'I Tried Sephora's $75 Makeup Lesson—Here's My Honest Review'

Plus, all the products I bought afterward.

I started wearing makeup when I was 13 during the Y2K era. Like other tweens, I raided the drugstore for glittery blue eyeshadow and frosted pink lip-gloss. Not exactly impressed, my mom gave me a copy of Bobbi Brown: Teenage Beauty and that became my makeup bible. Remember, this was way before YouTube tutorials and social media. Learning from this book and magazines was pretty much it.

In the decades since, I’ve ditched the roll-on body glitter and Lancôme Juicy Tubes, but the way that I apply my makeup hasn’t changed that much. I put on foundation, a cream blush, eyeliner, eyebrow pencil, eyeshadow, mascara and lipstick and I’m good to go. Sure, I’ve seen TikToks of people changing their face shape with clever contouring and wonder how all millennials seem to have a dewy glow, but I just never figured out how to do either. Even watching countless TikToks of people applying their makeup hasn’t taught me much.

Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t learn best by watching a video; I need individual attention. So when I heard that Sephora offered a 75-minute makeup lesson for $75, I decided to do it. My main worry was that I would learn nothing and be pressured into buying a lot of products I would never use. What follows is an honest recap of how it went.

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What Happens During a Sephora Beauty Lesson

I was instructed to come to my lesson bare-faced. I took photos of everything I typically used to show whoever would be teaching me how I did my makeup each morning. While there are some products I use that I feel “eh” about, there are others that I love and I didn’t want to feel pressured to replace them.

When I got to my local Sephora store, I was introduced to a sales associate named Natalia and we went to her station. After sitting down in front of the mirror, she asked me what my goal was. Did I want to master eyeliner? Learn how to perfect a “going out” look? I told her that I wanted to focus on everyday makeup, specifically getting that “dewy” look that many people seem to have figured out. I also wanted to learn how to contour. Would it make my full cheeks suddenly look sculpted? Then, I showed Natalia the photos of the products I currently used every day, explaining to her which ones I didn’t want to part with and which ones I was open to replacing.

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First, Natalia wanted to figure out my perfect foundation match. She used Sephora’s Color IQ, an app that scans the skin and then recommends products that are a color match. “The app is helpful, but not perfect,” Natalia told me. Using the app and her own personal insight, she recommended I try four different foundations to see which one I liked best. In the end, I decided on Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation ($69), which Natalia told me was a very popular pick. The shade was lighter than the foundation I currently used and, I did have to admit, was a closer match to my actual skin color.

Normally, I use a Beautyblender to apply my foundation, but Natalia told me that it was actually better to use a foundation brush because the Beautyblender absorbs a lot of the liquid. On one side of my face, she showed me how to use a foundation brush—Sephora Collection Pro Foundation Brush 56, ($30)—to apply the foundation in downward strokes. Then, she used a slightly bigger foundation brush (Sephora Collection Pro Foundation Brush 70, ($30)) to blend it in even more. Next, it was my turn to do it on the other side of my face. She wanted to make sure I actually would know how to do it on my own at home, which I appreciated. I looked in the mirror and smiled—I looked glowy already!

Next came the contouring lesson. “For everyday makeup, you can just apply a little bronzer to the hollows of your cheeks,” she said before showing me how to do it with a Patrick Ta Sculpt Cream Contour & Powder Bronzer Duo ($40). I was surprised at how easy it was to do; it only took about 30 seconds. But looking in the mirror, I didn’t love it. “It makes my face look kind of dirty,” I told Natalia. She wasn’t offended. “It’s not for everyone,” she said. Well, I thought, one less step for me to do and one less product for me to buy.

“What powder do you use on top of your foundation?” Natalia asked me. I stared at her blankly, not realizing that was a thing. “Powder helps keep the foundation in place,” she explained to me. She showed me how to use a big, fluffy powder brush—Sephora Collection Pro Powder Brush 50 ($34)—to apply Sephora Microsmooth Multi-Tasking Baked Face Powder Foundation ($20), on one side of my face. Then, it was my turn to give it a try on the other side.

For blush, I was already committed to Chantecaille’s Cheek Gelée Hydrating Gel-Cream Blush ($48) and had no interest in replacing it. Natalia respected that and we used a Charlotte Tilbury Matte Beauty Blush Wand ($42) just so I didn’t leave the lesson looking like a ghost.

“After you have all your face products on, you want to use a setting spray to keep everything in place for as long as possible,” Natalia told me. This was another type of product I never used before. She showed me two different ones, spraying them on her hands to show me the difference; one gave a dewy sheen and one was matte. I chose the dewy one, Urban Decay Ultra Glow All-Nighter Setting Spray ($36). Then, she showed me how to spray it in “X” and “T” shapes in front of my face. Easy peasy.

For extra dewiness, Natalia applied to Benefit Dandelion Twinkle Highlighter ($35), from near my ears to my mid-cheeks, but to be honest, I didn’t notice much of a difference.

Glancing at the clock, I was surprised to see that the 75 minutes were already up. It went by so fast and we didn’t even get to the eyes or lips—no wonder she asked me what I wanted to focus on at the beginning of the lesson! Fortunately, I was pretty set with my eye makeup and lipsticks. That wasn’t something I came in wanting to focus on anyway.

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How Much I Ultimately Spent and How I Fared on My Own at Home

During and after the lesson, I never felt pressured to buy anything. But there were some products I did end up buying because I had to admit, they made a difference. Ultimately, I decided to purchase the Armani foundation, Sephora concealer, the two foundation brushes and powder brush, and Urban Decay setting spray. Combined with the cost of the lesson, the total came to $284. (It was $318 with tax and tip.) I left feeling good about the whole experience. I learned a lot and felt confident that the products I bought wouldn’t just sit around unused.

It’s been a week since my lesson and I’m proud to say that I’ve been able to recreate what I learned during my makeup lesson on my own. I especially like using foundation brushes instead of the Beautyblender; I wonder how much money I wasted by letting it absorb so much of my foundation before. And I’m happy that my favorite Chantecaille products weren’t replaced. There’s just nothing better than that gel-cream blush, I’m telling you!

Most other people probably don’t notice much of a difference when they look at me. After all, it’s not like I got a major makeover. But I notice a difference. My makeup now looks even more natural than before, which is exactly what I wanted. And it still only takes about five minutes to do. My honest verdict is that the makeup lesson is worth it. YouTube and TikTok tutorials are cool and all, but nothing can replace individual attention.

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