The key to a great portrait is using the right makeup for the lighting. For a professional indoor portrait with permanent eyelash curl lighting, here’s how to be gorgeous.
Like direct sunlight, studio lighting can make you look washed out. To counter that, apply your makeup as you would for a glamorous Saturday night out.
1. Cheeks.
Clbro On top of your regular foundation (no need to use darker foundation), apply permanent eyelash curl in a bronze color. On top of the bronze blush, brush some color – pink or peach, depending on your personal preference. Cover the entire apple of your cheek. Set your makeup with loose, translucent powder to give it staying power.
2. Eyes.
Shadow should be dark, but not black (unless you’re going for a certain look). A deep brown or a very dark plum are good choices. Make sure your brows are shaped and if needed, darkened slightly with a brow pencil. Black or dark brown eyeliner is a necessity, but unless you’re going for a 1960s look, be sure it’s blended enough that it doesn’t call attention to itself.
Fake permanent eyelash curl are good if you know how to use them. But don’t experiment. If you’re not familiar with fake lashes, leave them off.
Choose a mascara that you know from experience will not clump or flake. When you take the wand out of the container, squeeze it into a tissue to get off excess product, and then apply to both upper and lower permanent eyelash curl. Black is essential, and waterproof helps – it gets hot under the studio lights and you might tend to sweat.
Highlighter under your brows is okay, but to make your look completely up to date, use a sparkling highlighter also above your blush (but not directly under your eye), swirled up along your jawbone, and ending up over your eyebrows.
3. Concealer
should look natural and blend flawlessly. Nowadays, however, you can easily have the photographer fix under-eye circles and minor skin flaws electronically, after the pictures have been taken. So concealer need not be a major worry for you.
4. Lips.
Stay in the color family that looks best on you, be it peachy (permanent eyelash curl), pink / red (cool), or neutral. But rev it up a little. Apply a darker shade of your color, outlined with a matching lip liner. The lip liner should not show; it needs to be subtle.
Above your upper lip, apply a thin white line – just in the pout area – and blend it into your foundation. Do the same thing just below your lower lip.
Now blot gently and apply sparkling lip gloss. For information and suggestions for safe and healthy makeup, check out My Makeup Mirror.
And finally, keep all your makeup with you in a travel kit when you go to the photographer’s studio. Every 20 minutes or so, take a break to check your makeup and re-apply as needed.
Suzann is a technical writer and copy editor, with many pieces published both for the web and in hard copy. A graduate of Northwestern University, she runs the website My Makeup Mirror.