My Make Up Lesson with Make Up Artist Lina Cameron

Many weeks ago I visited Celebrity Make Up Artist Lina Cameron (this post is way, way overdue by the way) at her studio on Princes Street in the heart of Central London.

I was booked in for a make up lesson, and was told to bring my make up bag. As regular readers will know – my make up collection is massive so all I took with me was my carry round make up bag.

As soon as I arrived at Lina’s studio I noticed:

a. Sound of a little water fountain thing in the studio – relaxing and
b. Lina is immaculately dressed and heeled.

Lina Cameron

When I got into Lina’s studio, we talked a little about what kind of lesson I wanted and what would be the most useful way to do it. We decided to do a half a face technique – where Lina would do one side and we could compare (and also try applying) the make up.

I had a good nosy at Lina’s collection – one word – luxurious. Chantecaille, La Mer, Bobbi Brown, Trish McEvoy but to name a few of the brands I saw in her collection.

There was lots of window light in Lina’s studio – perfect for seeing what the make up will look like outside and a large mirror for me to watch what she was doing as we went along step by step…
As I said earlier, I took my make up bag with me – this was so Lina could have a look at what product I tend to use, what colours and also incorporate the products into the make over.

To be honest I had travelled down from Manchester earlier in the day and didn’t really bring much with me. Lina did indeed use some of the items during the make over like the eyeliner and powder, but I’m glad she used her own colours because what I took with me wasn’t really indicative for what I would wear day to day:

Just incase you are wondering, products left to right:

Skinfood Lychee Cheek & Lip Balm
Canmake Cream Blush in Nut Brown
Addiction Limited Edition Palette
Chanel Mat Lumiere Powder Foundation
Dollywink Black Pencil
MAC To The Beach Pencil
Chanel Aqualumiere in Freeze
Bobbi Brown Under Eye Concealer
Blinc Brow Mousse
Make Up Forever Full Cover Concealer
Elegance Lipstick Pink
Ettusais Melty Rouge Lipstick
S Rock Black Mascara

(You can fit a LOT into my tiny make up bag, it’s like a TARDIS!)

Lesson

Honestly – I learnt so much I can’t remember everything but with almost every product Lina applied, she had a tip for me.

Lina did half of my have of my face so I could compare her handy work with mine. We did it by the large window and in front of the mirror to get the most natural effect.

I can always tell when a make up artist is good because I start to get a bit sleepy – because their application is so relaxing!

Priming seemed like an important point of the day to make sure make up stayed in place (she highly recommended the Trish McEvoy Eye Base which I also love). When she did the purple smokey eye one me, I found in interesting how she used the eye base, then some matte bronzer as a base colour, then added the smokey purples and greys on top.

This really helped create a smokey but well blended effect – it would never occur to me to use a bronzer (which is warm) under a cool toned smokey eye!

Lina also advised against using too much heavy, cakey base. I noticed how she used to fingers to apply the foundation stick (Bobbi Brown) and just kept dabbing lightly to get an even coverage.

Her application of powder was also extremely light – everything felt fresh and natural on the skin, never heavy and the contouring looked easy, natural and achievable.

Some of the products used on my eyes

In terms of make up for the eyes, I found it interesting how Lina used a synthetic brush (from Bobbi Brown) as a laydown brush for the eyeshadow.

I didn’t know synthetic brushes were good for this – she cleaned the brush off with a wet wipe and used it for other similar colours – because the wet wipe left the brush damp, it meant she got more pigmentation from the eyeshadow.

She also recommended (when blending) to sweep the blending brush about 100 times back and forth to get a smooth finish.

Before and After – my make up and Lina’s:

Sorry about this picture – 3 hours sleep and rolled onto a train first thing in the morning. My eye make up looked my eyes look heavier and tired – I didn’t spend enough (any!) time blending.

After – the right hand side is the side Lina spent her time on – you can see the blending around the eyes is perfect. The left hand side is my handy-work! You can see a line on my forehead where the base I applied is too dark!

Later on, Lina evened my face out by using a few choice products – she did say the side that she had spent the most time on would last longer because it had been layered and she was right! It stayed put all day until I got home:

*My eyes got a bit watery

Products

Products that Lina used on me (which she kindly emailed me afterwards):

Skin

Linda Meredith SPF 45 (Not used but recommended)
Bobbi Brown Hydrating Face Cream
Creme De La Mer The eye concentrate

Face

Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick 2.5 and 5 ( to contour)
By Terry Touche Veloutel 2
Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder
Helen E translucent Pressed Powder 01
Clinique Superbalanced Powder makeup SPF 15 (To contour the face)
Daniel Sandler Invisible Blotting Powder (apply in the centre of the face)

Eyes

Trish McEvoy Eye base essentials ” Soft Peach”
Kiss Me Heroine Make Smooth Liquid Eyeliner (Yay! Heroine Make!)
Any matt bronzer to contour the crease
Chanel Les 4 Ombres 08 Vanites eyeshadows
Mac Pigment in purple
Shu Uemura Eyelash curlers

Lips

Trish McEvoy Lip Crayon ” Baby Doll”

Verdict:

I learnt some really interesting things from Lina – like the face that 2 shades of foundation is ideal (for the centre of my face and another one to contour) and she also suggested I use SPF every day because my face was getting darker than my neck and chest – she was completely right because I had noticed my foundation shades getting darker (because I match it to my face) yet it still looked dark compared to my neck.

SPF every day for me now!

The whole session was relaxing and it was a really eye opening experience – it’s not often that you meet someone who does your make up and truly knows exactly what to do to make you look your best.

Truly this was a make up “lesson” – I learnt a lot of things here and also picked up some product and application tips. I’d highly recommend her makeover sessions for anyone who wants some help with make up application, brides to be etc. because the lady really knows her stuff.

Visit Lina’s website and see her work here.