Meg S.
Yelp
I bought a Gilt certificate for a make-up application, lesson, and brush set with an artist (i.e., not the one with Kimara herself). When I arrived, I was offered something to drink and told that my instructor would be right with me. My instructor was Anita, and she was really nice. I explained that I didn't use a lot of make-up, hadn't been wearing it for very long, and wasn't all that sure that I knew what I was doing. Anita worked with the make-up I had brought, but also used house products to supplement mine as needed. I really appreciated the fact that she didn't push me AT ALL to buy products from the studio. Ultimately, I did buy a few things -- which I doubt I would have done if she had done the up-sell that I had expected.
She showed me how to apply each product and helped me try each myself. (E.g., she would put liner on one eye and explain, then have me do the same to the other eye.) She also showed me variations to use for day vs. night. At the end, she marked down all the make-up choices and brush choices on a face chart.
The only thing that surprised me was that on Anita's calendar, my appointment was shown as blocking out 1-1/4 hours, but it didn't last that long. I didn't feel as if I had been rushed out, and perhaps it went faster because I didn't have as many questions as the average person and/or preferred a very natural/light make-up application to something fancier.
Best of all, I got a lot of compliments on my appearance at the party I went to that night.