Beauty Tricks to Master During Isolation
When there’s nothing to do but stay home, it’s easy to run out of things to keep your hands and mind occupied. There’s only so much, cleaning, reading, binge-watching, phone scrolling, and “online exercise classing” we can do! This is a great time to lock yourself away in your bathroom and give yourself a makeup training session. Master the looks you struggle with or have been tempted to try, and get a handle on the basics for when we can finally go out and show off our skills in person.
No makeup makeup
This is a challenging look to truly nail. Raw Beauty Kristi on YouTube tried to recreate movie makeup with the aim of a flawless face with zero detectable makeup. Give it a try! You’re in for a whole lot of blending, color-matching, subtle shading, and restraint.
The perfect wing
The perfect winged eyeliner is the holy grail of makeup, as there are so many factors that can go wrong. Plus, the frustration of a smudged or wildly unmatched pair of wings is like no other.
Hooded-eye boys and girls check out Katie Jane Hughes on Instagram for the best way to create a winged eye that doesn’t crumple and become misshapen when you open your peepers.
Cut crease
The cut crease has swept the beauty community, concealer and all (in my opinion, you don’t need a concealer for a cut crease… don’t come for me!).
The cut crease adds beautiful depth to the eye and has been a go-to glam style for decades (see Marilyn Monroe and the earlier seasons of ‘Friends’ for inspiration). A smoked-out cut crease with plenty of lashes and a nude lip is one of the sexiest makeup looks ever, in my opinion.
Nikki Makeup is an incredible artist any makeup lover should follow. Her high-glam looks are flawless, and she has many examples of sharp-as-a-knife cut creases such as this one.
Summer skin
For many of you, Summer is approaching, which means fresh, glowy skin. You may be an old-hand at the “summer face” but if you’re not, now is a good time to become and expert.
Practice different bronzer and highlight placement to find your best summer complexion. This is a great way to get to know your own face and the way different shades, undertones, and placements can transform you.
My favorite makeup artist to turn to for bronzy, glowy, goddess-like summer skin is (once again) Nikki Makeup.
Perfect blush placement
Blush placement changes your look far more than you might think. A draped blush around the temples throws a high-fashion look, while color on the apples brings plump youthfulness. Have a play around with blush techniques to find your go-to, or new repertoire to pull out your sleeve once the world gets back to normal.
The absolutely delightful Wayne Goss has many short and extremely informative videos on everything, including blush technique.
Full glam camera contour
If you’re in the mood for a long, leisurely, and potentially disastrous makeup practice session, try a full face of camera-ready, sculpted glam. Play around reshaping your face using different contour and highlight shades, and achieve the perfect sleek smokey eye. Even if you won’t use this look “on the outside”, why not test your skills?
Jlo’s makeup artist, Scott Barnes, is the master of the full-face cover-up contour makeup. He demonstrates this on the lovely Tati Westbrook.
Note: sending love to everyone out there who is still working hard during isolation! We thank you. Love to all the Moms and Dads with kids at home, Moms-to-be who are anxious, and anyone spending this tough time alone.
Gin Mabey