When Sharon Macorol worked at makeup counters for Bobbi Brown, Marc Jacobs and Shiseido (with stints at Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s), she says clients often wanted to look like one celebrity in particular: Kim Kardashian.
“Okay, I’m not a magician, but I’ll try!” she laughs, recalling the request. Nowadays, she says, people are more focused on skin care because they aren’t going out a whole lot. But she does have a few makeup tips for those looking to glam up on the rare occasions when they leave the house. Or, you know, for a Zoom call.
“I would do dramatic eyeliner and a lot of mascara so your eyes stand out,” advises the Philippines native, who moved to this area with her family at 14. “I love defining the brow when I’m doing someone’s face. Brows are very important for giving them a nice framework.”
Lips are tricky with face masks. She suggests using a translucent powder and a setting spray to keep lipstick in place, adding that you can even apply the same powder directly to the inside of the mask to help prevent smudging.
Macorol lives in Falls Church with her photographer husband, Håvar Espedal, and their Flemish Giant rabbit, Lapu-Lapu (named after a 16th-century Filipino ruler who resisted Spanish colonization). She does makeup for Espedal’s photography business, Princeps Studio, in addition to getting gigs through Kingsley Model + Talent Management in D.C. and DC Elite Image. Private bookings run from $150–$250.
She sells LimeLife by Alcone beauty products on the side and strives to stay up on trends and newly released products. “I’m always curious to see what’s out there,” she says.
And she does offer a few tricks of the trade. Among them: looking inside your lip to reveal the proper shade of blush you should be wearing; testing foundation colors on your chest to find the right tint; and noting the color of your veins to determine whether your skin tone is warm or cool. (Greenish means warm; blueish means cool.)
“I just want to bring out whatever is the most natural that makes a person more beautiful,” Macorol says. “It reminds me why I became a makeup artist every time I do someone’s makeup and they feel happy about it.”