Dior + charity = a makeup bag upgrade

I'm all about charity events, especially when they're for the preschool my son attended AND they involve makeup. Such was the case a few weeks ago when my friends and I descended on Neiman Marcus and enjoyed a master class of sorts with Dior celebrity makeup artist Ricky Wilson. Since shopping was going to be a part of the luncheon, I needed to go in with a strategy. Before heading out, I gave my makeup drawer a once over to identify what I could use—in addition to the Dior Addict Lip Glow in “Berry” I HAD to go home with. (For the record, not a day has gone by without wearing it.) Take a gander...

The event started with amazing tips from Ricky (and some fab celebrity gossip). Among the standout pearls of makeup wisdom:

• The best light for makeup application is a regular white bulb with no lampshade. According to Ricky, “Girl, if your makeup looks good in this light, it will look good in any light.”
• Everyone needs two blushes: Pink for when you're wearing cool colors and peach for when you're wearing neutrals.
• If you're a fan of brown eyeshadows, you need a lot of mascara to create definition and contrast.
• If you can't get liquid eyeliner right (no matter how much you practice), define with a pencil first and then go over it with liquid.

After the makeup demo portion of the event (which featured my friend-turned-model and hostess-with-the-mostest Melissa), we finally got to play with all the makeup that was on our table. Yes, there were Dior artists on hand, but I took it upon myself to apply the Diorskin Airflash to my BFF Beth—and then I remembered why I was so obsessed with this spray foundation many moons ago. It has since been unearthed from the archives and I still can't figure out why I ever stopped using it. (Yet another amazing takeaway from the afternoon.)

I literally have more makeup than I know what to do with, but I've been itching for an eyeshadow look that goes beyond golds, browns and greys. So when I spied the 5 Couleurs Designer palette in “Navy Design,” I knew she was coming home with me (and apparently her friend, the Diorshow Pro Liner in “Pro Purple,” wanted to come too). Though technically called navy, it skews more violet and it's just what I needed to fill the little space left in my makeup drawer.

All in all, it was a fun, fabulous afternoon and beyond a few glasses of champagne and QT with my girls, I got an amazing makeup refresh just in time for spring!