These days most of us aren’t wearing makeup (or indeed pants) except for during our zoom meetings/ skype calls/ FaceTime calls…but sometimes, we want to look decent. I know, it’s the apocalypse and frankly we are just grateful to be alive and have toilet paper, but if you wanna look decent on camera, this is what us makeup folk do. SPOILER ALERT: IT’S MORE MAKEUP THAN YOU NORMALLY WEAR. 

Step One: Decent lighting. 

Half the reason this pic looks lovely- GREAT natural light. She’s also really pretty, I know! Makeup and photo by me using Becca cosmetics.

Repeat after me: sideways lighting makes you look older. Downlighting is also useful for making you look old, tired, and baggy eyed. There is no amount of makeup that can save you from horrendous lighting- it’s worth the effort to find a good spot. 

What you want is even, soft light. Usually the best is to sit facing a window when the sun is NOT streaming in directly. If you’re lucky enough to have a north facing window this means any time of day is good- for the rest of us, you just want the time of day the sun isn’t in front of that window ie west facing in the morning, east facing in the afternoon. 

Step Two: Double layer your foundation.

The aim of the game is to give yourself a blank canvas to work with so you can draw the eye where you want ( and away from redness/ under eyes circles/ that nice stress pimple). Apply one layer of foundation and let it air dry. Do the rest of your makeup and then put another layer of foundation over the top. Most cameras don’t pick up extreme detail ( unless you are using something very snazzy and not just your laptop/ iPhone like the rest of us) so you don’t need to worry about looking ‘cakey’. 

Step Three: Wear more Blush. ( and a bit of highlighter )

Have you ever seen a reporter on the street filming and noticed just how much makeup they are wearing? It’s HEAPS. Check your blush in a mirror standing at least 1.5 metres away ( we all know how far that is now )- it should still be visible at that distance. 

Step Four: Brows are a girl’s best friend. ( don’t worry too much about eyeshadow )

I know y’all love your eyeshadow ( I do too) but on camera, you don’t see it much. Basically all we see is the ‘frame’ – brows, lashes, lip. Define your brows by filling gaps first and stand back to check evenness of shape. 

Step Five : OODLES of mascara. ( and maybe some eyeliner )

Anyone who has had lash extensions can tell you: lashes make you look better. They make your eyes stand out, you look less tired, and your eyes look bigger. Fake it by triple layering your mascara- focus the mascara at the roots of the lashes to make whites of your eyes look brighter. Trace a fine line of liner as close as you can to your lash line to give you extra definition. 

Step Six: Lipliner is a necessity, not an option. 

Disappearing lips make us look tired. Do yourself a favour and make your lips stand out with a neutral lipliner and some gloss- doesn’t need to be dark but needs to be visible. I also recommend a bright lip ( if that’s your thing) to make the face look fresher- coral, pink and red are guaranteed to make you look like you didn’t spend last night stress eating an entire packet of ritz crackers ( not that there’s anything wrong with that). 

P.S. This is a hard time, and frankly if you wanna cry on the couch into your packet of crackers with no makeup on, that’s totally fine and I support you. Stay safe peeps ! xxx Ellen