Often when I’m working on set, a woman will walk up, look at the spread of colors, brushes, products , and exclaim, “You are just like painter!”
Yes, my job is essentially painting on someone’s face and while I might need 400 products in my makeup kit for any face I might encounter, the average woman will only need what works for her.
To make a model, celebrity, musician, or regular woman look her best, there are some pro tricks I’ve learned among the years working backstage that you can use every day to take you from ordinary to extraordinary.
Preparing the Canvas
Creating the look of beautiful skin requires that the skin is well-hydrated with a good moisturizer (not to heavy and not to matte) before any makeup goes on the face. Gently massage it into your face for better absorption which also stimulates blood flow in the skin, helping to rid any puffiness.
Revolution Organics All Over Skin Cream
Getting Even
Using foundation or a tinted moisturizer to even out skin tone is the best way to look younger, healthier and more beautiful in one step. Foundation color must absolutely blend into your neck and coordinate with your chest color. If you can see the makeup sitting on the skin and collecting into the lines on your face, you are using too much! The idea is just to create a more even looking skin tone while allowing some of your natural color to come through so you don’t just look monochromatic.
Physicians Formula Organic Wear Tinted Moisturizer
Ease Up on the Powder
Every makeup artist knows that the more powder you put on a face, the crustier and older it looks. In fact, models know this too. There’s one who threatens every makeup artist backstage at fashion week if they try to powder her forehead. So, while you do need powder to help set makeup and remove shine, limit it to a touch on the forehead, along side of the nose from the inner corner of your eyes to the bottom of the nostrils, and maybe a quick swipe across the chin. That way you leave natural glow everywhere else, making you look more youthful and fresh.
Curl those Lashes!
The eyelash curler can be a scary thing to some of you, but if you can find a way to get past your fear, you’ll realize it’s one of the best tools in your makeup bag. Curled lashes give the illusion that the eye is more open, making you look more awake and yes, younger!
Quality counts for this one. Buy a good curler from Shu Uemura, MAC, Sephora, or Kevyn Aucoin. Once you have your lashes inside, as close to the roots as you can get without pinching your skin, give it a good, hard squeeze for 3 seconds. Follow with a swipe of your favorite mascara. Careful not to get too much on the ends, or you’ll weigh the lashes down, reversing your lifting effect.
Treat Yourself Well
The final pro tip for looking stunning is to treat yourself well. No makeup trick will replace self-care and personal-esteem. So..smile a lot and don’t worry about the lines!
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