GLAM All-Star Voyage: Makeup Cruise! Part 2 (The Experience!)

Hello Glamour Dolls,

As mentioned in a previous post, I attended the Glam All-Star Voyage cruise; it's a cruise where you can vacation and take makeup classes from some of the most talented and accomplished Makeup Artists in the business...the classes are discounted because you're already spending money on the cruise and/or airfare. The port of sail changes every year, last year was Miami and this year we sailed out of New Orleans. The cruise was just as great as it was last year! Read on for my experience, and for some new tips and tricks that I learned.

Glam bag

The first day of the cruise, after sail away, was a meet & greet held at the Red Frog pub on the Lido deck. There, I met the wonderful travel agent, Sameisha Adolph that planned the entire cruise and a few of the artists teaching the classes. I also received my Glam bag, which all of the attendees received.

Contents of the Glam bag

The Glam bag contained a beautiful itinerary/program and bio on the artists, supplies from Qosmedix, a pair of lashes, lash holder, a sample moisturizer from Face Putty and coupons from sponsors.

Classes

What's in my Kit & A Nicely Face: Bridal Edition:

I attended Lauren Nicely's class A Nicely Face: Bridal Edition which she also combined it with her What's in my Kit class. Lauren shared all of her kit must-haves with us and why she prefers those products. A lot of the products that she uses in her kit, I use for my own makeup and also in my professional kit. There were a few products that she recommended that I will be definitely buying like the Fashion Fair Oil Control Pressed Powders in Kola and Sable. They are two warm, flattering colors to contour with for women of color.

Lauren's Kit Essentials

For the second half of her class, Lauren did a full makeup demo on how she does her brides from skin prep to a full face makeup application. She did a flawless face with a gorgeous neutral eye with glitter applied on top. She used Mac All that Glitters for the lid color, and Anastasia Beverly Hills Caramel for transition color and Mac Embark for a crease color. The glitter applied on top of All that Glitters came out so beautiful!

All of the attendees for the class

Some Tips that I learned...

1. For clients that have mature or wrinkly skin, do not use finely milled powder because it has the tendency to settle into their skin and creases. It's best to use a sheer loose powder so that it doesn't settle.

2. For brow grooming or to give an appearance of a fuller brows, brush brow hairs up (which will show you what needs to be cut), take brow scissors and cut off excess hair; then proceed to filling in brows.

A Beautiful Face 103: Hands On Experience:

The last day, I attended Alexandra Butler's class, A Beautiful Face 103. This class was very hands on and informative. Alex demonstrated how she does a beautiful face in a step by step process. As she did the process on the model, we had to practice what she was teaching us... on ourselves. She provided all of the makeup; before taking the class, she instructed us on what brushes to bring for the makeup application.

As we applied the makeup on ourselves, she went by one by one, to each attendee to make sure that we were doing the techniques correctly, and to assist us if we needed any help. I really like the hands on method more than what I thought I would because you get the best of both worlds, you get to see the makeup demo, learn the technique, then practice it on yourself and you get Alex's feedback as to what may need improvement.

Alex's Kit

Swag bags we were given in class!

The Swag bag contents and the syllabus for the class.

My before picture...

My brows after Alex helped me with them, one had an arch and one didn't...she helped me create the arch.

The Limitless look book and the brush belt that I won in a giveaway!

Alex and I

A new friend that I met in class!

I finally got to take a picture with Lauren!

My after picture...on my eyes, I did a smokey eye with a black base and green eyeshadow.

Some Tips that I learned...

1. When doing a smokey eye, use a black base like an eye kohl or black eyeliner first on the lid, blend it out and then apply a color of your choice on top to create a vibrant smokey eye. This may seem like a basic tip, but, when I did it in class, it took a pretty green eyeshadow to a gorgeous, vibrant green in seconds.

2. When filling in brows, use two colors (one lighter color and one that matches) to give you a more natural look. The lighter color should be applied in front, and the color that matches your brow should be applied through the arch and the tail. Be sure to blend where the two meet. The lighter color in the front mimics the appearance of the fade that occurs naturally in the front of your brow. I have been practicing this tip since I got back from the cruise and it makes my brows looks so much more groomed and polished.

Glam All-Star Voyage Activities

Besides the initial meet and greet, there were a few other activities planned for the Glam All-Star attendees. There was a beach party in Cozumel at Mr. Sanchos and there was a cocktail hour in the disco.

The cocktail hour was fun, we got a chance to enjoy free drinks, and mix and mingle with each other. I had met Alex before a few years back at The Makeup Show and I when I attended one of her classes before and she's the real deal, very down to earth and funny. It was nice chatting when her & the girls.