For starters, let me introduce the makeup model I chose for this post, the iconic Gigi Hadid. She is definitely one of today’s modern muses for her soft femininity and her makeup is always stunning.
The leads me to this post and a makeup topic that is overlooked but a crucial one in terms of makeup product selection and placement. Often times the terms matte and shimmer (or other terms include dewy, shiny, glowing, and radiant) are used when describing a makeup product.
Matte: A matte texture has no shine whatsoever and can appear to have a velvet or powder finish. Typically matte products appear more natural looking.
Shimmer: A shimmery texture provides a shiny and glowing effect and stands out more on the face by reflecting light.
As a general rule, shimmer accentuates features more (more specifically with highlighting and “strobing”–the modern makeup terminology for essentially the same thing) because of how the light hits while matte textures do the opposite by appearing almost flat and do not pick up light at all.
Areas of the face that should typically always be matte:
– Forehead
– Chin
– Nose
– Under the cheekbones (by the use of contouring)
– Eye shadow crease and outer crease (I generally opt for matte shadows; however, depending on the look, shimmery shadows can work)
– Outline of the lips (in other words the lip liner)
– Eyebrows
Areas of the face that should typically always be highlighted (shimmery/dewy/radiant):
– Brow bone (the space right under the eye brows although this sometimes can be matte depending on a person’s preference)
– Top of cheekbones
– Cupid’s bow (the space between the nose and upper lip)
– Inner corners of eyes (optional but ideal for eye brightening)
– Center of eyelids (optional as well, this depends on the look but placing shimmer in the center of the lid catches the light and appears brighter)
– Center of the nose (optional, I personally do not do this much at all but if you look at magazines, the center of the nose always seems to be highlighted)
Areas of the face that can be either matte or shimmery:
– Lips
– Eye makeup in general
– Center of cheeks (in other words the blush color–personally, I typically always choose MATTE for the center of the cheeks but again, this is a personal preference and depends on the overall look being achieved which is why I put this into the either category)
– Skin (in reference to the overall effect of the skin, some people prefer their skin to look matte while others may opt for a more dewy finish that provides a glow)
Keep in mind with the last category, why it does not make too much of a difference is because those areas of the face are dictated by personal preference, style, and makeup trends. For example, matte lip products are very popular at the moment whereas there have been times shimmery lips are more trendy. Another example is with blush, a person with more oily skin is going to prefer to stick with matte blushes only because it reduces oil throughout the day while a person with dry skin may only where shimmery blushes because the skin will appear to look less dry and more radiant.
Back to the beautiful image of Gigi Hadid, which facial features are matte? What areas of her face provide more shimmer? When examining this image up closely, it appears that the overall effect is more on the shimmery side. More specifically, the gold eye shadow on the entire eye, the lips, the skin overall is more dewy, tops of cheekbones, and the center of nose. In terms of matte textures on her face, I would the eyebrows, outline of her lips, blush, and the contour under the cheekbones.
As a makeup artist, I myself am always curious as to what foundation other makeup artists like to stock in their professional makeup kits. With so many options today, I would say most makeup artists like to carry a few different options and that there is not necessarily one universal foundation brand that makeup artists respond as “the one and only foundation.”
Five years ago, I remember when I had seen Kristen Stewart on the cover of this issue of W magazine, I had thought to myself, “Wow, this is the best I have ever seen her look.” Getting over the reality that this was also probably heavily photoshopped, let us give props to where props are due, her makeup artist. The makeup artist who created this look truly transformed her and knew how to enhance her features with the right makeup placement to make her look strikingly captivating. Which leads me to a great point (and inspiration for this post I might add): Isn’t it amazing what a little makeup can do?
Meli Makeup Artist 
