take a small amount and tap off the excess. They told us to smile and apply to the apples of our cheeks and up our temples for a more natural blush. They said a good rule is to put 2 fingers between your nose and mouth and don't apply blush this close. If you apply too much blush or get a harsh line use your blender to smooth it out and sheer it out. Next for highlighter they told us to use a smaller fluffy brush to apply on top of the cheekbones. Mine was a bit streaky and looked like a straight line so I am not sure what happened.

After the class we received a bag of samples and were aloud to shop in the store till it opened. This was great because I had a chance to ask the employees about other classes and other products. I want to go to the brow class next month.

Overall I LOVED the class! I learned so much and can't wait to use the tricks I learned with my own makeup.  I didn't purchase any of the things I used because I wanted to try the techniques that I learned on the foundations that I already own to see if it worked. 

Sign up HERE

Have you ever attended a Sephora Class? Which one? 

XOX Chan