The vibe in a good beauty hall is always one of great excitement to me. When I first moved to NYC and walked into Macy’s, well… words can’t express. The sights, the sounds, the scents — it’s heaven, basically, plus Your Bonus! With Purchase.

The vibe in Arnotts beauty hall was especially incandescent when Smashbox and their Click You’re It event came to town. I Q&A’d photographer Mike Blackett in this post, and was lucky to get a spot on the first of the two day event. There was a massive waiting list, such was the interest; full of gratitude, I took myself and my naked face into town.

Said naked face. I am happy enough to be makeup free, and in general — shock! horror! — I tend *not* to do the face everyday. I am wondering what was up with The Hair… oh! I had taken delivery just that week of a BaByliss Big Hair hair dryer, and I had used it and tied The Hair up to add extra wave.

I also remember that I was counting the seconds until I could take it down again {Would there be too much wave? Not enough?} and I did so as soon as I crossed the Arnotts threshold, half-desperate to see what shape it was in, half-pretending to be in an ep of Sex and The City.

It felt as glam as that: the buzz off the counter was palpable from half a store away, and the sheer number of make up artists and clients was far more than I had expected, even with the extreme interest that engendered the waiting list. There were pairs of friends, of sisters, there was a mum-and-daughter combo, and everybody looked their most gorgeous selves.

Now, I have to admit to feeling nervous! I, who take pictures of myself at least three times a week? Yes, indeedy! It’s one thing being able to angle and engineer and retake an image of yourself — and one other thing to use the brand’s super fun photo booth: in both instances, it’s up to myself how I look. Handing that over, albeit to talented professionals, gave me pause.

As did the part about being in the middle of one of Dublin’s largest stores on a busy Friday evening. How could this be a good idea?

First of all, the platoon of make up artists were, as a group, lovely, welcoming, and affirmative. I was lucky enough to be under the expert brushes of Smashbox Cosmetics National Make Up Artist, Janine Bird. She loves the Click You’re It ethos, which she says ‘endorses in such a positive way why I do what I do. Making someone feel beautiful, and helping them to see their beauty objectively through my eyes, makes it all worthwhile. I honestly believe every woman deserves to feel pretty, and that is my job.’

We went with the smokey eye, because any chance to get the eyes smoked up by a pro is not a chance to be wasted. She used a navy eyeshadow, which I would never try at home in a million years — although now, maybe I might. We decided to go for pop on the lips as well, despite my tendency to dial down the brightness when emphasizing the eyes.

The actual shooting went by in a blink: the set-up is a byword for ‘professional-casual’, so you’ll feel like a bit of a star, but not at all intimidated. Mike sets the tone perfectly, putting one at one’s ease, with easily followed directions gently suggested. ‘I’m used to working with models, so shooting the public helps me to think more about the process of how to make people feel comfortable and confident whilst in front of the camera,’ he explains.

A gig like this ends up informing his other work. ‘I have to be clearer in my direction with the person I’m photographing, and this all feeds back into my fashion work to get the right shots faster.’

The result?

That is a a mere selection of the 75 {75!} jpgs I received, on the spot, on a USB, to take home with me. I am a tough edit, and would probably even winnow the above down by two more. But the range of choice!

This is my final select. Cropped, it’s now in pride of place in the header of this blog, and I only went in and brushed my teeth in Photoshop. Otherwise, this is it, the face as it was on the evening.

Oh, okay, I also smoothed out the pouches under my eyes. But that was it! I swear.

As someone who has had a number of headshot-y photo shoots, I count this as one of the best. Every single element — the quality of both the make up itself, the professional application, and the stress-free and professional shoot — combined to make this an experience I would sign up for again. Next time, I reckon I’ll go get the hair did, just to add that extra fabbalissness.

All that for a tenner against the purchase of product? Oh, yeah. It’s the best beauty deal I’ve ever come across, and that is sayin’ something.

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Follow Smashbox @smashboxuk.

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