Bobbi Brown Makeover to Celebrate the Neiman Marcus Beauty Event

The Bobbi Brown team had an event Friday to celebrate the Neiman Marcus Beauty Event, and Mazza Gallerie was hopping! Before I tell you about my makeover, I want you to see Bobbi's gorgeous Mazza team - always ready to help you. From left to right are Rachel Lagman, Sunny Choi Noble, and Natasha Stephens. Are they gorgeous, or what? What's hilarious is that tall Michele Shakeshaft, Bobbi's fabulous Market Coordinator for our region, is ducking down behind Rachel. She heard me say I was waiting to snap the photo because someone was moving - a customer walking behind these three beauties. I would love for Michele to have been in the photo (even her back)!

I started my "time" at Neiman Marcus Friday by taking a colleague over at lunch. A friend with very dark skin wanted some new makeup for fall. I suggested Black Velvet and off we went on our lunch hour. Danielle loved her Black Velvet eyes and lips. She's so sweet, she even picked up a lipstick for her mom.

I went back after work for my own appointment. I gave Sarah Lavache, Regional Makeup Artist with Bobbi Brown, complete artistic freedom to do whatever she wanted to my face. Was I impressed with her choices! As she worked, Ricki Gurtman, Artistry guru for Bobbi, came by and suggested some lip shades (she chose them in a split second - I was impressed), and Michele wandered over a few times to see the progression from natural gal to glam gal. I think Sarah spent an hour giving me my dramatic look, and she used the new Eye Couture Palette. I know one of you asked to see the jewel-toned, shimmering shadows on me - this is it! I'm going to be brave again and put up photos of myself, something I hate doing.

There I am at right, with my completed look washed out a bit by the flash that had to be used to show the beauty of the colors Sarah selected for me. Sarah took some photos of me in the store, using my old Sony camera. When I got home, I rejected those photos. The lighting in the store wasn't perfect to show her majestic work, so I started holding my camera out as far as my arms would reach and snapping my own pictures. Someday, someone is going to see me doing this and have me committed.

Sarah is a perfectionist - my kind of person (I'm a Virgo, after all). Here is how Sarah made me look good.

Sarah started my reinvention by removing the Armani foundation and blush I had on and then layered some hydrating skin care on my face to prepare my "blank canvas." She used the new Hydrating Face Tonic, which I think I have to break down and buy, Intensive Skin Supplement, and Eye Repair Cream. Then she used a product I loved - Extra SPF 25 Tinted Moisturizing Balm in Light Tint. As a rule, I don't get enough coverage from tinted moisturizers, but I was really impressed with Bobbi's moisture-laden coverage. I wanted the look it created (and, of course, bought it). Sarah used Foundation Stick in 3.25, Cool Beige, a new color that I had not used yet, to touch up the areas of my face that needed more coverage (my nose always needs more coverage). I normally wear Warm Ivory, but the new shade worked beautifully. She also used Porcelain Peach Corrector and some powder to set it.

Sarah gave my cheeks some color by using Natural Bronzing Powder and Sheer Color Cheek Tint in Sheer Mauve. She explained that since she had dramatic eyes planned for me, she was keeping the rest of my face somewhat low key. The colors she used looked fabulous. On my lips, Sarah used the shades Ricki had selected, Baby Peach Metallic Lip Color and Rose Gold Shimmer Lip Gloss. The combination was stunning. It always interests me that makeup artists select peach tones for me (they are trying to warm me up). Tia had used a Sheer Coral Cheek Tint on my cheeks. Ricki and Sarah chose peach lips. It was "all good." I loved the look.

Last (the Bobbi Brown way), Sarah started on my eyes. She used the new Eye Couture Palette, exclusive to Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. She primed my eyelids with Long-Wear Cream Shadow and then went to work with Eye Couture. She started with her favorite shade, Star Sparkle Eye Shadow. With a neutral Long-Wear Cream Shadow underneath, Star left my lids with an icy look that had a touch of blue. I became a Star convert on the spot. Sarah decided she wanted a green look, so she started to artfully apply Emerald Sparkle Eye Shadow (from middle row). The combination was stunning, giving me a gorgeous green look that blended with the icy blue undertones to bring out both colors in my eyes, but emphasize the green. She used Topaz Metallic Eye Shadow (middle row right) on top of her handiwork to tone down the color - just a bit - and she finished the shadows with a neutral matte accent above the crease on the outer half of my lids.

Sarah selected the new Kohl Eyeliner in Black and had me blink after she nudged it into the base of my lashes. Blinking transferred just a little to my lower waterline, and she softened that with a brush, leaving a touch of liner for emphasis. She finished my eyes with Everything Mascara and Natural Brow Shaper in Clear to give my brows a finished look.

Do those shadows shimmer? Absolutely! Too bad the only people who saw my glam look were at the Neiman Marcus party. I should have planned a night out on the town. Instead, I fed the furry kids when I got home and then collapsed. Makeup shopping can be exhausting! Saturday, I saw Sarah back at work at Neiman Marcus, this time at Tysons Galleria. She's a bundle of energy. I don't know how she does it!

Bobbi Brown makeovers are so much fun because I always learn something new, whether it's a technique or a color that I might not have tried. If you have the opportunity at a Bobbi counter near you, take it! Fun people, fun times, and fabulous beauty products!

Photos by BTiB