Benefit Masterclass

When I was asked if I'd like to go and play with some make up..... I couldn't say yes please fast enough. My make up routine is actually pretty simple, I'm don't wear foundation 100% of the time but I do like a few dots of concealer under my eyes, a bit of powder, I like to give my eyebrows more definition and of course I'm a huge fan of liquid eyeliner and red lippie. Oh and mascara, I do like my mascara and don't feel I have my eyes on without it.

Benefit Boutiques are always a feast for the eyes....................

High Beam is possibly one of my most fave products. Ever.

Turning up to the Benefit make up masterclass we were greeted by a very happy Bene-babe Amy-Lou, who advised us she would be taking us through the mini make up school, she was obviously very proud of the fact that Norwich is the first Benefit boutique in the country to have a dedicated classroom to hold these kind of events. I was there with Gemma from Retro Chick, Lucy from Glamourologist and Karen from Blue Skies Vintage Events.

Left to right: Karen, Lucy, me, Gemma

It was a lovely little room with a long table full of make up and cupcakes, with seating for six people it was cosy but not too squashed, we didn't need to take anything with us as brushes were provided .

Each person had a little bag of sweeties and a book of post it notes to jot down thoughts along the way.

The first thing we did was remove our make up. This was a bit of an eek moment for all of us and although we were shut away in this private little room it's still feels quite public when you do it in front of five other people! Still, we were reassured that we would soon be putting it back on again........

*WARNING* you are about to witness my freshly cleansed make up free face. Put down any hot beverages and move small children and those with heart conditions away from the screen....

Quickly moving on.....We prepped our skin according to our skin type with the appropriate Benefit products, this wasn't just a take your make up off with a wipe and put new stuff back on again, we were talked through products for different skin types and we cleansed, toned and moisturised to give our skin a good base for the make up.

I've never used a primer before but we were all given some Porefessional (£23.50) to use and several hours later my make up was still intact so I can now see the benefits (pardon the pun) of a primer and all the make up brands seem to do their own version, so I will be looking further into these.

With the help of Amy-Lou and each other we selected the right shade of foundation for ourselves and we happily started to put our make up back on. I was introduced to a concealer called Boi-ing (£16.50) this is a product that you you can not only use as a concealer but also as a cover up for scars, birth marks and even tattoos.

You basically just keep patting it on and layering it up until you have the coverage you need. I was very interested in this as in the summer I do get slightly darker freckly patches under my eyes due to sun damage from my teens and twenties. I'm much more careful about sun exposure now but this could be a could product to try again I think. It comes in 3 shades simply called 01,02 & 03.

We all seemed to like the product Hervana (£23.50) which is a blush made of a swirl of individual shades. You can swoosh your brush around them all or use individually. On the day we used this not just as a blush bit as eye shadow to - I do like a product that can double up.

This is a very good version of my concentration face...

The big wow product of the day for me was the mascara called They're Real! (£18.50) I know Benefit products aren't the cheapest out there, but when I tried that mascara I was so so so impressed. When I think of the times I've spent £7,£8,£9 on a mascara and been dissapointed. I will be adding this mascara to my make up bag at some point as it will be money well spent.

We also looked at eyebrows and were shown how to get a perfect arch....

 And so to finishing the look with lipstick! I appreciate that I'm quite particular with my lipstick, I want a good red shade that is quite a matt finish. That's just what I've come to like and feel it works for me.I did though try a few different shades of lipstick but I still came back to red and Amy-Lou was fab at getting different reds for me to try.

Check out my eyelashes!

 We settled on the shade 'flirt Alert' which was a lovely shade of red. The chaps of Norwich seemed to agree because on the way home four randoms said hello to me and another blew me a kiss! May be it was the lipstick, may be Norwich had won at home and everyone was in high spirits! Who knows!

The Benefit masterclasses are £50 which is redeemable against any products purchased on the day. We were talked through the products during the session but not in a selling way, it was all very relaxed and informal. If you are thinking of topping up your make up bag or you have a special occasion then this would be a good way to get more for your money. Or they could make a nice gift to give someone. There were a lot of make up hints and tips along the way.

You can find more information on Benefit products on the Benefit website

If you are in Norwich or you're planning a visit you can follow Benefit Norwich on Facebook which has all the contact details if you'd like to book a masterclass.

Alternatively you can just pop in store and say hello. You can find the Benefit Boutique on the ground floor at Debenhams (the entrance opposite Clarks)