Make Me Over! the MECCA Beauty Election Lesson Experience

A few weeks ago I went to my first "make-over" at Mecca Cosmetica, what is probably my favourite beauty hangout. And I came home quite happy - surprise! Often these department-esque makeovers are bad news, with the likely possibility of coming home with a new face but luckily I have good words to share about my experience and I highly recommend the one at Mecca!

I found out three days before my appointment that Mecca were holding "Beauty Election Lessons" which were 60 minute sessions with one of their makeup artists. What made it different is that it included a beauty box with samples of products the Mecca team voted the best that year. So I quickly got on the phone and called the two locations I could get to, the first was booked out and the latter had one box left, phew! I decided to jump the gun on this one because of the gift box included and usually the sessions are $150 for 90 minute sessions (this one was $90 for the hour), all redeemable for products.  

The Aim

I have most of my makeup application mysteries solved (for my own face, that is) save one: how on earth do you apply eyeliner to the top lash line of round eyes? This is something that none of my solo makeup muck-arounds have solved and I was hoping my darnest that the artist that would do my face could answer it. Maybe even a cat eye if we get ambitious..

The Appointment

Whilst I was late, all the MUAs were busy and so I milled around and checked that my wishlist items were at hand (haul coming soon!).  The girl that was to serve me was luckily the girl I had eyed. Biggest tip I can offer when going to these things is look for someone that looks like the way you want to look - no point going to an Illamasqua counter when your taste leans to more Burburry-esque neutrals. Alyrra was the name of the girl that served me and she was just lovely. She sported a feline flick herself and gorgeous dewy skin, yup, I could definitely trust her taste. 

Alyrra took her time and explained all the steps thoroughly without making me feel like a noob, especially since she could tell I was er, quite the beauty fiend myself.  She even spent a extra time with me to do a good job and because she had to serve other customers in between sometimes. She asked me about what I wanted and what my concerns were and didn't try to press her opinions on me, which wasn't hard since we agreed on a lot of things. She also didn't look at me like I was nuts when I tried to explain my multi-toned skin and matched me to how I like it (yes!), and was happy to try all the products I requested.  

The Result

Now for the big question, how did the eyeliner look? Well since I decided to include the selfies I took that night into the post, you can probably guess that I was pretty darn happy =D The lesson? For hooded and round eyes like mine, get as close as you can to the lash line by lifting your eyebrows and gently pressing the skin taut. Alyrra said she always see people not getting close enough to the lashes and you can see the gap peeking through. Light bulb moment. Makeup application changed forever.
The more commonly well known tip is less liner around the middle and thicker towards the corners. To create the flick, aim towards the end of your eyebrows and fill them in to soften the lines.

I look back on the experience with fond memories. Now I'm not sure if the feline flick is really me but it's nice to finally know how to apply eyeliner to my eyes. Practice now required.. oh help..