I always encourage a professional makeup artist. But, if you can't spend the money on one here are a few tips you should know before doing your own makeup for a shoot.

1) Start with a moisturized face. This starts with the basic, like drinking plenty of water the days and week leading up to your shoot. If your body is dry and dehydrated, so is your skin! Make sure you put a lightweight moisturizer on every day and night at least three days before your shoot. This will make your skin "younger" and it will also hold makeup easier.

2) Be sure to choose a good location to apply your makeup. Natural light is best, but if you don't have that at home we have a makeup station in our studio with lights that are set to be close to "natural daylight". This makes color application better so you can see an accurate depiction of what your makeup looks like. 

3) If you have large pores, uneven colors or deep lines try using a makeup primer first. This will help ensure the perfect foundation. In our studio our head makeup artist uses airbrush foundation, which naturally gives the flawless look, but if you can't do that, a good primer might be the key!

4) Please avoid sparkly, shimmery or mineral makeup. Our cameras shoot in such high definition that those tiny little specks will show, and if they happen to fall where they shouldn't on your face (not on your eyelid and on your cheek instead) it can be a nightmare. Additionally, some mineral makeup’s can give a very distinct and not so pretty "shiny" look. 

5) That being said, I LOVE a good transparent/translucent finishing powder. This will help eliminate any shine that you may have. We also keep some oil blotting sheets in the studio with matifier on them.  Don't be insulted if we ask you to use them. It will help with making sure you don't look oily or shiny in your photos.

6) Play up your eyes! We love it when a photo draws you into the person’s eyes. However, be sure not to go to heavy, we don't want the makeup to fall and give you that heavy "tired " look. Choosing a high quality mascara and eyeliner will help ensure that the makeup stays where you put it. In fact, I suggest waterproof because it will almost certainly be sweat proof as well. 

7) Use Blush.  Blush, when applied correctly, will help give you a "healthy natural glow". To do this, make sure you apply it in the right places for the shape face you have (You can check the blog post from our makeup artist that talks about that) and that the color matches your natural colors when you laugh or exercise.

8) Don't forget to bring extra makeup for re-applying or fixing at the studio!