On the second Friday of every month MAC at Saks Fifth Avenue in Westshore Mall will be hosting Girl's Night Out classes! Our goal is to bring in loyal clients who are interesting in learning technique, trends, and products. Each month we will focus on a different theme or trend. This past GNO event focused on achieving the perfect red lip and holiday eye makeup to go with it. Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun and learn new tricks and techniques! Feel free to email me if you are interested in attending future classes. 

Here are a few photos from the event..

Overall it was a great success! I can not wait for next month's event!

We all get in makeup ruts. I constantly find myself grabbing for my "neutrals" palette when I'm in a rush for work and then throughout the day I'm saying "I need to wear more color." Luckily, one of my staff members (THANKS ELISA!) gave me a few homework assignments and made sure to assign me colors I rarely wear. 

12/6/12:
I applied Designer Purple Pearl Glide liner all over the lid as a base - The Pearlglide liners are AMAZING! They are super bright and glittery, and what girl (or queen) doesn't like glitter? You can wear them as an eyeliner, or in my case they make a great base color.
Next, I loaded up a 239 brush with Young Punk mineralize eyeshadow and pressed it into the liner. This shade is equally glittery! The photo just doesn't do it justice! *Note to self: buy a real camera.*
I blended out the crease with Kid eyeshadow, a neutral flesh toned brown. Doing that blended out the purple so you couldn't see any harsh lines. 
My highlight, as always, was Gesso under the brow. And on the inner corners I used Vanilla Pigment.
I finished with Boot Black Liquid Liner and lots of Zoom Lash Mascara!

12/7/12:
I started off by applying Undercurrant Pearl Glide Eyeliner all over my lid and blending out the edges, fading the color upwards past my crease. I've decided I need these in EVERY color!
After that I took Spruce, a crushed metal from our Guilty Passions: Brilliantly Cool holiday kit, and applied it on the inner and outer corners of my eye with a 219 brush.
Using a 239 brush I pressed Old Gold pigment onto the Pearlglide liner on the center of my lid.
To blend out all of the edges I used a 224 brush and applied Kid to the crease.
My brow highlight was Vanilla, and I finished it off with Blacktrack Fluidline and my usual #3 lashes.

Don't be afraid to try new things! Breaking makeup habits and forcing yourself to try new products is the first step towards becoming a successful artist! 

Graphic eyeliner is a classic staple look that will never go out of style!
Trends regarding the style and shape change seasonally, but the basic principle
will always be around. All you need is a liquid or gel liner and a steady hand!

Dont be afraid to put your own spin on it! Add a different color, texture, or shape in to the mix and you may be impressed with what you come up with!

I stumbled across this liquid liner tutorial online. Simple and to the point!

When it comes to makeup "natural" and "neutral" are two classifications that I hear frequently. Although the terms can tie in together and describe a similar look, that is not always the case. Natural makeup defines a look that is essentially nude. Think "no makeup makeup," or "second skin makeup." The color palette includes flesh tones, or colors you would naturally find in the skin without any makeup applied. Focus on highlighting and perfecting the skin to give it a "fresh faced" look.

By definition neutral means "no color." A neutral makeup look could include muted shades of grey, earth tones, flesh tones, and shades from light to dark. Textures can be anything from matte to metallic. Neutral makeup doesn't necessarily need to be soft or light.

It may be only June, but fashion week has come and gone and that can only mean one thing: the trends for this fall are hitting the market! Come August you'll start to notice the shift in trends from spring/summer into fall/winter and I can not wait!

The color palette is inspired by cool tones, jewels, sepias, and neutrals. The textures play with metallic against mattes, and the skin is velvety. Lips are red and lashes are barely there. This upcoming season is all about picking a feature and amplifying it, then softly building the rest of your makeup around it. Whether it's a strong brow, geometric liner, or intense contour, this season will put a masculine spin on feminine beauty makeup.

Jewel tones seem to make a comeback every winter, but this season the placement is different. Try mixing up the way you apply your eyeshadow and go outside of the box with where you place color. Mix matte and metallic textures, and skip a brow highlight. Light washes of shadow are leading this season's styles vs. high impact intense color

Red lips are a classic look that you can't go wrong with. The modern spin on this season's red lip is to pair it with a truly nude eye; think "no makeup makeup!" Skip on loading up on the mascara, and if you can't live without it try only applying it to the top lashes. Apply a wine or burgundy colored stain if bright red is too intense!

Graphic eyeliner gets more geometric this season. Instead of a classic winged out liner this look is more about adding structure and architecture to the face. Not quite the classic look of winged eyeliner, this is definitely more of a statement.

Brows are fuller and darker this season. Skip the tweezers and grab some clear brow gel! A fuller brow is youthful, but still strong.

This season's contouring and highlighting has moved on from bronzed and glowy to cool and velvety. Creamier textures in cool browns are replacing warm bronzers, and highlights are less shimmery and more subtle. The look is all about playing with the natural shadows of the face to give depth and shape.

Although runway makeup is beautiful, it isn't the most wearable. Take this season's trends and customize them to fit your lifestyle! Work with products you have, perhaps applying them with a new technique or placing them differently. You'll be surprised with what you end up with! Don't be afraid to be a little messy or make a mistake. Makeup isn't supposed to be perfect and clean.