Lighting is an easy way to look better on video and on camera (see my recent post about selfie lights), but makeup can make a difference!
If you are a guy reading this, you might be tempted to stop, but keep an open mind, a little bit of cosmetics could even help you (think: color correction and shine reduction).
Here is a before/after composite of my face (right side of my face–left picture–without makeup and left side of my face–right picture–with make up, unretouched in bad bathroom lighting, taken with my iPhone):
What I was hoping to achieve with cosmetics was a more uniform, smoother appearance for my skin, and definition for my eyes/eybrows. I have found that if I define my lips too much on video, it looks distracting, so I just used a light lipgloss.
In my search for looking better on video, I found several videos on YouTube that talked about “color correction.” Color correction is when you apply a complementary color (a color that is directly opposite in the color spectrum) to the color you want to correct for. For example, if you have some reddish areas on your skin, you can correct with green. Undereye circles can be corrected with some variation of orange/peach.
Honestly, color correction looks a little bizarre, at least until you get concealer or foundation over it. The picture sequence below shows is my first attempt at color correction in the middle picture, adding orange on my dark eye circles and a light coating of green on some reddish areas (looking at these pictures, I now see that I should have used some green on my forehead between my brows. Next time . . .):
Remember, this was my first attempt. I’m sure I’ll get better at it. After the color correction, I added some concealer, then some light liquid foundation, some powder foundation, some “warmth” powder to my cheek , forehead, and nose, then a light translucent powder, and finally, I applied just a little make up to my eyebrows and eyes (I normally wear glasses which make my eyes look smaller). Don’t forget your eyebrows–they help your face be expressive! The application of cosmetics took me about 10 minutes, which is longer than normal because I was using color correction for the first time. I am NOT a makeup expert or artist, which should give you hope!
Here are the main products I used, that I think guys could even use for their video presence (Total cost about $88. I don’t get any kind of compensation for the following “endorsements”):
foundation primer
color correction (explanation video)
concealer
foundation (sheer to medium coverage)
translucent powder
eyebrow definer
In addition to the above products, I used products I wouldn’t recommend for men: a “warmth” powder, lip gloss, mascara, pencil eyeliner, and a touch of both light and dark powdered eye shadow. You can use brushes for the powders and your fingers to blend liquid products, but I also used small and large make up blender sponges.
And, to just reiterate the importance of lighting, here are before and after pictures with and without a selfie light:
You don’t have to spend a fortune or a lot of time to look better on camera!
Bonus Tip: look better on your Zoom videos with a selfie light and the “touch up my appearance” setting. 1 minute video:
