MAC PRO Master Class: Close-Up Makeup with MAC Senior Artist Romero Jennings

Yesterday I attended my first MAC PRO Master Class at the MAC Store at Somerset Mall in Troy, MI.   I have been wanting to attend a PRO Master Class for some time now and I was thrilled to hear that MAC Senior Artist Romero Jennings would be teaching us all about Close-Up Makeup.  This class was all about really detailed makeup looks that focus on specific features, such as a really bold lip, or a really structured, graphic eye with a great set of false lashes.  Basically looks that you would see in a magazine editorial.  For the two looks Romero demonstrated for the class, he focused on eyes and lips.

Romero is such an amazing talent!  I was in total awe of his skill, his knowledge, and most importantly his organized makeup kit.  He has over 20 years of experience working in the industry and he shared so much of what he knows with us.  He even passed his portfolio around so we all could have a look through it.  I thought I knew a lot about makeup, but this class made me realize that there is always something new to learn. 

For the makeup demonstration, Romero followed the same steps for each look but adjusted the shades according to the model's skin tone.  He really stressed the importance of starting with clean, prepped, and primed skin.  This allows you to use less foundation plus it allows for longer lasting coverage.  He prepped the skin by spritzing Mineralized Charged Water all over the face and exfoliated with a MAC wipe.  He followed up by stippling on Mineralized Charged Water Moisture Gel with a 109 brush.  Lastly, he applied Mineralized Charged Water Moisture Eye Cream under the eyes.  You really want to use lightweight products because if you use really heavy, emollient products, the rest of your makeup will smudge and smear and not stay in place. 

LOOK #1

For foundation he mixed Matchmaster Foundation in shades 1 and 2 and tapped it on the face with a 109 brush.  He concealed under the eyes with a bit of Studio Finish concealer and a 222 brush.  Instead of using the back of his hand, Romero uses an empty 4x4 eyeshadow palette and mixes the shades as he needs them.  He then used Fascinating Eye Kohl (a white pencil) and drew along the lines on the side of the mouth, and underneath the eyes and buffs the line away with a bit of Studio Finish concealer.  This allows any receded areas of the face to appear flat.  Using a 116 brush, he set the foundation and concealer with a bit of Prep & Prime Transparent Powder and Studio Careblends Pressed Powder.  He uses a tapping technique to apply this powder as well.  To contour the face, he used Omega eye shadow and an angled 168 brush.  Starting at the hair line at the cheekbone, he applied Omega shadow and faded the colour toward the centre of the face.  He used the same technique along the temples and the hair line.  This creates a spotlight effect- the centre of the face is brighter and the sides of the face are darker.  This also brings out her bone structure without using heavy foundations or bronzers.  To highlight the cheekbones he applied Luna Cream Colour Base with a 227 brush right underneath the outer corner of her eyes right on top of the cheekbone.  He then swept the colour toward her hairline across her temple.  He highlighted her inner corners and along the lower lash line with Nylon shadow and a 219 brush.  For the crease, he used Teddy Eye Kohl and dotted a line along the crease and blended it out following the eye shape with a bit of Omega eye shadow and a 224 brush. He also applied Omega shadow to the lower lash line with a 219 brush.  For the brows, Romero wanted to show a bleached look without using bleach.  He used a mascara wand and applied a combination of a white, yellow, and skin toned concealer shade and carefully applied it to her brows, making sure not to touch her skin.  He then curled her lashes and primed them with a bit of Prep & Prime Lash Primer right at the root of the lash.  Romero used a customized pair of #36 lashes.  He customized them by cutting them in half and layering and fanning the two pieces on top of each other. This will allow more focus to be on the outer corners of the eyes.  He then applied a coat of False Lashes Mascara in Extreme Black.  He accented the centre of the lid with Pink Opal Pigment.  He used the same pigment on top of the Luna Cream Colour base on the tops of her cheekbones.  For lips he lined and filled them in with Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in What a Blast! and topped them off with a bit of Dazzleglass in Sugar Rimmed.  Lastly, he finished the look with a bit of Peachykeen Blush tapped on the apples of her cheeks with a 116 brush. 

LOOK #2

For the second look, he contoured with Saddle Eye shadow, highlighed the tops of the cheek bones with Improper Copper Cream Colour Base, and highlighted the inner corners of the eyes with Amber Lights eye shadow.  For the eyes he contoured the crease with a black pencil and highlighted the center of the lids with Blue Brown Pigment.  For lips he used Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in Bittersweet and a bit of Dazzleglass in Funtabulous on top.  As a final touch he added colour to her cheeks with a bit of Peachykeen and Frankly Scarlet blush. 

You can purchase all products used at www.maccosmetics.com

Romero Jennings was nice enough to pose for a picture with me!

This class was such a great experience for me!  I look forward to taking many more PRO Master Classes in the future to brush up on my skills because like I said earlier, there's always something new to learn.  Romero Jennings was such a great teacher - I hope he makes his way back to Michigan sometime soon.  If you're a PRO artist and have yet to take one of these classes, I suggest you take a look at www.macpro.com to see if they're offering any classes in your area. 

x

Annemarie