Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been testing out beauty hot spots everywhere to help you figure out where to get the best makeup lessons and makeovers. Although we have some New York City favorites, we wanted to find locations that were accessible to just about anyone. This week, we bring you our thoughts on the makeup lesson at Chanel, as they guided us through a step-by-step day look.
Unlike several other cosmetic locations, Chanel uses time spent with their customers to exclusively introduce their latest makeup collections. Lessons are one-on-one and take place at the Chanel counter at any high-end department store. The session is 30 minutes long and free of charge.
Before You Go
The artists at Chanel know their products inside and out (they’re trained to apply new collections almost every season), but they sometimes forget that you might not know everything about their cosmetics. We recommend this lesson for people who already have basic makeup knowledge, using the time to either learn a new technique or enhance an every day look. Be prepared to know exactly what you want to learn before you arrive.
Like any makeup expert, the artist at Chanel started with a hydrating foundation. Although she didn’t spend too much time explaining why she chose the product she did (Vitalumière Aqua Ultra Light Skin Perfecting Makeup $45), it went on lightly, matched our skin tones perfectly, and left us with baby soft skin.
The real lesson came when we got to the eyes. “The thing people want to learn the most is how to do a smokey eye,” said Andrea, a Chanel artist for Dillard’s in Naples, Fla. “The tough part is figuring out what type of smokey eye they want, and when they plan on wearing it.” She showed us how to take advantage of multiple colors, using the Ombres Perlées de Chanel eyeshadow palette ($65) from the Spring 2011 collection. The artist emphasized how to pad the colors onto the lid, instead of swiping, in order to control pigment intensity. Although we didn’t get a chance to apply some of the makeup ourselves, each step was shown to us in a mirror, so that there were no unexpected surprises at the end.
With eye shadow, most of us stick to colors with similar undertones. We discovered that playing it safe might have a dulling effect, while using multiple colors can be subtle and feminine, without making you look like a circus clown. Use shadows with the same texture, in this case a soft powdery shadow, with a pearl-like shimmer; our artist used yellow, green, purple, and gray. For a day look, always keep the lighter shades on your lid and beneath the brow bone, the darker shades on the outer corner of your eye and the darkest shade along the lash line. Use a standard eye shadow brush to blend the colors together by gently swirling the brush where the two colors meet on the lid.
