Advice: What Make Up to Wear on Your Brand Shoot if You’re Not A Make Up Person.
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Over the years I have got to know who I attract as a client and because of my fly on the wall, natural style I definitely tend to book clients who prefer not to be seen. A lot of the being on camera experience is new to them and they are not quite sure how much they should push how they usually are in the world.
Firstly, I would say, there is never any pressure to be anything but yourself on my shoots. I have no expectations on makeup, clothing or anything else but I can gently guide you as to what photographs well and small things we can do to excentuate features on camera. It is often said wear more makeup than you think you need for the camera which is true in the sense of make up can look heavier in person that in the shots. However, if you’re someone who doesn't wear makeup then the whole idea of putting it on for your brand photos can feel scary and a bit of a risk.
I have had clients before who felt they should have make up done for their brand shoots and they have ended up not getting as much use as they’d like from the photos as they just didn't feel like themselves but on the flip side of that I’ve also had clients who said they’d wished they’d just out a bit of lippy on.
The absolute best way to test what you look like on camera is trying some shots of yourself standing with a window infront of you, overhead lights off and setting your phone camera to timer and just taking some shots. And if you just want to just have a little bit of colour on your cheeks and lips I have some recommendations to makeup you can order ahead of your shoot and get to grips with. These are easy to use products that I personally use all the time and of course, all cruelty free and most completely natural products. Please do be aware that you should be introducing new products to your skin at least a few weeks before your shoot so your skin has settled by the time your shoot comes around.
Before diving into some products I just want to point you to a professional make up artist that has great videos about how best to apply makeup. Check her out here and this one is particularly useful.
Face prep.
In the run up to your shoot it’s a good idea to do a little bit of prep work to make sure your skin is looking bright and you feel fresh. Again, I want to stress there is absolutely no obligation to do any of this but this is what I do when I am planning my own photos.
As a qualified nutritional therapist it would remiss of me not to mention a few tips to get your skin looking bright. Firstly, make sure you’re drinking plenty of water - always but especially in the week running up to your shoot. If you are typically not meeting your water quota each day you will need to make sure you introduce in 2 litres of water a day at least 7 days in advance as you may get a bit of a healing crisis and a break out. I would always recommend a good quality fish oil too - without a doubt my go to is Bare Biology.
As far as an amazing all rounder product that is kind to skin and has pretty quick results I swear by Upcircle’s Peptide serum - you can apply it morning and night and mix into your usual moisturiser, there’s also a sample size if you want to try before you buy (but promise you will love it!). This serum will smooth out your skin and make it feel amazing.
If you are feeling like you could do with a little bit of colour on your face my favourite skincare brand evolve does some amazing tanning drops. I would aim to build it up over the few weeks before your shoot and avoid applying the night before your shoot.
On the day make up.
I love to start with the Peptide serum as mentioned above and then I use some products from Ilia. If you follow this link to create an account before you click on any of the below links you will get 20% off your order and I promise you will love Ilia’s products, they really are some of the best natural, cruelty free make up products out there.
First up I use the tinted moisturiser and skin tint - perfect for people who don’t usually wear makeup as it creates a super natural, glowy base. And then I use the concealer serum on my under eye - don’t be tempted to buy a lighter shade than your normal skin tone, aim to match it.
I then swipe my eyelids and tips of cheek bones with their multi stick - I use Lady Bird which is perfect for my complexion. I use a large brush to blend in the cheeks and a finger tip to spread the colour over my eye lid. I also use it on my lips after I’ve applied their lip liner which I have in Untitled (neutral beige) which I find really defines my lips. I then strip it back a bit by blotting my lips on toilet roll as I very rarely wear lipstick so want it to be very subtle.
Finally, my lashes get a coat of their Mascara is a Moment. As far as natural mascara goes this is the best of the best - I’ve been using cruelty free, natural make up for over ten years and I have never found a mascara as good as this - it doesn't budge and is a joy to use and wear. I always get the brown (Before Dawn) one as like the more natural look.
That’s as complicated as it gets! That’s why I love Ilia so much, their products are so usable and are really high quality - the price tag is similar to other luxury brands and their values are what I want to buy into.
