I Paid $$$ For A Makeup Lesson with Joey Maalouf. Here Are My 9 Favorite Tips!
TL; DR: It was worth every single penny. Plus, J.Crew is aggressively good right now, and my go-to cashmere is on sale.
Hi everyone! Very excited to delve into today’s story, which is all about the tips and tricks I learned to level up my beauty skills, thanks to celebrity makeup artist Joey Maalouf. But before we get into it, I wanted to let you know that I’m on a quest, and see if anyone has any ideas. Specifically, I adore my (now vintage) American Apparel tri-blend deep v-neck t-shirt, which came in the world’s most perfect gray. If you have any contenders, do let me know.
Also: Since I seem unable to stay off of J.Crew’s website, a reminder that a) the brand debuted an insanely amazing collab with Christopher John Rogers that is divine and b) if you are a Passport member (I am), you can get 15% off the 30% sale right now. I recently lost some vintage Tippi sweaters to moths, and am backfilling with this super thin merino sweater in the most perfect leopard. It’s normally $118, then $82.50 with the 30%, and another 15% off if you’re a passport member.
J.Crew sweaters are always a great quality, plus they have basic colors for even less, which makes this a smart buy in my book. There are also yummy, slouchy cashmere sweaters (15% for Passport members), relaxed cashmere crewnecks, and most dangerously, my go-to shrunken cashmere crewneck is part of the 15% off sale. The sweater is a staple in my wardrobe, and J.Crew cashmere is one of the 19 things I didn’t regret buying last year, words I stand by. The chartreuse color is weird and I love it, just saying.
Oh and just to go back: Many of the CJR x J.Crew pieces I bought are sold out, but this incredible skirt is still available. I also bought this cool herringbone coat, which has limited sizing, and I can’t wait to get it. I’d show you today, except I accidentally shipped my order to my parents’ house. <sad trombone>
Everything I Learned From A Lesson With Celebrity Makeup Artist Joey Maalouf.
When was the last time you really updated your makeup skills? I’m not talking about buying a new brush, or overlining your lip in the latest TikTok trend, but really spent time and effort thinking about the order in which you apply your makeup? The way you apply products? And whether or not your skills still suit your desired outcome?
I’ll go first: Not since college, really.
Like many people, I started wearing makeup in high school, and looking back it’s clear I didn’t know what I was doing? But that was fine because a) no one else did and b) I wasn’t wearing much, so the stakes were low. Things started getting more exciting when I was in college. A girl who lived across the hall from me freshman year knew a lot about eyeshadow. I convinced her to do my makeup a few times, and based off of copying her, I invested in a couple of MAC brushes and individual eyeshadows.
By the time my junior year rolled around, I had a roll of Stila singles, a MAC 224, and the kindly willing faces of my beautiful roommates, Jennifer and Rachel, who let me do their eye makeup before we headed to one of the two dive bars and the either end of sorority row.
And that’s where my personal technique stopped.
To borrow from my favorite Outkast song, Da Art of Storytelln’ Part 1, time went on, I got grown. But neither my rhymes nor my game got strong; they just stayed the same. And that served me well enough, for long enough. But recently, in my post-having-babies, who-am-I-now phase, I realized I wanted a refresh.
So I called up my longtime friend, the incredibly talented celebrity makeup artist and hairstylist Joey Maalouf, and I booked a session with him.
Recently, Joey started offering makeup sessions over Zoom, which aren’t one-on-one classes on how to do makeup like him; they’re one-on-one classes on how to do makeup like you, only better, because he helps you update your technique and he recommends products along the way. (If you’re curious about some of Joey’s favorite products, he has them all organized in his online shop.) It’s not cheap, but considering his expertise and experience, not to mention the things I learned, it was worth it for me, 1000%.
Last week, we sat down for our session and oh my lord I learned so much, it’s crazy. I think we were both surprised by some of my…choices, but Joey never made me feel like an idiot. One thing I did right was come to our session with a clear goal: I wanted to make my everyday makeup better. I also know what I like—understated makeup that looks good in real life—not “social media glam,” if you know what I mean? And I had some firm passes. Specifically: I’m not into contour, I don’t do under-eye concealer, and lately I’ve been off liquid eyeliner.
Within my overall goal, I had a secondary one: Make my face makeup look better. I’m very late to the game when it comes to wearing face makeup, and between two rounds of parental leave in short succession and one pandemic, I am completely out of the habit of wearing it. When I did try to make an effort with foundation or even tinted moisturizer, I focused mostly on my nose, which is always pink, and would start my application there. That was my first big lesson: Don’t start with your nose. Read on for more!
Product order matters.
Normally, I apply my makeup like this: Skin product on the back of my hand, swirl brush in it, then apply with long brush strokes, starting with the center of my face. Next, highlighter swiped on from the stick along my cheekbones, then I’d load up my brush with blush, and apply blush on apples, while also blending the highlighter into my skin at the same time. Then bronzer in the crease of my eyes, carving out the eye socket area, and then tightline the waterline with a gel liner. Brush, fill in, and set brows. Then mascara. Finish with lip liner, if I could find it, and whatever lip product was around.
Now, under Joey’s guidance, the order is as follows: skin product, brows, eyes, concealer for eyes and hot spots. Blush, followed separately by highlighter. Lips last. It seems weird that just a different order could make such a difference, but it does.
