Last year I set a goal to refine my make-up application skills mainly because I didn’t know how to apply eye make-up. My lids almost always went bare and sometimes it made me feel like my look was incomplete. And when I did attempt eye make up, I either looked like an 8th grader who got into her mother’s cosmetics or a racoon.

When I first attempted to refine my skills, I took to YouTube – taking in tutorial after tutorial, with each beauty vlogger swearing by a different product. I would set my laptop in the bathroom and try to emulate what I saw and … it wasn’t pretty! Racoon eyes! Ashy face! HAHA. I needed help! A make-up tutor!

I called my friend and make-up expert Danielle Henry and asked her if she would help me. She agreed and we set a date. Fast forward a few weeks and I was on Dani’s doorstep lugging two huge tote bags filled with all the make-up, brushes and contraptions I owned and had accumulated.

The I had to main goal of the session – 1) make sure I was using the right products and tools and edit out what I didn’t need (Marie Kondo that bag) and 2) to improve my application skills like, learn to properly conceal my undereye area, apply eye make-up, do a cat eye etc.

The first thing we did was look at everything I had (several sets of brushes, 4 different foundations, countless highlighters… it was a mess) and Danielle helped me build a basic kit – what I needed for my day-to-day cosmetics bag. This was less about letting go of items that didn’t spark joy and more about getting rid of products that simply didn’t work for me (and wow I must have had over $600 worth of product in the edit pile at the end). Then, she watched me apply make-up how I normally do and she made suggestions in my technique (let’s be honest, my lack of technique) and small refinements that have made a big difference for me.

Here are the most important take-aways from my session with Danielle: