Style Counsel

by Rina Rapuano

The Eyes Have It

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.”

Macorol at a wedding shoot

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.” facebook.com/ sharonmacorolbeauty

Ceramic artist Victoria Truhn at the pottery wheel

Taking the Wheel

The first hint that pottery is your calling might be when you bring a throwing wheel into your 600-square-foot apartment so you can work on your passion project in the wee hours, after your day job. But for Fairlington resident Victoria Truhn, who launched Tried & Truhn Ceramics nearly two years ago, it didn’t even take that long.

“I took a class in college and got immediately obsessed with it,” Truhn says.

Since then, she has developed a style she describes as “comfortable to use and functions well”—and a following that has helped her weather the storm of running a small business during a pandemic.

“The most consistent feedback I get is, ‘I go for this mug every day,’ ” Truhn says. “People tell me that the mug they bought from me or the bowl that they use for ice cream is their go-to piece. To me that speaks to a sense of comfort and consistency they have in their day-to-day routine.”

These days, Truhn continues to sell items like mugs, planters and ring holders ($10–$50) in various shops and on Etsy while she waits for outdoor markets to return. She’s currently working on a line of four-piece place settings she plans to debut in January.

Her most popular items are mugs (particularly the ones with a Virginia silhouette peeking out of the glaze) and—unsurprisingly during these homebody times—planters for people looking to feather the nest. “I get asked a lot about planters, something small where they can bring a little bit of greenery into their room without having to commit to a huge tree,” she says. “Planters have been popular in quarantine.”

She jokes that she would make everything white if she could, but realizes people like a pop of color. More important to her is how her dishwasher-safe, microwavable pieces will stand the test of time.

“I want to make something that is made well, will last a lifetime, and that you’ll be drawn to because it’s comfortable and comforting to use,” she says. “I make pieces for the people.” triedandtruhn.com