Haritha Shan, MAC Senior Artist
What kind of makeup look would you like to sport when you receive an invitation for a night out on the town? Most people would probably go for a smoky smouldering eye look but that doesn’t necessarily mean dark shadows. At MAC Cosmetics’ Invitation Out Workshop recently, we had a hands-on experience to create our own look following Senior Artist, Haritha Shan’s instructions.
The first step is to prep skin with MAC’s Charged Water of which there are 3 types – for anti-aging, radiance and hydration. Charged Water helps blend foundation so it’s not so cakey. Then apply Studio Moisture Fix SPF 15 with 190 brush (natural synthetic brush). Hands will absorb the moisturiser, the brush helps push the moisturiser into skin.
3 types of Charged Water
Don’t apply eye cream to upper lids if you are planning on applying eye shadow otherwise the area will become greasy. If you have oily/combination skin, you might want to use a primer like Prep + Prime Natural Radiance, a gel emulsion to control oil and create a smooth texture. It contains illuminating pearl powders to enhance the high panels of the face, i.e. cheekbones, chin. forehead, bridge of nose.
When applying foundation, follow your hair line (use 194 brush) so that it sets well. We used the soon-to-be available Matchmaster Foundation (launching Feb 2013). This foundation blends well on 2 different skin tones. This means that if your skin tone changes from light to medium, it’ll still blend well with your skin. There will be 12-15 shades available. Apply lip conditioner with 316 brush.
Matchmaster Foundation
Moisture Infusion Serum
Stippling brush
If foundation is too thick and hard to blend, mix a little Moisture Infusion Serum (contains aloe vera extract) with foundation. Foundation will become really lightweight and create hydrated skin. Use a stippling brush to blend foundation on face in circular motions to push product into skin.
MAC has 2 categories of foundation and concealer – NW (neutral warm which is pink based) and NC (neutral cool which is yellow based). Here’s Haritha’s guide to choosing the right concealer for different concerns:-
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Dark circles have blue undertones so use NW concealer to cover them. Warm shade of concealer balances cool.
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Red spots have warm undertones so use NC concealer to cover them. Cool shade of concealer balances warm.
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Dark scars have cool undertones so use NW concealer to cover them. Warm shade of concealer balances cool.
Bring concealer down to the nose area so that it’ll blend with foundation and look natural when you blend with powder. Go one shade darker with concealer if you are covering dark circles & one shade lighter if you are covering red spots.
A pressed powder is more lightweight and sets foundation beautifully. Haritha recommends Studio Careblend Pressed Powder. Spray Fix + over the powder if your skin feels tight and dry.
When drawing and filling in brows, fill in the tail end of brows first and use an angled brush to blend powder into the tail end. Bring any excess powder to the inner corners of brows. This will create a natural brow effect.
Pressed pigments – Stars (left), Showgirl (right)
Now here’s a very interesting product. How many of you like the look of pigments but dread using them because of the fall-out and time it takes to apply pigments compared to powder eye shadow? MAC has the solution to this in the form of pressed pigments. Yes, the images above show the pressed pigments which will only be available next year.
Applying false lashes
Haritha’s tips for applying false lashes:-
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Measure lashes against eyes and see if they are long or short enough.
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If they are sticking out, trim the lashes.
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Glue needs to be semi-dry so that lashes will stick to lids.
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Press on centre first and them on edge.
Here’s the finished result on yours truly, the model and one of the participants, the lovely Elfie Jane, editor-in-chief of lipstiq,com.
Too bad I didn’t have an invitation out after the workshop. What a waste.
