If you’ve ever read this blog before, you know how much I love breakfast (hello, my pets are named after breakfast foods), so it was no surprise that I RSVP’d ‘Absolutely!’ when Saks Fifth Avenue in Plaza Frontenac invited myself and other bloggers to a barefaced beauty brunch.
Barefaced, you say? Yes, barefaced. As in, arrive with no makeup. Uhm… I can’t speak for everyone, but to me, no makeup means acne scars and pitiful brows and proof that I only slept for 4.5 hours. Whoops. But the invite specifically explained to arrive wearing no makeup to enjoy breakfast and have a Saks pro apply your look before heading to work.
Needless to say, I actually felt a little bad for the beauty specialist I worked with. I forgot to bring coffee, so she had to deal with my un’caffeinated, dark-circle-having face first thing in the morning. Despite that hurdle– seriously, my coffee addiction has reached a sad point– she did an amazing job.
I have had my makeup professionally applied once before; it was for a pin-up photo shoot, and the end look was cat eyes and red lips and everything I love, but done slightly better. This was entirely different, as I was going to work after the event and needed something office-appropriate, but still new and fun. Beauty specialist Jane Moeckel used Estee Lauder cosmetics to create a copper-meets-mauve lip with hints of purple and brown in the eyes.
The end result was the total opposite of my normal bold red lip/simple eye/embrace the paleness look. And I really liked it.
Makeup by Jane Moeckel at the Plaza Frontenac Saks Fifth Avenue ; Photo by Ellen of Everyday Fancy
Oh yeah, and the other end result was that I LOOKED LIKE I’D NEVER HAD A ZIT. EVER. Like none in my life, and most certainly not the five I’m currently at war with. Why doesn’t my skin look like this when I apply my makeup?
Probably because I do a lot of things wrong. Jane taught me a few beauty tips that perhaps everyone else follows, but were news to me…
- Give your primer time to soak in (i.e., 10 minutes or so) before you apply foundation and concealer. Use this moment to drink your coffee, or do your eye makeup, because…
- You should apply your eye makeup first to avoid any flaking into your finished foundation. Honestly, you didn’t really need foundation on your eyes, anyway.
- If you have larger than normal eyes–which I apparently do, and now consider that the compliment of the month, as I pretty much want to be a cartoon character (Ariel, ideally, or Jessica Rabbit, or April O’Neil… You get the idea)– make sure your eyebrows extend far enough inward to avoid looking too small. I’m not talking about having a unibrow, but she filled mine in a smidge further than I would have, to the area where there’s only hair because I totally forgot to pluck that morning, and it looked great.
I’ve always been such a sucker for Estee Lauder. As a child, I had a bad reaction to sunscreen and had to start using the oil-free face formulas, particularly the kind by Estee Lauder. Being a bargain hunter, my mother always made department store beauty purchases during times of free-gift-with-purchase. Each year, she would purchase the sunscreen when we could get a free beach bag/cosmetics bag/travel bag filled with pristine samples and petite compacts; anything oddly outlandish, or unflattering to her olive complexion, became my new favorite play thing.
Beauty tote c/o the Plaza Frontenac Saks Fifth Avenue; Photo courtesy of Ellen of Everyday Fancy | Pictured: Myself with two beautiful bloggers, Rachael of Style Every Day and Ellen of Everyday Fancy. Can we pause for a moment and talk about their shoes? Lust.
Plaza Frontenac Saks Fifth Avenue was kind enough to offer us bloggers a beauty goody bag filled with products by Tom Ford Beauty, YSL, Lancome, Dior and other jaw-dropping brands. I am excited to try each of the products, but I’m thrilled to report that I love the bag itself– it’s one of the few freebie bags I’ve gotten that is usable/cute enough for every day life.
Dress, Banana Republic found at a church sale and altered [SIMILAR or SIMILAR] | Scarf, Nordstrom Rack c/o Nordstrom [SIMILAR] | Tights, Target, found recently on clearance, so check your local sale rack [SIMILAR] | Boots, Steve Madden [SIMILAR] | Earrings, gift [SIMILAR] | Bangle and ring, vintage | Belt, free with Jessica Simpson dress [SIMILAR] | Purse, MBMJ Too Hot To Handle Tote [HERE in current colors]
Feeling a bit jealous? I know, I would be, too, because that bag is weirdly adorable. Never fear– the bag is currently a free gift with your $100 Saks Fifth Avenue beauty or fragrance purchase. Spend $150, and you’ll even get the matching cosmetic case. Snag this freebie in stores or online while supplies last. Don’t dilly-dally, though; the promo ends at Saks.com on Oct. 6, 11:59 ET p.m. Find more details at Saks.com.
Enjoy your freebies!
