Urban Decay is one of the best luxury brands on the market today. We all know the Naked Palettes and the Eye Primer Potion, but do we know the behind the scenes? I recently conquered my fear of the makeup community by going to an Urban Decay Master Class hosted by the Ulta in Waco, Texas and led by Steve Kassajikian.
When I saw his headshot on the promotion poster before the class, I thought I’d made a terrible mistake in coming to a master class. I’m eighteen and self-taught! I thought for sure Steve was going to laugh at me or the very least, I’d be embarrassed by my lack of ability, but I stressed for nothing. As soon as I got to the Ulta that was hosting the event–VERY early–I was immediately shade matched by an employee and sent with my foundation to the back of the store for little snacks and drinks and told to pick my seat from two tables. The class was tiny! I thought they’d been exaggerating when they’d said “limited seating!” I took a seat in the back corner and made small talk with a few of the employees still setting up for the class. Steve had yet to arrive. I was on my phone, sipping apple juice when an adorable girl named Sage sat next to me–despite my RBF. For some reason, the fear and adrenaline of the unknown class ruined my filter. After introductions, I immediately asked her age. (See? No filter.) But she was fifteen! I wish I had looked like Sage when I was fifteen…
Sage and I were chatting about Baylor and makeup (surprise, surprise) when Rich–one of the Ulta employees I’d been bothering as they set up–asked me if I’d like to be the model. Being my first class, I had no idea what that entailed. I assumed it would just be a quick “here’s what you do if you’re paler than the moon” kind of modeling–like an example to a common problem. As soon as I agreed, I was told to sit in a high chair and then Steve appeared. As I mentioned, I had no filter that day, so I immediately looked into Steve’s eyes and said, “Your eyebrows are so beautiful.” Kill. Me. Now! Steve took it in stride and gave me a shoulder hug, telling me how sweet I was, and mentioned something about making my brows match his. Knowing I was in the presence of a makeup god who had worked with the Kardashians and Lady Gaga, I did what any insane person would do and asked weird questions while he passed out a moisturizer for everyone to prep her skin with. Here’s a little Q and A I forced on poor Steve:
● What’s your favorite part of the face to do?
- The complexion
● How do my brows compare to the average look?
- Pretty good; just need to be filled in
● Are you going to make me look like you?
- Yes, The awkward list goes on. He was an amazing sport and tolerated me greatly as I continued to embarrass myself. He shut me up, however, when he began to do my makeup.
I thought by modeling I would just be a quick show and then go back to my seat, but, no, he showed every step on me and I didn’t do a darn thing. (Loved it!) He prepped my skin, did my face, and made me look like a bronzed goddess. I thought that was impossible, considering how pale my skin is, but he made it look flawless and I adored the transformation. I never felt more beautiful as I beamed at the hand-held mirror to check myself out between steps. And he was right, my brows did match him at the end of it all.
After about an hour of being beautified, Steve was finished with my look and began to assist other attendees. I strutted about the store as “regular” customers came in and looked around. I took my $50 gift card that was the ticket to join the class and immediately bought the brow pen that Steve had used on me that made me feel invincible. I bought a few other things that went above my $50 limit, but we won’t discuss that.
Urban Decay has itself a secret weapon in Steve. He KNEW those products like the back of his hand and he also knew how to use them to the best of their abilities. He sold us on all the products he used and all the attendees went home with at least two of the Urban Decay products that Steve introduced us to. I was so glad to have attended the master class and posted all over my social media about it, tagging Steve in our photo, and Urban Decay on my face. I have never felt more beautiful than when Steve did my makeup and I can only hope that I can achieve that feeling with makeup with my own two hands.