Tag Archives: contouring

Matte vs. Shimmer – Where on the Face and Why Texture is Important

Posted on by under eye makeup, face makeup, makeup, makeup artistry, makeup techniques, makeup trends, MOTD

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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.

 

 

Brittany’s Bridal Makeup

Posted on by under bridal makeup, eye makeup, face makeup, false eyelashes, makeup, makeup artistry, makeup techniques

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Brittany’s bridal makeup reminds me of Hollywood glamour.  She does not typically wear too much makeup but knew she wanted a red lip.  To balance the bold lip color, I kept the eyes soft with my choice of eyeshadow colors.  Even though the eyes are not too dramatic, they still stand out with black defined winged liner on the top and defined lashes.  She carries off the look beautifully as seen in the photos!

Complexion:  Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser Primer, Cinema Secrets Ultimate Foundation Palette (used as concealer), Dinair Glamour Airbrush Foundation in Alabaster and Light Golden Beige (mixed), Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder (to set the entire foundation), MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Medium Dark (for cheek contour), NARS Highlighting Blush in Albatross (cheek highlight), MAC blush in Sincere

Eyes:  MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Painterly, MAC eyeshadows:  Naked Lunch (lid), Retrospeck (brow highlight and little bit in inner corner of the eye), All That Glitters (crease), Folie (outer crease), MAC Pro Longwear Fluidline in Blacktrack (top liner winged), NARS Larger Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner in Via Appia (bottom liner), Revlon false lashes in “Defining”, Maybelline Great Lash Waterproof Mascara in Very Black (top and bottom lashes), MAC eyeshadow in Omega and Cork (brows)

Lips:  MAC Pro Longwear Lipcolour in Perpetuate Flame [discontinued], MAC Lip Pencil in Cherry (this did not quite match the lip color so I had to mix it a little bit with another MAC cremestick lip liner in Raw Refined [discontinued]), and a little clear top coat gloss over it

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5 Valuable Things I Learned at Makeup School

Posted on by under eye makeup, face makeup, false eyelashes, makeup, makeup artistry, makeup techniques

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When I decided I wanted to pursue makeup artistry as a career, it was important to me to get professional training at a reputable makeup school.  I went to the Makeup Designory (MUD) in New York City where I studied Beauty Makeup.  Prior to attending, being a girl who always wore makeup (I started just by experimenting and using makeup on my own around age 14), I truly thought I knew a lot.  Mind you I had no experience applying makeup on other people and this was way before makeup tutorials were huge on YouTube.  I walked into makeup school as a true amateur.  As exciting as it was to learn this new craft, it was also incredibly overwhelming as there is much more to learning makeup artistry than meets the eye!

Blush Placement – For me, this was exceptionally an epic moment when I discovered the placement.  I think blush is one of the easiest and most effective makeup products every woman should own.  It gives so much life to the face and an instant attraction pick-me-up.  I do not think it is possible for someone to look unattractive with blush (unless the shade is not right or it is way overdone).

I had always applied my blush on the center apples of my cheeks.  My entire life leading up to makeup school, it felt natural and instinctive that is where blush is supposed to go.  Little did I realize, not only should blush be applied at the center of the cheeks, it should also be brushed upwards towards your temples!  I remember literally thinking to myself, “Wait, I thought that was an 80’s thing?”  Then I realized the purpose behind this.  When you look at a person’s profile, the blush should not just stop at the center of the cheeks and also applying the blush upwards slims the face along with accentuating the cheekbones.

Contouring and Highlighting – Before contouring kits existed and became as mainstream as it has now–thanks to celebrities like Kim Kardashian, the concept of contouring was not really a part of most people’s everyday makeup routine.

I had never contoured (let alone known about highighting) until I got to makeup school.  I find this to be a hard skill set to pick up as in the beginning, it can be difficult to know which shades are best to use to contour various skintones and finding the placement on each individual’s face takes a strong eye.  When I started makeup artistry, I used to study images in magazines in order to get a better visual understanding of contouring and highlighting.

Eye Makeup First – Most of my clients find this to be one of the most surprising things to learn as I begin to do their makeup.  Myself included, I use to always start out with my face makeup before applying my eye makeup.  I am not quite sure why but this always seemed like the systematic approach.  Breaking out of this habit on myself took some time but now as a general rule, I always apply eye makeup first.

The main reason behind this is that often times when applying eye shadows, there could be some fall out that collects underneath the eyes.  This would cause you to have to remove it and to most likely reapply the concealer under the eyes or any makeup on the face.  By completing eye makeup first, this problem is eliminated as you can quickly remove the fall out shadow and then go ahead to apply the face makeup without it getting messed up in any way.

Brow Shaping – Makeup speaking, it is a known fact that the eyebrows frame the face.  I really did not know much about brows other than how to pluck my own brows.  More specifically, I learned various ways to fill in the eyebrows and the way they should be shaped.  When I look back at photos of myself before I was a makeup artist, the first thing I notice is how thin my eyebrows were!  I was making them thinner with a tweezer but not filling them in to give them an arch.  They were completely shapeless and almost nonexistent.

False Eyelash Application – I had never attempted to wear false eyelashes before on my own, so learning how to apply them and also wearing them for the first time was an all around new experience.  I learned that applying them on other people was much easier than applying them on myself in the very beginning.  It took me time after I left makeup school to get good at applying them on myself.  Now it is actually much faster for me to apply a pair of false lashes than to coat my lashes with mascara!

The Purpose of Contouring & How to Achieve the Look

Posted on by under face makeup, makeup, makeup artistry, makeup techniques

contoured-faceFacial contouring is a makeup application technique that is used to accentuate the shape of the face by defining the cheekbones (some also like to contour the nose and along the jawline).

As a makeup artist, I find contouring absolutely essential when completing a face as I believe everyone looks more attractive with more prominent cheekbones and a slender, more defined face.  These are the main benefits of facial contouring and with just a little bit of makeup, the face can be dramatically enhanced.  The photo above captures a before and after of a face without the facial contours followed by a contoured face (added shadows) as seen along the cheeks, nose, jawline, and forehead.

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The MAC #138 brush is great for facial contouring

To achieve this look, you would need to create shadows on the face by picking up a contouring powder (or nowadays cream is another makeup medium available).  When choosing a specific contouring product for your face, it is important to pick a shade that is about two shades darker than your natural skintone.  If you pick a shade that is too light, it will not create a shadow and just blend in with your face.  If you pick something too dark, it will create too harsh of a contrast and look extremely unnatural.  I typically stick with contouring powders (I think they are more user friendly and also appear more natural looking than blending creams) and like to use a fluffy brush that is tapered to contour the cheeks.  Personally, I use the MAC #138 brush.

Aside from choosing the right shade and makeup medium, it is important to get the placement of the product just right to best accentuate your features.  In terms of placement, it is important to apply the contouring product right under the cheekbones as this is what will make them stand out more and create that added definition to the face.  Blush would then be applied above the contour in the center of the cheeks, and a highlighter would be applied right above the blush on the very top of the cheekbones at the highest point.  Finding the right placement might take some practice so I recommend looking at images in magazines (models and celebrities are always contoured to perfection!) and to go to a professional makeup artist to show you the right products to use along with how and where to apply them on your face.