Face Value: Beachy Blonde (no beach necessary)
Recently I worked with popular wedding and head shot photographer Eric Stocklin on some casual photos for a new advertising venture. Our model, Cristi, has always said her face can take a lot of makeup. So, before I show you the end result, I thought I’d show you some step-by-step processes to get that “sun-kissed blonde” look.
Cristi takes good care of her skin wearing a good SPF. But, that – and a last-minute self-tanner application to compliment her dress – left her face a little lighter than the rest.
I started by applying tinted veil primer in medium to minimize pores and boost her coloring, following with BB cream so she wouldn’t look pasty in the outside photos. I then used a pink-toned concealer around her smoky Italian eyes to lift and brighten them. Then, I set that with a pressed mineral powder. These mineral powders have not one, but three shades swirled around in them to keep you from getting a powdery flat look. After all, most people’s skin doesn’t have one basic color, but several. Think of clicking the color edit button on a photo in the paint app on your computer.
Next, I used a darker shade of the mineral powder for some contouring in the shape of a “3” around each side of her face. She asked for more because…quite frankly we had made a trip to Chipotle and the champagne counter, two things I warn against before a shoot. For some, this might be a stopping point. But I put additional more orangey-toned bronzer on top, a peachy shimmery blush higher up on the apples and a little bit of highlighter above that back to the ear. We did stop and ask the photographer if a little shimmer was ok. He said, with his new camera and the early evening lighting, it was just fine.
Then I used taupe pomade to fill in Cristi’s brows.
Always thinking more is more, I snuck in a bit of peach-toned setting powder on top to blend the contouring and get a soft-focus look. Sound like a lot? Misting with waterproofing setting mist after makes all the powder look more pretty than pasty.
On her lips, I used a pale plum pencil and a lipstick with a bit of frost that is a mix of bronze and violet – really nice for catching the evening light. We knew we were heading to the popular waterfront area and didn’t want to be carrying lip gloss along.
Cristi’s favorite feature is her eyes. But she says, without makeup, they somehow manage to protrude yet disappear at the same time.
So, I rimmed her eyes in a charcoal kohl pencil and snuck in a navy one over the top for a multi-dimensional effect. Doing this before applying the shadow creates a little bit of that smoldering Sophia Loren glamour. The shadows were actually a mix of a champagne and a midnight liquid shadow – trend that’s having a resurgence right now. This used to be achieved by putting Vaseline on your lids but that could’ve created some sticky problems on a windy pier.
We finally smudged the liquid shadow right over the liner, then up and out for intensity adding a pair of Ardelle “Natural” fake lashes over top.
After I held his reflector for the shoot, Eric allowed me to snap a few photos of my own….
As we crossed Boston Street, Cristi certainly proved to be the ultimate traffic stopper!
