I’ve always admired professional artists’ makeup on celebs and have wondered what it would be like to have my makeup applied by a professional MUA for one simple reason: am I doing it right at home?
My makeup knowledge and skill comes from YouTube tutorials and trial and error. I’ve had this whirlpool curiosity of ‘have I been doing it right all this time?‘, ‘am I using the products a pro makeup artist would use to create the ‘perfect’ canvas?‘, ‘am I using the right techniques?‘.
I recently took part in a shoot for Smart Skin by Niomi Smart, and was lucky enough to have Alana Davison do my makeup. Here are the tips I picked up:
Curling your eyelashes makes a huge difference.
I’ve always skipped this part in my routine because I was under the impression that since my lashes were naturally curly; I would not need to curl them.
However, in this shoot, I wore no mascara, but my eyes looked far more wide and open than ever before.
Cream blush looks far more natural than a powder blush.
There’s something satisfying about the way that a cream blush just melts into your skin and looks far more like a glow from within than product sitting on top of your skin.
Of course, having said this, it does fall down onto the formulation of cream blushers. My current favourite has to be the Patrick Ta Major Headlines Powder and Creme Blush that I have recently reviewed.
And to achieve a natural, monochromatic look, stipple your cream blush to your lips as well.
Glass skin does not involve a powder highlight.
Highlighters have definitely become one of the most sought after items in anyone’s makeup kit. The Instagram filter & Photoshop culture makes it easy to forget that airbrushed skin texture, taken under carefully lit studio conditions, is not skin in real life.
I probably own about 5 different powder highlighters and I avoid using all of them during daytime. Wasteful, I know. But I hate how blatantly obvious the glitter gleams to the gods above under direct sunlight. I find it neither flattering nor natural.
To achieve the ‘glass skin’ effect, you should use a gloss or cream like the Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Balm. Applied to the high points of your face, this balm looks wet & glossy and is more flattering under natural light.
You should not use the same concealer all over.
One thing that I have observed but not registered is that my skin is made of different levels of pigmentation. The outer edges, especially around my forehead, is a lot darker than my cheeks. It seems obvious in hindsight, that applying the concealer that I use for my under eyes (MAC Studio Fix Conceal & Correct Palette) will do nothing to conceal and correct any blemishes around my forehead.
Note: I use the MAC Studio Fix palette, and NARS creamy concealer in Caramel at home but Alana used a combination of a professional palette and the NARS creamy concealer.
There’s no right way of doing makeup.
As I sat down with Alana I was eager to see how she applied my makeup. But as I observed her I realised that I had a lot of the techniques down pat. What I needed to learn was to adapt my makeup to suit the contours and shades of my face better.
There isn’t a set method to what should go on your face first and there’s no ‘right way’ to apply makeup. At the end of the day, makeup is your colour palette and the canvas is your face. Let your imagination and creativity take control and have fun!
Leave a Reply