All Made Up

Parlor

Parlor, a glamorous beauty bar on the Plaza, is one of my all time favorite places to get my hair done. Of the times I’ve been there, I always notice a makeup counter, so I this time, decided to go in and experiment before WPA. I walked in on a quiet Friday afternoon, and was warmly welcomed by the lady sitting at the front desk who offered me a drink. After I walked back to the makeup counter, I told the makeup artist I wanted a natural look with a little shimmer and a bit of eyeliner. I also showed her a picture that I found on Pinterest with the look I wanted.

It cost $15 to get my eyes done, which I found too expensive for the mediocre outcome. The makeup artist used a mix of browns and gold tinted eye shadows. She packed on the slightly too sparkly shadow, making me look somewhat like a drag queen. Then came the eyeliner, which was laid on so thick under my eyes, making me look more like a racoon. The eye makeup made me feel like everyone was staring at me; it wasn’t the natural look I’m used to. If you don’t mind a lot of makeup, Parlor could be the right place for you. But for me, I’m going to stick with their hair services.

Bobbi Brown Counter

Bobbi Brown is one of my go-to places to get free makeovers and buy beauty products, because it’s so light and doesn’t suffocate me beneath pounds of makeup. I visited the counter at Nordstroms and told the makeup artist I wanted the natural look I asked for at Parlor. I made it clear that I only wanted eyeliner on my top eyelid – I didn’t want a repeat of Parlor’s look. As she put liquid foundation on my face she explained it would cover up my redness and smooth out my color. She consistently explained what the products were doing for me which was helpful if I wanted to recreate the look in the future.

For the eyeshadow, she used mostly light golden browns with a little shimmer. They didn’t turn me into Kylie Jenner like they did at Parlor, but instead gave me a more natural look. The eyeliner the makeup artist ended up smudging a bit, but other than that she kept it as thin as I wanted. One of my favorite things about getting my makeup done at the Bobbi Brown counter, is that they don’t charge you to get it done. Since they are trying to display their products, it’s usually courteous to purchase one of the products used, which can be anywhere from $15 and up. I recommend getting a lipstick or lipgloss so you can re-apply throughout the night. Bobbi Brown’s natural technique for the low price makes it a front-runner for WPA makeup choices.

Sephora

My final stop was Sephora. I was welcomed by the staff when I walked in and was directed towards the makeup counter. Maggie, the makeup artist, began by putting an all-natural moisturizer and primer on my skin to prepare for the makeover. Sephora’s Color IQ, an electronic tool that matches your skin color to products, made sure my look fit me well.

I asked her to contour my cheekbones for an intense model look. My foundation looked subtle while still covering up any redness and blemishes I had. For my eyes, Maggie used light and dark browns and a thin liquid liner to complete the look I was going for. She based my lip color off my blush, which finished the overall appearance.

Unlike Bobbi Brown, Sephora requires a $50 product purchase minimum for makeovers. While this seems like a lot, it’s convenient to take home the products used. Sephora reached the natural yet glamorous look I was hoping for and based off appearance, did the best job out of the three.