Bobbi Brown Tips from the Master Class at Nordstrom Tysons Corner Center

What fun we had yesterday at the Bobbi Brown Master Class at Nordstrom at Tysons Corner! About 21 of us spent almost three hours with Tia Hebron, Bobbi's Global Makeup Team Artist and Education Executive (and total dynamo); Michele Shakeshaft, Bobbi's fabulous Market Coordinator for our region; and 10 makeup artists whose sole mission was to make us look beautiful - and learn how to do it ourselves.

I have three pages of notes! They covered a lot of ground, and I can't give you the whole class in one blog feature. I can tell you about the tips I found most helpful and the products Tia used on me. I also have a few photos, despite the challenge of the lighting in the room (with flash, they washed out; without, they were a bit dark). Unfortunately, my photo of Tia and Michele is dark. There's another photo of Tia below.

Tia led us from skin care to the finishing touches - with humor, talent, and energy. Somehow, "the blogger" got tapped to be the model, so I sat under the lights on the little stage as Michele and Tia demonstrated what they taught us. From my vantage point, I watched each woman in the class as she was transformed from pretty to pretty powerful. It was a blast!

We learned all about Bobbi's skin care, starting by cleansing our faces, and we got a nice introduction to the newest Hydrating Skincare products. Tia called Hydrating Face Tonic "Gatorade for the skin," a great description for the toner/tonic that is loaded with minerals and vitamins to enhance your skin before you use the treatment products best for you.

Tia focused on two great serum choices for use under our moisturizer: Intensive Skin Supplement (my choice for my aging and dry skin) and Brightening Intensive Serum, a serum that won't bleach your skin as it clarifies and brightens. We applied our serum and followed up with a moisturizer. Michele selected the new Hydrating Face Cream for me. We learned that all of Bobbi Brown's moisturizers have built-in primers so that your face will be ready for your makeup application after you moisturize.

Because your makeup can't look its best without good skin underneath, we continued to apply our skin care, using products to protect our eyes and lips. Extra Eye Repair Cream is the staff favorite in Bobbi's New York headquarters. Tia called it "Spanx in a jar," and apparently they can't keep it in stock in the closet. We also learned that Bobbi's Lip Balm SPF 25, which feels great on my always-parched lips, will bring out the color in your lips.

Tia used the phrase "runway to reality" to describe how Bobbi Brown translates runway color trends into makeup we can use every day. She started with foundation, as the artists applied three shades to our faces to see which one would disappear into our skin. You want your foundation to look natural, so selecting the right foundation shade and applying it correctly will get you off to the right start. She also mentioned that you should only apply foundation to the areas of your face that need it. That's often in the center of your face, and you should blend it out to "nothing" where your skin is clear and even. She also taught us how to use Bobbi's top-rated Corrector to take away any darkness under our eyes follow with the Creamy Concealer Kit, making sure to use concealer in the inner corner near the nose and set the concealer with powder.

Everyone needs to use bronzer! I didn't believe that until I saw the transformation of 21 women who lightly applied either the Bronzing Powder or the All Over Bronzing Gel SPF 15.

Tia used Desert Sun gel on me (and the lovely lady to the left), and I loved the warm look. None of looked tan; we just looked sculpted and healthy!

Bobbi recommends an order to makeup application: cheeks, lips, then eyes. If you run out of time during your makeup application, you can quit after any step. Your cheeks and lips will add radiance to your face. Tia was a hoot when she told us that people are nicer to you when you're wearing blusher. She suggested that if you apply the bronzer first, you simply need to add a pop of color to the apple of your cheeks to be ready to roll. With Pot Rouge for Lips and Cheeks, powder blushes, and Sheer Color Cheek Tint, Bobbi has us covered with formulas and shades! Tia surprised me when she selected Sheer Coral Sheer Color Cheek Tint for me. That may be the only shade I haven't bought! Naturally, Tia showed everyone techniques for applying color, and she recommended Bobbi's brushes - the right brush for each task - as we progressed through the class.

We moved from cheeks to lips. You probably know that Bobbi Brown recommends using your lip color before your lip liner. When you do use your pencil liner, use the flat edge of the pencil and feather it on to define and enhance your lips. Tia used Black Cherry Creamy Lip Color and Black Chocolate Sheer Color Gloss on my lips. She used Brownie Lip Liner to finish the look. (You can see my selections from the Black Velvet Collection (last week's shopping foray) at this link. Glad I bought Black Cherry and Black Chocolate!)

We did our eyes last! Naturally, I wanted to play with the new Black Velvet Collection, so Tia applied a neutral ivory color all over my lid before she started her magic. She used Khaki Eye Shadow on my lower lid before she applied the new Black Charcoal Metallic Eye Shadow. She told us that there has been a shift in how to create the smoky eye. No longer do you paint one color on your lower lid and another in the crease. Now, the best way is to apply the darkest color at the last line and blend as you move up into the crease. Don't be afraid to use your finger to help blend if you need to. Tia blended the Black Charcoal over the Khaki and followed with the new Kohl Eye Liner in Black and Extreme Party Mascara. She also used gray shadow to fill in my brows and the Highlighter Pen in Opal at the top of my cheekbones.

Here I am modeling the look Tia created with Bobbi's new book, Beauty Rules. There's a Beauty Rules Palette too! I'll tell you about Beauty Rules later this week. I took a closeup photo of the eye look Tia created when I got home. I had to take the photo inside using a flash, so it's very shiny - sorry about that. I should have left it on for the party I attended last night! It was pretty snazzy.

If you get a chance to attend a Bobbi Brown Master Class, you should do it! You'll learn a lot and have fun while you're learning. My thanks for Tia, Michele, the 10 artists, the sweet gals who let me take their photos (including that gorgeous mother-daughter team above), and Diron Carr, the Nordstrom Tysons Bobbi Brown manager who told me I had to attend. He was right.