Your online meeting starts in five minutes, and as you set up for it, you realize you look quite different from what you saw in your mirror earlier. Your makeup makes you look tired, maybe? The dark circles under your eyes are more visible now, and you’re wondering what to do. Deep down, you know it’s going to take more than five minutes to look camera-ready.
Well, be it Zoom, Facebook live, Instagram live, Youtube, Webinar, and so forth, all these virtual platforms have one thing in common. Just like any camera, these platforms emphasize your shadows and excessively highlight the bright spots on your face. The rules of applying the makeup you’d wear outdoors don’t apply when it comes to on-screen makeup.
Getting Ready with Makeup
As we settle into the new normal of working remotely from our homes, online meetings are also becoming a norm. It’s not surprising that you would want to look great for that major meeting with your colleagues or look presentable for that interview. It’s bizarre how our cameras can make us look so plain and highlight shadows on our faces. I’ll share with you some tips I found helpful.
· Skin; the foundation of makeup
The first step you’ll take before doing makeup is to moisten your skin. You want to give that glow look to your audience. Whether on camera or face-to-face meetings, a properly moist face will not only get your skin popping but also give you a definite shine and radiance. You may choose your regular facial oil or a different moisturizer. Regardless of what you choose, ensure it properly hydrates your skin and gives you that dewy look!
Once you are done, proceed to apply concealer to hide any blemishes or spots you may have on your skin and to, of course, even your skin tone. There’s not really a definitive limit as to how much concealer you can apply. Remember, these virtual platforms put emphasis on shadows, and it is important that you brighten up every dark spot you may have regardless of the amount of concealer you’re going to have to use. Foundation works just as well. Alternatively, if you layer your foundation properly you can use it in place of concealer.
· Blush
Blush will give life to your face after all that heavy concealer. It also gives the illusion that you seem a bit flushed, which is good because you look very vibrant. With this, you’ll appear radiant and ready to face the day. For the best results, you should use a blush that matches the colour of your lips.
· Highlight your face
If you have more time on your hands to do your makeup, you can also highlight your face. Don’t overdo it, or else you’ll end up looking too bright and shiny, especially if you’re in a well-lit room. A little of it is just more than enough to give you that luminous natural glowy look.
· Brows
Chisel those brows! Defined brows go a long way into giving shape and frame to your face. Brush your brows and if you have spaces in between, fill them up with a micro-pencil.
· Eyes
I guarantee you, creating the illusion that your eyes are big and bright will go a long way with the meeting. Big eyes always give the impression that one is energetic, eager even to be part of the meeting. You’ll appear more awake, and it wouldn’t matter how exhausted you are. If you already have big eyes, then a simple eyeliner and mascara will do the trick.
To make your eyes look bigger, start with eye shadow. Because you’re in front of the camera, don’t apply past your natural eye shape. Otherwise, you’ll end up giving off an elongated look, making your eyes look smaller and might give off the impression that you are disinterested or bored.
When applying your eyeliner, make sure to apply directly underneath your lashes to give your eyes a much more ‘open’ look. Before applying mascara, try as much as you can to brush your lashes upwards and outwards. Mascara comes in handy when applying makeup because, at this point, more prominent lashes also have an excellent effect on your face when you’re trying to look vibrant.
· Go Bold on Lips
Bring life to those lips by making them look full and pouty. Most people tend to go for dull colors thinking it would be too much on-screen, but in the real sense, a bright lip color may not really be much of a big deal on a virtual platform. In fact, if you want to look vibrant and colorful, going for bold colors would do just the trick.
You may opt to go with a bright red color for that pop or use a lip liner, then coat it with a gloss or shimmer, which tends to make the lips look luscious.
Other Makeup Tips
Aside from your face, you should consider other important things that will also give more life to the entire virtual experience.
· Lighting
If it’s daytime, you should consider having the meeting in a well-lit room or outdoors. If that’s not possible, you can also use ring lights next to your camera or screen. This will have such an amazing effect on not just the makeup but your skin as well.
· Monochrome in makeup
Monocratic makeup is when you maintain the same makeup color on your eyes, lips, and cheeks. It may look subtle if you’re using nudes, but the coordinated color blend is going to give your entire face vibrant energy to it. Now, I recommend going for very bold neon colors because this is, after all, a meeting. Unless, of course, the meeting demands that you put on such makeup. You want to look put together and composed.
And Finally,
With the tips highlighted above, you’re set and ready for that meeting. It may sound simple and achievable in less than five minutes, but that’s not the case for everyone. However, I can promise you it takes less time than usual to get it all fixed correctly, and once you get the hang of it, you can even try what you see really works for you. Good luck!
Also Read: How To Save Money On Makeup?
