I’m Red-y: Sephora Technique Class

Seems like the red lip is taking over, or perhaps I’m just now noticing it. June Ambrose loves Ruby Woo by MAC and Felicia Walker Benson, Social Media Editor for Bergdorf Goodman has a slew of red tints that she swears by. I tried Ruby Woo before, but felt a little uncomfortable, received lots of glances and some stares that night, so I didn’t wear it anymore. Well, one of my blogger friends, Naseya at The Seventh District recently contacted me about joining a beautiful campaign revolving around empowering women of color.

I’m Red-y: Started out as a social experiment among girlfriends to try a new lipstick, specifically red (without regard to what others thought), which has now turned into a full-blown women’s empowerment initiative.

Prior to learning of the I’m Red-y campaign I signed up for a Technique Class held at my local Sephora in the Streets at Southpoint Mall, coincidentally the “lesson plan” would be on Achieving the Perfect Red Lip. Lightbulb on! Being a part of the campaign was an undeniable yes, throw my class into the mix and VOILA, red lip matrimony.

The classes are held each month, usually on a Sunday prior to business hours. This Sunday was a little different because of the holiday schedule, but we still carried on. Boy was I in for a treat, there were several things that I wanted to learn how to do as far as makeup goes (I’m not a makeup wearer), but I had gone in with the mindset of conquering my red lip fears and loving the tint that I chose. My good friend and I arrived at the same time and were warmly greeted by Annie (Pro Team Member/Teacher) and Aline (Model), and we quickly grabbed a seat. I almost forgot, this particular class was collecting toys for the Toys for Tots drive, as long as you had a toy you could come! My friend and I both brought Barbies! Picking her out was a trip down memory lane. I know, I know, back to the class.

Two other ladies joined us and we were ready to get things in motion. We started off with introductions and Annie blew me away. Her full name is Annie Mercer, originally from the Midwest, she’s a part of the Sephora Pro Team which has all kinds of cool perks. She travels the U.S. and does makeup with the team. Most recently she did a shoot in Miami for Stila (newfound eclechick love) and she was also a part of the makeup team for Betsey Johnson’s NYFW show in September!! She loves makeup and it shows, her face was flawless.

Remember earlier when I said I was in for a treat? Well Annie informed us that we would not only be learning how to apply the perfect red lip, but we’d also learn how to do different holiday looks and achieve dewy, glowy skin. Immediately Beyoncé, specifically…

her 1+1 video played in my head. She was glowing and glistening all over the place in that video and I loved it! One of my most coveted beauty looks is having a flawless dewy glow (you want to glow like Beyoncé too, admit it) and I was stoked when Annie said she would teach us how to achieve it. Plus, we’d learn how to do the perfect winged eyeliner!!! Excitement overload. When it comes to makeup give me a dewy glow, winged liner and mascara and I’m good to go. Finding out that I would learn how to do all three, sent me over the moon.

We quickly got down to business; Annie stressed the importance of using a superb moisturizer, exfoliating 3 times a week and investing in a good primer. Not just a face primer either, eye primer too. Basically, take care of your skin. Your makeup will look better over clean, supple skin.

Makeup Primer:
1. Makes your makeup last longer.
2. Aids in even distribuiton.
3. Fills in pores for an even surface.

Eye Shadow:
1. Know your crease and brow bone.
2. She used 3 different ones: light, medium and dark to add dimension.

Eyeliner Brushes & Pot:
1. Dash a continuous line across the eyelid versus one long swipe.
2. Start with a small wing, you can always add.
3. If you make a mistake, use a q-tip with eye makeup remover; you won’t have to remove all of it.

I didn’t capture a final look picture, but Aline looked AMAZING! Next up was our turn, Shenell (my friend) and I paired up with Aline. I chose to do the winged liner, red lip and a bit of highlighting.

At first the angled eye liner brush intimidated me but the final look was impressive.

I tried one red lip color and, it really wasn’t for me, it was like Ronald McDonald (Aline told me had too much pink pigment for my complexion) held my lips hostage. Then Aline introduced me to this red wonder…

Here’s the final look…

I think we found the perfect red for me!! Shenell swiped on a red lip too, but she was a little camera shy (next time I’m going to sneak in a photo). Pretty good job for a first timer, right? There was a bronzer I used that I absolutely love, details about that will be in a forthcoming post.

Want to join the I’m Red-y campaign? Smooth on your favorite red lip hue during the month of December, get a camera and give it your best shot! Upload your picture to Facebook and/or Twitter and make it your profile picture. If you’re on twitter, use the hashtag #imREDy and join the movement. Email ImRedyCampaign@gmail.com to learn more and be featured in the Im Red-y Spotlight.

A special thank you to Annie and Aline at Sephora as well as Naseya from The Seventh District.

xx Sereeda

This entry was posted on Monday, December 12th, 2011 at 9:30 am. It is filed under Beauty. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.