Seventeen magazine visits, gives makeovers

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The dining room of Alpha Chi Omega fell silent Monday as Jen Hayes, merchandising manager of Seventeen magazine, took the floor. Makeup artists stood behind her, poised with brush in hand.

“You guys might be one of our best looking sororities yet,” Hayes said to the group after introducing The Maybelline College Tour. The room burst into applause as sorority sisters scattered to the various snacks, raffles, free merchandise, a tarot card reader and, of course, free makeovers.

The makeover event, which took place from 6-8:30 p.m. Monday at the Alpha Chi Omega house, 243 Burcham Drive, was part of a program created by Seventeen magazine and Maybelline to connect to college girls across the country by giving them an opportunity to win free makeovers and merchandise.

Marketing junior Megan Schubert and president of MSU’s chapter of Alpha Chi Omega, said each chapter president was e-mailed by Seventeen magazine asking for enthusiasm and willingness to be selected as part of the tour.

“We had to explain why our sorority is unique and why we should be able to do it,” Schubert said. “Everyone got really excited, because who wouldn’t want to be a part of Seventeen magazine and Maybelline?”

Members of Seventeen magazine selected the best and brightest makeup artists in the area of the sorority and then flew in from New York to take part in the evening’s festivities. The tour stops at five colleges in all, and the sorority with the largest number of attendees for the event has a chance to win money to go toward its annual philanthropy project, Hayes said. The tour runs through October and at the end each sorority chosen will be featured in an upcoming issue of the magazine.

The magazine made sure to be diverse geographically, traveling to other sororities such as Delta Gamma at University of California, Berkeley before coming to MSU.

“All the sororities are completely different,” Hayes said. “This one has a really Midwest vibe.”

The tour is an opportunity to connect to readers of the magazine, Hayes said, because their targeted demographic are between 13 and 24 years old. The chosen school had to have at least 2,500 enrolled undergraduates and at least 100 members in the sorority.

Although there was a seemingly endless line of sorority sisters to give makeovers to in front of her, Alisha Clairmont, a makeup artist from the MAC Cosmetics counter at Meridian Mall in Okemos and participant in the event, did not feel overwhelmed.

“This is my passion,” Clairmont said. “It’s not too tiring because these makeovers are quick and easy.”

Clairmont happily applied makeup to the girls, putting a rainbow of eye shadow on some and an array of powders and creams on others.

“I love seeing everybody happy and socializing,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun.”

Most of Alpha Chi Omega’s members moved into the sorority house during the weekend, so the event was the first event of the year, Schubert said. Sisters in the sorority invited other chapter presidents to attend as a way of building unity among sororities.

“It’s nice to see support from the whole greek community and see everyone get together before the school year starts,” said Jennifer Kane, marketing junior and vice president of communications for the sorority.

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