HOW TO BE CAMERA READY
With everyone taking selfies these days and let’s not forget face tuning, it’s hard to know what someone really looks like. With years of being a Makeup Artist, we don’t have the luxury of altering our clients with an app, you had to know how to do makeup right, so you were Camera Ready!
Lights, Camera, Action…
Or let’s rephrase that… it should be makeup then lights! Lighting is everything. I’m sure you took a million selfies to know that if the lighting sucks, you like terrrrible! But before lighting is makeup. Oh, boy is makeup important!
You don’t want to look like you have a pound of makeup on. And Btw… I’m so glad that this super heavy Instagram makeup is finally dying out. I love my drag queen besties, but their makeup is done that way for a reason. It’s theatrical and not made to look natural.
Feminine beauty is looked at as natural and soft. But don’t get me wrong, it can also be glamorous and exotic. We just don’t want to look like we tried too hard.
The Foundation To Being Camera Ready…
Your foundation is called your foundation for a reason. It’s what we start the canvas off with. This has to be clean and prepped, which means moisturized. Foundation should match your skin and if you can’t get it to match perfectly, it’s better to go a bit lighter than darker. We usually add contour and blush which darkens the overall face anyways. This way you don’t have a line of foundation across the jawline.
Blend… blend… blend! That’s the secret to great-looking makeup. You want everything to look flawless and BLENDED! This means starting with the foundation. Most women don’t need to heavily contour and when they do they tend to never blend it well enough. If you do, make sure you have great brushes and sponges to really blend.
Did you know it’s super important to clean your makeup brushes… but why? Find out here why your health depends on it!
It’s Time To Clean Your Makeup Brushes
The Secret To Camera Ready
You can eventually read all my posts on different parts of the face and blending techniques but I’m sure you want to know exactly how to be camera-ready now.
Foundation
Foundation is the key. You want to pick a mat foundation. I prefer to use Dior Forever Mat Foundation and I do like Mac’s Studio Fix Liquid Foundation. Be careful with Mac’s foundation, I love the finish and consistency of this foundation, but I have noticed it affects some people’s skin negatively.
Both of these foundations are great because they can be built up. Don’t start off with heavy application, go light and build where you need to. Usually around the T-zone.
Contour
I prefer a powder contour like Smashbox Cali Contour Face Palette, it is easier to blend and you don’t have to add the powder to set the foundation in those areas. That goes the same with blush. All these powders will set your foundation. Where you do need to powder, is along the t-zone. Do this once your makeup is finished and you need to really set in those areas.
Remember… building is the key. You don’t need a lot of makeup. So don’t put that much on to start off with.
Highlighter
My trick is to highlight with a cream highlighter. This will soften your powdered face right up and not look cakey. It not only softens the look but you are controlling where you want the shine.
Plus highlighters give the look of glowing radiance that just really comes out well in pictures. Highlight on the cheekbones, brow bone, and a little on the lip or cupid’s lip. NYX PROFESSIONAL MAKEUP Born To Glow Liquid Illuminator is my ultimate favorite highlighter. I’ve used everything out there and this one is the BEST! Oh yeah, and it’s only like $7… can’t go wrong with that.
The Face Is The Key
If your makeup is well blended, this will help create the overall look. And remember the key to doing makeup and making it look flawless is to build and not just apply. Look for areas that need a little more makeup. It is ok to add more makeup to areas you need by going back afterward. Oh, and with cameras, they will pick up everything, so make sure you add more makeup than you would normally wear but DO NOT cake it on… The camera sees that too! Think building not drag queen…
