Readers' Corner: Makeup for Men

"I am getting married soon and I've already booked a makeup artist to do my trial makeup on the day we will be hiring a photographer to do our prenuptial shots. Do you think my boyfriend needs to put on makeup too? I don't want him to look like a girl. What do you think?"

AMW Rule of the thumb: "If the guy does not want the makeup artist near his face, just let him go!" lol I am a strong believer of not forcing anyone. I'd rather paint smiling faces rather than frowning faces. PERIOD. :P

Seriously, I understand why men are scared to have their faced touched by any forms of makeup. They're scared to look girly and they have the "clown" face. Here's my tips based on my personal experiences...of course there's a lot of rules from different schools or books but experience is the best teacher.

1. Always make the men comfortable. I ask them their skin condition. Oily skin? Dry Skin? Which part oils up faster?
2. Is he ok to put on liquid/cream foundation? If not, I settle for powder foundation. Be careful not to go for a matte finish as it'll look unnatural and cakey.
3. Always check on his skin color and go for a deeper foundation, let's say 2-3 shades lighter. As opposed to regular makeup, apply the thinnest coat as possible to make it looks natural.
4. Do make corrections, conceal blemishes, lessen his undereye circles.
5. Contouring is allowed! Give him the nice chiseled face like Brad Pitt
6. Brows can be brushed but never shave or cut the brows without permission! (Did you know that? Most Chinese men does not like to touch their brows! Don't ask me why, I'll go on and on and on with explanations lol)
7. Eyeliner is allowed if the guy is comfortable, choose a brown eyeliner instead.
8. No need for blush
9. For older men: If they have white eyebrows and wanted it a bit darker? Use a mascara and gently brush it on the eyebrows. Applied too much? Use a spoolie and keep on brushing to lessen the mascara.
10. Apply lip balm or clear lipgloss. I try to steer away from lipsticks that has shades.

Here's one Male Makeup I've done for a prenuptial shoot. Ephraim is a cool guy and he's game to put makeup on! :) He doesn't like the full makeup but he just wanted a "clean" look.

Products used ---
Primed the "oily" areas with Smashbox Photo Finish Light
MAC NC42 mixed a tiny bit of NC25
Shu Uemura Setting Powder Clear on oily areas only
MAC Shadester for contouring
Kiehl's No. 1 Lip balm

I am honored to learn that I was the first to touch his "virgin" face lol
Thanks Ephraim for being such an easy client :)
Please pray for him and his family as I just realized his home is at Provident Village, Marikina. The area that has been hit hard with floods. I hope he is ok.
God bless Ephraim.

Keep smilin'
Stay happy