Maybelline with the blogger world, Madrid

Last week, Maybelline organized a makeup class with Gato, the brand's official makeup artist in Spain. I gladly accepted the invitation because, like all women, I love and enjoy makeup. The most pleasant surprise came when I arrived at the event itself, when I discovered that all the guests were bloggers and journalists from digital media.


I'm glad to see that brands are starting to take notice of the blogger movement and create specific marketing actions to cater to it. I think it's very smart of them; they have access to their direct audience, collect feedback from end-users, and surely get more impact than with a press release to major fashion magazines. I work in marketing and I enjoy seeing how sometimes the public turns everything around and makes companies get their act together. From here, bravo to the Maybelline team. Besides, we are more excited than the usual fashion journalists who are surely tired of going from presentation to presentation accumulating products (a slight tone of envy).

Our teacher was very pleasant, showing endless patience and, above all, very practical and useful tips for our daily lives. For example:

• Your fingers are the best brush; don't complicate your life too much with sponges, brushes, thin brushes, thick brushes... they help, of course, but no one knows your face better than your fingers when you're not very skilled with tools.
  
• Don't try to hide dark circles by applying concealer all over the area; you'll end up looking like a panda bear. Limit yourself to the darkest area and always "press" the product onto the skin, don't spread it.
• Apply mascara only once, as much as you want, but only swipe it on your eyelashes while it's still wet. Don't wait for it to dry and apply another layer; it will crack and fall onto your dark circles, making them look messy.

• Forget lip liner; it's difficult to make your lips symmetrical using it. It's only advisable for very thin lips.
• For killer red lips, apply the lipstick to the back of your hand and gradually build up the tone on your lips with your finger; you'll have better control over the color. Don't apply it directly from the stick.
• For smoky eyes (this is what I liked the most), apply a little lipstick to the back of your hand and start drawing over it with a black pencil (insist a lot) until you get a blackish paste. This paste, again with your fingers, is what you apply to your mobile eyelid. It looks much more natural and doesn't dirty your dark circles like powder does.
• To apply movie-star eye makeup, practice first with brown/beige tones that hide mistakes very well by blending with the skin. Once you've mastered them, move on to the next phase, other colors.

He gave us many more but I'm afraid I have trouble memorizing them. If our dear Hummingbird had been there, it would surely have been like advice from the wise.


At the end of the general instructions, Gato reviewed us one by one and gave specific advice according to the physiognomy of our face. It was a real luxury to have him at our disposal. He gave me very useful advice for eye makeup: "shape the eye by finishing the exterior upwards". He exaggerated it with a black pencil so I would understand it, but in reality, that should be in the color you want and blended upwards.


After the class, they made available all kinds of hair ornaments and various trinkets for us to doll up and take photos with a professional photographer. It was also the best time to meet other colleagues. A huge kiss to all! What a pleasure to meet you!

The catering was very appropriate for the occasion: macarons, lollipops, shakes, and colorful cocktails... I'm crazy about macarons and these were unusually well made for being from Madrid.


And finally, a souvenir photo with Gato, who, although he crouches down so as not to make us look like Lilliputians, is quite tall and friendly. Before landing at Maybelline, he worked in South Africa and China. In South Africa, he learned to darken the skin tone of Russian models, fight against the effects of sand on makeup, and, incidentally, to surf. But without a doubt, his biggest challenge was learning to do makeup for Asians, with their thin, very white skin and distinct features; after that, he can be considered to have earned his stripes.


It was a very pleasant afternoon and I thank Ana and the rest of the Maybelline team for their invitation and good work.

For you, I won't just use words, and I want to share the makeup they gave us as a gift. Yes, you read that right. I have blue and green eyeshadows, mascara, concealer, dark pink lipstick, semi-transparent lipstick, and a black pencil. If anyone wants something, let me know in the comments. No giveaways, I hate them. In strict order, whoever asks for it gets it (shipping is on me), don't be hoarders and ask for everything at once; let's share the joy of receiving free makeup.