NY Makeup Academy

For all you makeup lovers out there, this one is just for you. If you’re a makeup junkie like me, come here and take a course by Sharona Usher. I first discovered her on Instagram (makeupbysharona). She’s the gal that’s known for her eye makeup game. And yes, it is strong. As in 425,000 followers strong. And lucky us, she’s right here in San Jose, California! What an inspiring story she is, as she has built her entire business right on Instagram.
When I found out she would be teaching a day long course, I jumped at the chance and ordered them through
. The tickets were $ 134.24 for the early bird special. (I bought them 3 weeks in advance).
The actual class was held on Sunday July 19, 2015 from 10:00am– 4:00pm. She told us not to wear any makeup and to bring the basics– foundation, concealer, brushes, eyeshadows and some lipsticks. Everything else was going to be provided in our goodie bag which we could use there.
As a makeup artist, it was *really* hard for me to narrow down which eyeshadows, lipsticks and blush to bring along. You know the girl that brings her entire closet for a weekend getaway. Yup, that’s me.
Once I walked in, we were greeted by Sharona and her super friendly assistant. After being handed a goodie bag, she directed us to place our makeup kits in the adjoining rooms where we would practice our new skills once the class was done being taught.
The great thing about the class was that she went over *everything*. She showed us how to prep the skin, apply foundation, put on eyeshadow properly for a smokey eye, how to contour, where to put blush and highlight, how to adhere lashes, and how to make sure your brow game was strong. With her gorgeous model, she demonstrated all of these skills while talking us through the entire process. She explained why she was doing certain things and also told us exactly what brushes and products she was using. Thanks to her, the lemming in me had to go out and buy more makeup. (As if I had an excuse to go shopping for more.)
The fun part was getting to practice all these new skills on ourselves in the back rooms where we had mirrors and bright vanity lighting. Sharona was walking around and there to answer any questions and basically guide us when we needed the help. When I had a question about how to perfect my winged eyeliner, she took the time to demonstrate on me while all the rest of the girls watched.
The last portion was Sharona doing a Question and Answer session about how she built up her business through Instagram and how to do it for ourselves if we wanted to try that route.
I was so impressed with how humble and genuinely nice Sharona was to all of us. She didn’t seem affected at all by the industry as I’ve seen before when I’ve met other makeup artists who have made it in the business. I highly recommend taking a class from her if you are looking to brush up on your makeup skills (like me) or even if you’re just starting out and want to learn how to do it on yourself. It was so much fun!

They do very professional makeup here. It looks beautiful for being on stage or to exhibit their attractive ladies at shows like Quinceañera Expo. I see young ladies come out with full body paint (metallic & gold colors), air brush tattoos, sequins, and feathers strategically placed without any bra. Amazing… Muy Caliente
The 2 teachers mainly teach the hispanic/​latin/​spanish community. They seem to be very talented in their individual skills. I only see Spanish speaking students frequently come here for hair styling, make-​up, and nail classes. They also sell hair extensions in two different lengths. Classes vary in the morning and evening.