Monday, August 27, 2018

A Complete Guide to Behind the Brush Makeup Classes

A Complete Guide to Behind the Brush Makeup Classes

When Jeffree Star and Lipstick Nick announced on Twitter that they would be offering their Behind the Brush makeup classes in Chicago I screamed with joy. Lipstick Nick is the Director of Global Artistry for Morphe, and is a very talented artist.  I remember the first time I ever saw her work on YouTube.  She was featured on a video for ColourPop using their Yes, Please palette. The unique eyeshadow look that she created on the model was so refreshingly different than anything I'd seen done with the palette before. 

Jeffree Star is a name everyone in the makeup world is familiar with. His confidence and sparkling personality helped grow his YouTube channel to over 10 million subscribers. While he is certainly talented in the makeup department, his entertaining spirit is even more engaging, making his videos somewhat addicting. Finding out that I had the opportunity to learn from an artist like Lipstick Nick, and see Jeffree just a few minutes from my house was an opportunity too good to pass up. That being said, tickets were quite pricey. I know there are more tour dates coming up in various cities around the United States. I decided to put together this guide about my experience to help you decide if these classes are worth your money. 

Here is a complete guide to Behind the Brush makeup classes:

The Chicago class was held at a Marriott hotel.  Upon arrival, guests were sent to a waiting area where a table was set up with merchandise available for sale, complimentary water and snacks.  After a few minutes, they started letting us into the main room where the demonstration was held. After showing my ticket, I received a lanyard and a raffle ticket. Inside the main room, there was plenty of staff directing attendees to our seats based on the type of ticket we purchased (general admission, VIP, ultra VIP).  On each chair was a gift bag, a notebook and pen all with "Behind the Brush" written on them. There was about 45 minutes in between us getting let into the main room and when Jeffree Star & Lipstick Nick arrived.  During that time, we could take pictures against one of the large canvas backdrops set up for photos, shop for merchandise, grab a complimentary bag of popcorn, or sift through our gift bags. The gift bags were much larger than I anticipated. I immediately started looking through mine, and was shocked at the large amount of products inside.  I did some quick math in my head, and realized the contents of the gift bag contained much more than the price of the ticket for the event based on retail value. 

Here is a look at some of the products I received in my gift bag: 

One of the first things I noticed in the gift bag was the large amount of lipstick and liquid lipstick from Jeffree Star Cosmetics.  I received a total of 15 full sized lip colors from the brand.  These retail for $18 each.  I hadn't tried any Jeffree Star Cosmetics lip products before, so was very excited when I saw the assortment of colors now in my possession. 



Here is a closer look at the Jeffree Star Cosmetics lipstick bullet design:





Not all of the products in the bag were cruelty-free, but most were. The second item in the bag that excited me was this eyeshadow palette from Sleek:



Sleek is cruelty-free and they make adorable eyeshadow palettes. I have several from the brand, and find their pigmentation and texture to be outstanding, especially considering their affordable price point.  This palette is called, "When The Sun Goes Down."  It contains a variety of matte and shimmer shades, mostly neutral in tone. I could see this palette being something I use fairly regularly as the color story is one that is quite easy to wear. 




Also included in my gift bag was an eyeshadow single from ColourPop called Glass Bull. I believe this is one of their best selling eyeshadows, and from the pictures I have seen online, it seems to create a glossy eye look when applied to the lid.  I also received a liquid lipstick from Sleek, a sample sized face primer from the brands Tatcha and CoverFX, a coffee face mask from The Creme Shop, mascara (from Benefit - not cruelty-free), 3 mini beauty sponges from The Creme Shop and brow gel (from Benefit - not cruelty-free).

I used the coffee sheet mask yesterday, and it made my skin feel amazing.  It was from the brand The Creme Shop and according to the package is in fact cruelty-free.  With so many new lip colors being added to my collection from the gift bag, I was actually able to toss some of my older lip colors that I don't use as frequently. I am trying to scale down my kit and collection so that it only includes products and brands I really love and use. As soon as I got home I began testing out the Jeffree Star Cosmetics lip colors I received and was blown away by the pigmentation and texture.  All of them are cruelty-free and vegan, with the lipsticks having a satin texture, and the liquid lipsticks being matte. One of the liquid lipsticks I received is in the color Weirdo (black).  At first, I thought this wasn't something I would use much because I rarely wear black lipstick.  However, I learned that it is eye safe, and can double as a liquid eyeliner. Makeup artists love products that serve multiple purposes. I also purchased the below makeup bag because the lipstick print is simply adorable, and I will get use out of this when I need a clear bag that I can easily find my products in. I was also happy to see that both the lipsticks and liquid lipsticks fit in my acrylic organizers and Alex drawers from Ikea. 



Before I knew it, Jeffree & Nick walked in to the left of me and the room exploded in applause. I could feel the energy in the room and everyone's excitement level was through the roof. They proceeded to the front of the room where they took the stage and greeted us.  They both exude a type of confidence that I can only dream of.  We were asked not to take video (though some people in front of me tried to anyway) and I am going to try not to spoil any of the surprises from the class.  Nick did a full makeup application on Jeffree talking us through each step as she went.  Throughout the entire class, both of them fielded questions, being sure not to miss those in the back.  Question topics ranged from makeup related to YouTube personalities with a handful of personal questions sprinkled in. Jeffree was surprisingly open and left no question unanswered.  As a makeup artist, I found Nick's tips very helpful and learned a surprising amount of information that could help me with my private clients. She works with celebrity clients, and has a much different experience than I do when it comes to makeup artist work. 


I honestly feel that Jeffree and Nick were very warm and caring toward their fans.  I also think the event was extremely well organized and staffed. After the demo was over, they had the raffle.  There was a nice assortment of prizes from a few different brands.  Jeffree Star even raffled off his full new collection of liquid skin frosts to three different individuals.  The woman sitting to my right won, and I was so happy for her. I thought she was going to cry because she was so overwhelmed with joy. 

After all the raffle winners were chosen, they let those with general admission tickets go to the back of the room to take pictures and shop the merchandise tables.  The VIP and ultra VIP ticket holders had a little break before Jeffree and Nick would return for a Q&A and pictures.



Staff was standing by to take pictures with your phone for you.  They also had ring lights set up so that pictures would come out with their best lighting. 

I wasn't going to buy anything initially, but the t-shirts, hats and makeup bags were surprisingly affordable.  I wanted a shirt that had lipstick prints all over it, but they were sold out of my size.  Instead I opted for a white t-shirt to commemorate the day. The shirt is still quite large for me, but I have a super petite frame so I am pretty used to having difficulty finding my size.  I still am happy I bought it and can wear it to sleep in if it doesn't shrink after washing and drying it. 


I feel that the class was well worth the price tag. The retail value of the gift bag alone far exceeds the ticket price. However, the experience I had was truly priceless. I was lucky enough to see Jeffree Star the day his YouTube channel reached 10 million subscribers.  I also feel extremely appreciative of the tips that Nick taught me in the class as they are practical things that she learned from her years of experience as an artist.

Like a good student, I took notes the entire time, paying close attention to every brush stroke.  In my next post, I will attempt to recreate the look that Nick executed so beautifully on Jeffree Star.  I know that taking one class will not magically increase my skill level to match Nick's, but I do hope that I learned enough to share some of the tips with you.

Are you attending Behind the Brush in NYC on September 22nd?  If you are, feel free to ask any questions you may have in the comments below. 

*All products in this post were purchased by me. This is not a sponsored post. 












1 comment:

  1. So cool that you got to attend this! Thank you for the recap.

    ReplyDelete

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