Decadence was the name of the game last weekend, when the dream team of Dior’s North West make-up reps and cocktail connoisseurs The Living Room united at Deansgate’s House of Fraser (known to many Mancunians as Kendal’s) for two days of indulgence.
Friday marked the Beauty Brunch Experience, but I was lucky enough to be invited to Saturday’s Backstage Beauty Experience, beginning at the Dior stand on House of Fraser’s ground floor and featuring a complimentary cocktail (or several – there was a seemingly endless supply), light and fruity enough to be justified a little after midday of course.
After mingling with our cocktails and checking out the gorgeous-looking products as well as viewing a live Clarisonic demonstration, we were led up into Tom’s Champagne Bar where we were introduced to Dior’s Backstage Beauty range in the form of a model make-up masterclass. There were far too many of us to be models, naturally, so Dior girl Gemma took the chair while we were given a full make-up demonstration beginning with skincare, building with base, blusher and bronzer and finishing up with a smoky eye, perhaps the scariest of all make-up techniques (with its propensity to go horribly wrong).
Products used by our accommodating Dior reps included Cleansing Water, One Essential (for all ages – Capture Totale is the wrinkle-zapping range) and a Skin Flash Primer, prior to a spray foundation. The girls noted that people are often frightened of this, as Dior are the only brand that offer a foundation in this form, but the results in front of us were plain to see. The finish was stunning, and contrary to predictions and worries, it didn’t end up all over the show!
While we took notes, we were treated to ice cold Prosecco from Tom’s Champagne Bar and felt thoroughly educated by the techniques we were presented with. From where to place bronzer to the use of Rosy Glow (a blusher that adapts to your natural oils and pigments to create a unique colour that’s yours alone), how to highlight to shaping brows with pencil, and finally that all-important smoky eye using Dior’s palettes containing both eyeshadow and eyeliner.
We were invited to book in for free makeovers and consultations towards the end of August for Dior’s new makeup launch, after which we headed to The Living Room to collect our goodies – giftbags containing some lovely Capture Totale samples, a Living Room Privilege Card and a nifty 30% discount for The Living Room that day.
All in all it was a great way to start the weekend, and certainly had me thinking more about my make-up collection! Big brands and local businesses should certainly team up more often if the results are anything like this. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to practise my smoky eyes.
