Wednesday, September 30, 2009

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

25 comments :

  1. interesting! he sure is brave to have makeup be put on -- all the guys i kno are like "NOOOOOOOO ur not puttin that stuff on me!" and squirm away ahhahah.

    and i hope Ephraim is ok. such bad weather over there :( my mom was telling me how quite a bit of people died. very saddening. i hope for the best for everybody in that area!

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  2. Nice :) The makeup is just right especially for men. I think the purpose of applying a makeup for men is to have that clean face. No imperfections at all especially for a prenup and wedding photos.

    Good job Nikki! Galing!

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  3. excellent guide nikki. who knows it might come in handy one day right? ;) tho i really wish u could my makeup for me!

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  4. This is a great article Nikki!! I hope Ephraim is ok!! :(

    And i can totalllllllly understand you when you say Asian men don't like people to touch their eyebrows!! hahaha!! I always threaten to pluck my husband's! XD

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  5. My hubby was get his bridal makeup for men too! He was looks so fresh and wake-up!
    Nice tips and trick s you share Nikki!

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  6. i wish him and his family all the best

    and he looks really good with the makeup done, very natural
    i think its good cos it compliments his wife;s makeup [else one looks very unnnatural in photos when together]

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  7. Galing! Nicely done Nikki! :) I should practice on my brother! haha

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  8. nice job nikki! i remember during our prenuptial shoot, my hubby wore makeup, just foundation a little blush and lipbalm! =P i insisted kasi.. he's fine with it pero during the shoot na coz its hot that time, he told me na he's face is itchy.. LOL! im so guilty.. thank goodness wala namang allergies..

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  9. Oh wow I think I am totally out of the loop here!! I didn't realise men wore makeup to weddings!! But I guess it does make sense- especially if they are sporting a bit zit on their special day :P

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  10. Nice! You know speaking of Chinese men and eyebrows, they say it's unlucky to have the brows "touched". My mom firmly believes that their family fortune went downhill after my grandfather's eyebrows were shaved by a scheming barber.

    BTW, a lot of old Chinese also frown on women fixing their eyebrows when they're still unmarried. Weird.

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  11. thanks for the tips Nikki! I'm gonna do a band's make up for a video shoot for their upcoming MTV and I'm researching about man make up.

    It's the first time I learned about touching the eyebrows for Chinese though I'm a Chinese XD

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  12. IchigoBunnie, hahaha I know I am telling him he's such a "man" for accepting the challenge! I'm happy he likes it at the end, I got a feedback that he felt nothing :) I'm glad. Thanks for your well wishes for our nation, it was bad, just like Hurricane Katrina, it is super sad :(

    Joanne, yes, clean face and hidden imperfection is the most important thing for male makeup! I don't even think much contouring is needed for regular occasions, I guess contouring is for actors!

    Prettybeautiful, I would love to do your makeup..especially on your special day *winks*

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  13. Jenn, hahahah oh no! Don't pluck his eyebrows, I never dare touch my hubby's eyebrows, its really important for them to have it hands OFF! :)

    Anastacia, awww, see? It works! My hubby has his face powder or touch up at the church while waiting for me!!!! It wasn't thick but it was neat!

    Yumeko, thanks! yes, so true, imagine,the girl fully made up and his face is just plain and sweaty or oily! You got a point!

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  14. Cabyness, thanks! hahahah let me know if your brother permits you to touch his face!

    Khymm, awww allergies are bad...I'm glad he didn't have rashes afterwards! There's one makeup artist who did makeup for my friends and afterwards, her face was all red up due to allergies!

    Sarah, ahhahahah well down here, they do..not much..but they do :)

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  15. Kaye, YOU GOT IT RIGHT ON!!! That's one reason they don't want it touched, it is their "luck" or it is their "lifeline" lol hahahah you know a lot about Chinese too !:)

    Chelle, goodluck!!! I'm sure you'll do well!I'm Chinese too and I know all about it! hahahah

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  16. What an amazing difference! Your man makeup skills are also amazing!!

    Hope Ephraim and his family are OK!

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  17. You did a great job Nikki, he looks very fresh and natural! Thanks for the guide too, it's very helpful.

    Hope Ephraim and his family are ok and safe.

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  18. thanks Nikki! I hope so... during my previous video productions I always end up making my friend do the make up because his hand is heavier than mine so the colors would pop despite the harsh lightings placed during the shoot... hope I can estimate the amount of make up needed on a bright lighting set up!

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  19. He's very brave :) he looks nice with makeup too lolz only if more men are like him. I do hope him n his family are ok :(

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  20. OH my! Ok, I am pretty convinced that my SO should put makeup on our wedding day, and photoshoots. :PPP But I don't think he will agree with me. :P

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  21. Wow, great result! The difference is amazing.

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  22. Jamilla Camel, thank you so much! I just got a message from the girlfriend of Ephraim, they are safe! thank you Lord!

    Gio, thanks, I'm glad you like the before and after shot and thank goodness they are safe!

    Chelle, well you'll get there, it takes a lot of trial and error! :) And you'll get the hang of it, just like you, I'm not used to putting a lot of makeup! but you gotta learn what you have to learn :)

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  23. Hana, thank you! finally, got the news, his family are ok :) Thank God

    Meng Xue, awwww..just tell him it'll be great on photos and promise that it looks natural in person!

    The Shades of U,thank you! :)

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  24. Thanks for the encouragement Nikki! =) Hope I get to practice before the gig...

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  25. Chelle, no worries, who's to encourage us but fellow MUA? :D

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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to comment your questions, suggestions and just anything you may want to say! Keep smiling and stay happy!