ona College’s Fashion Club hosted a makeup masterclass event  where students got to learn how to accomplish an everyday makeup look on Sept. 25.  

The event was led by senior Brianna Fornasari, the vice president for the fashion club. Members of the Iona College community  attended the event for pointers on makeup application and product recommendations. The tone of the event created a safe environment for students to ask questions about anything they wanted to know about makeup.  

“I wanted to make it a safe space,” Fornasari said. “I just feel like being able to give people a safe space to ask questions is good.” 

The inspiration behind the event was tradition. In previous years, the fashion club and Iona’s Black Student Union would collaborate on the makeup masterclass event, but COVID-19 restrictions made it harder to keep that tradition. However, senior Merary Martinez, the fashion club’s president, wanted to do it in a COVID-friendly way.  

“Last year’s event was more of a [collaboration] between fashion club and BSU,” Martinez said. “We wanted to do it this year to kind of carry it on.” 

Traditionally, the makeup masterclass would have an event leader or two doing the makeup looks on students, but this year it was held over Zoom with Fornsari doing a makeup look on herself.  

The event was about more than just makeup, however. Throughout the event, Fornsari consistently told attendees that everyone’s face works differently, and that the guide she was providing included things that worked best for her. Fornsari started the event by expressing the importance of skincare and taking the time to learn what works best for your face.  

Makeup has been a way for Fornsari to creatively express herself, and her own passion for makeup made her want to lead the event. 

“I went to an all-girls Catholic high school and I had to wear a uniform, so there was no way for me to express myself other than with my hair and my makeup,” Fornasari said. “Learning how to do your own makeup, working on that and developing new skills – I feel like that’s what fashion club is all about.” 

Junior Nadja Dixon attended the event and felt like she learned some new things. 

“I felt like I really learned more about what kind of makeup brushes to use,” Dixon said. “It was really helpful for me.” 

The event ended with a Kahoot! session based on the information that Fornasari provided about her step-by-step makeup application process. 

The Fashion Club intends on doing more events in the future, including their annual fashion show that will be happening in the spring.