ABC Online Championship: Common Wedding Makeup Mistakes

Elena Onufriychuk , makeup artist-stylist, international class master, head of the author's makeup school, graduate of the Bogomolov' Image School of stylistics

The first round of the online makeup championship has passed. The first pancake, in my opinion, was not lumpy at all, but turned out very tasty. But there is no limit to perfection!

The online format does not involve roads, feeding the model, fear of not investing in timing and many other factors that are present in the traditional championship movement. Therefore, we would like participants to compensate for the significant reduction in travel costs by expressing themselves as a stylist and designer of the shoot.

Model. Finding a beautiful girl for a photo at your place of work is much easier than finding a model for a trip. Is not it? A girl with good skin and a fair complexion. Problem skin and its correction are only good for “before” and “after” photos, but this is not taken into account in the online championship. You make life difficult for yourself by participating on complex gray skin, where any color transitions are eaten up.

The model's facial proportions should be close to ideal. It’s difficult to fit an arrow into a problematic eye – why? If a girl has a large nose, please correct it. A model's charisma can enhance an image in real life, but it won't be visible in a photo. We, the judges, look at the photograph repeatedly, carefully examining all the details.

Makeup technique is one of the assessment criteria and you must demonstrate it. Just pearl the eyelid or throw in pigments – it’s amazing. Moreover, the photo does not really like mother-of-pearl. The colors and the shape built with mother-of-pearl are completely eaten away. The one who will come forward will be the one who demonstrates skillful use of a brush, transitions from dark to light, from one color to another through a third. And cleanliness. With Photoshop you can blur anything. But it will be visible. Trust a person who has taken a course in photography, Photoshop and digital drawing.

Photo. Now the next point: your technique is impeccable, the image is perfect, only the photo is not in sharpness and these masterpieces are not visible. Your task is not only to do a great job, but also to demonstrate it as much as possible. Light is your main assistant and a significant element of the image. After all, we have photo makeup, and I didn’t have enough light in many of my works, in some places it was even fatally insufficient. Therefore, you simply need studio light and a person with a professional camera. Or, as an option, a photography course for beauty photography.

If you don’t have your own photographer yet, the competition is a great reason to start one, as well as make acquaintances with a clothing designer, hairdresser, jewelry designer, manicurist and form a queue of models for all the next stages of the championship. Visual content is very important now! And for the sake of a delicious picture, many creative personalities will meet you absolutely free of charge.

You can pull up past photo shoots for the competition, no one knows when it was done. But make sure that the format and topic coincide with the competition nomination.

Facial proportions and color scheme. What was surprising: many participants did not feel the model’s color type at all, choosing colors and contrast somehow in their own way. And the girl becomes, instead of a tender bride, a tired aunt or an insidious Carmelita. If the appearance is low-contrast, take softer colors; if it is bright, be bolder in both color and tone. And remember: photography loves warmer shades.

And today's fashion for makeup was very evident. It seemed that many of the participants had just left the MK and decided to work it out right there. Only they didn’t get into the theme of wedding makeup and as a result the brides looked like ballroom girls on the parquet floor.

Color. If it exists, it must be justified and supported in the image. A random colored detail in makeup, especially in wedding makeup, does not always look appropriate and raises many questions.

Angle. It’s difficult if the model has no experience in posing. But no one is rushing you to do a photo shoot in 10 minutes. Look at magazines that show winning angles of the face, where makeup is perfectly visible. For example, the same magazine MAKEUP&YOU Professional - there is a lot to learn from Vadim Sery.

As a result, I will say that a beautiful girl with good fair skin and a well-proportioned face, a team of creative people like you (photographer, hairdresser, designer) and the desire to create something incredibly beautiful - this is your path to victory. And if there are gaps in technique or color perception, you are welcome; the entire panel of judges (makeup artists and teachers with extensive experience) will be happy to help improve your professionalism.

You can view the works of the first round winners here .