The Blurb:
Jemma Kidd has just launched make-up masterclasses at home. This isn’t your usual make-up tutorial sitting on a high stool in a department store getting plastered with the stuff. Instead, you apply the make-up yourself and learn tricks and tips that you rarely get to see, such as contouring, highlighting and shaping. The set-up is simple, so get some nibbles, wine and the girls over for a fun evening.
The Process:
After stripping our faces of all traces of make-up we sat around my dining table blinking at each other – we’d never seen each other without make-up. Our make-up artist Korben started off giving us a little talk about what we were going to learn, introduced us to Gertrude – an illustration of a face that we could take notes on – and a little about how to keep our make-up hygienic. We also had a tip bell (Korben regularly slapped the table shouting ‘tip alert’) to remind us to take note.
We started with our eye area; alien to all of us as we all usually start with our skin even though it makes sense to start with eyes in case of eye shadow fall out or eyeliner smudges.
The first product we got to use was an Eye Perfector Primer which had a tacky texture so the eye shadow stuck to it well. We then used a Stay Put (it really does) Eyeliner in brown on the inner lash line of our top lids, very tickly but it made our lashes look naturally thicker. Korben made a very valid point that when you want something a little more dramatic at night you should go for black as there will be more contrast between your day and night make-up.
We used Eye Wardrobe Eyeshadow palette on our lids and learnt how to apply different shades to create a smoky shape. I am very conscious of my see-through eyelashes and was very eager to slick on the Lash Extension Mascara, which went on clump-free. Next, the Eye Rescue Cover… I’m paranoid about my dark circles even though Korben reassured me that I have them because I’m fair rather than being an insomniac who drinks too much alcohol and coffee. However, the Eye Rescue Cover didn’t provide quite as much coverage as I would like.
Next the face; we used a tinted SPF 15 moisturiser, Skin Rescue Veil, which had anti-aging ingredients – this was perfect for a fresh low maintenance day look as it was light and evened out skin tone. For those who want a bit more coverage Light as Air Foundation was even and light. I love that fresh English rose dewy look and normally use Benefit Moon Beam Highlighter which is very glittery and in photos can make you look sweaty rather than the desired effervescent sheen. I noticed that the Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow Radiance Cream was a lot subtler due to its use of crushed pearl rather than glitter. Then we dabbed some Blushwear Cream Cheek Colour on the apple of our cheeks to give us that ‘just had a fumble in the barn’ glow.
As a natural blonde I’ve always found it frustrating that I can’t find an eyebrow pencil in any other shade than black or brown so I was delighted to find a perfect blonde shade in the Eye and Brow Kit which came with a cute pair of petite tweezers. I was genuinely impressed by how much difference having some definition to my brow made. Unlike popular belief your brows should be two shades lighter than your hair rather than darker.
For the perfect pout we primed our lips with Lip Perfector – the plumping ingredients prickled the surface of our lips – before finishing the look with a swipe of High Shine Lip Gloss in Tea Rose, which surprisingly suited all of our skin tones.
The Result:
We all learnt how best to put our make-up on. We were taken out of our beauty regime comfort zone but in familiar surroundings with close friends, so it wasn’t as daunting as initially expected. We giggled throughout the whole class sharing quips and jokes about our imperfections, which was undeniably liberating and entertaining.
We were given an opportunity to buy the make-up we had been using throughout the masterclass after the session with 10% discount (I had to buy the brow tint).
Minimum six people; available all over the UK; £20 a head.