For fresh-looking skin, dot foundation in a couple of key areas (cheeks, chin, forehead), and then stamp into skin using a brush with short, dense bristles. Nose comes last!
So right off the bat, I was doing the opposite of what I should be doing in terms of where and how I was placing my product. Per Joey, I used the Hourglass Vanish Foundation Brush I already own, and Armani Beauty Mini Luminous Silk Perfect Glow Flawless Oil-Free Foundation (I use 4.5) dotted lightly around my face.
Instead of painting it on my face with a brush, or smearing it around with my fingers, he showed me how to stamp it into my skin, for a more diffused effect, starting at the cheeks and then coming to my nose last. For events, he also reminded me to bring the foundation down my neck and onto my chest, for a harmonious look.
As I mentioned last week, he also suggested getting a new brush; I ordered the Sephora PRO Foundation Brush, which I love.
To bright the eyes without putting too much product into fine lines, just dot concealer into the inner corners of your eye, and stamp.
I despise the way cracked under-eye concealer looks, so I personally don’t wear it in a traditional placement. But I do get a little shadowing in my inner corners, so Joey told me to just dab a touch of my own Makeup by Mario SurrealSkin Awakening Concealer on the inner corner of my eyes, and stamp it in, and slightly down below my eye, bringing it slightly over to my nose until everything is blended.
Everything looks brighter, and I don’t have makeup settling into my eye creases: Win win!
Blush happens towards the end of makeup, not the start.
While there are no hard and fast rules about when you must or must not apply a product, Joey was surprised that I did blush and highlighter as early in the process as I did. He wanted me to do it towards the end, after eyes, but before lips.
Blush is not on your apples; it starts high, almost next to your eye, stamped into the skin and blended up towards your hairline.
This was the biggest surprise of them all. For blush—specifically cream or liquid blush, powder is different, but we didn’t get into that—the placement was not on my apples, but so high up my face I started laughing. One dot of Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush in Joy on about a 45-degree angle down from the outer corner of my eye. Again, this is stamped in, with an old MAC stippling brush I that I love (Joey prefers a proper blush brush from Makeup By Mario or also recommends this Sephora Pro Blush Brush), going up high into the hairline and then softly diffused slightly going down the cheekbone.
Highlighter also is placed higher than I thought, almost on the edge of the orbital bone, and tapped into place with a finger. Tap onto the brow bone too.
What’s in my kit? Merit’s Day Glow Dewy Highlighting Balm in Cava, because it’s the best sophisticated highlighter in my book. Joey uses a brush because he’s a pro; I use my finger because I am not.
No highlighter on the nose.
“We don’t do that any more.”
Setting powder only on the center of the face; essentially the center of the forehead, a little under the eyes and on the nose, above the lip, and on the chin.
I haven’t owned or used any sort of powder since I was in my 20s, but recently bought a mini One/Size Ultimate Blurring Setting Powder in Universal Translucent and was hugely impressed with how it kept my makeup looking fresh all day. I use the smallest Pasame makeup brush from the brand’s Satin Face Brush Trio to apply it lightly, to my I-zone. Yes, I-zone, not T-zone. Joey really wanted me to keep the powder limited to the center of my forehead, and then on some of my hot spots, including a little on my nose and slightly under my eyes, above the lip and on the chin.
Keep your essentials in one bag.
Thanks to a combination of my day job and my deeply nerdy desire to test things, I have an ungodly amount of makeup. There are boxes in my closet, boxes in my bedroom, boxes in my bathroom, and drawers filled with stuff. Joey wasn’t having it. “One bag should have all of your day-to-day makeup essentials in it,” he says. “You don’t need to be distracted by a million things; just keep it edited and focused.” He’s right. I put everything we used in a new bag, and have been using that, and honestly, it’s a relief.
Overall Rating of the Experience: 11/10
For me, this was exactly what I was looking for, and I loved that Joey also emailed me a slew of product recommendations after, including brushes we discussed, a Makeup by Mario Ultra Suede Sculpting Lip Pencil in Spiced Chai, and Laura Mercier’s Caviar Stick Cream Eyeshadow in Mocha. You can also record your session since it’s over Zoom, so you can rewatch to really memorize his teachings, which is awesome.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST! Normally the session is $700 for one hour, but Joey is running a holiday special, and you all are the first to know about it. If you book a one-hour session now through December 24th, the session will be 30% off, which is $525. You don’t have to have it scheduled by then, just booked! It’s a great present to request or give, hint hint, nudge nudge.
And this should go without saying, but you don’t need to focus your session on everyday makeup like I did. You can book it to learn how to level up your smokey eye game or contouring or going out makeup or whatever you want.
Let me know if you have any additional questions! I realize I didn’t cover much on eyes or lips in this story, but I’m happy to share if anyone’s curious. Drop me a comment and I will do my best to get back to you ASAP.
Okay friends, that’s it for now. If you want to follow me on @hillarykerr, I’d love it. And if you have anything to say or ask (preferably nothing terribly mean), please drop me a note either via DM or in the comments below.
As always, thank you for taking the time to read this post. I’m truly so glad you’re here. If you like what you’re reading, please consider sharing this newsletter. (And if you have the time to like it, that would mean a lot to me!) All products mentioned are independently chosen, and some may be affiliate links. Your support is appreciated.
I would love to know his eye tips, I really struggle with a daily eye look as a mostly work from home overtired mom!
I too would love to know lip and eye tips.