Last updated on December 27th, 2021 at 11:54 pm
While my makeup routine is looking different these days, I love having the opportunity to feel my best and do my makeup for professional photos.
In an effort to feel normal, I jumped at the chance to take Holiday photos with my favorite photographer. She’s taken our maternity photos, baby photos and countless family photos over the past couple years.
When I know I’m taking professional photos, I like to apply a little more makeup than I usually do. Plus, I wear fake eyelashes!
I want my makeup to look like the best version of me for professional photos. But just enhanced a bit!
This is a lot of steps and a lot of products – if you don’t have the same products I do, that’s totally fine! Use what you have! And if you think I’m crazy for having this many steps in a makeup routine (I don’t think I realized how many there were until I put it on paper), then take what applies to you and leave the rest!
Here’s what I used:
Primer:
Tatcha Liquid Silk Canvas Primer
This primer makes my skin look really fresh and helps my foundation last all day.
Tarte Timeless Smoothing Primer
I don’t use this everyday, but I’ll use it when I want my skin to look extra smooth in a couple specific areas. I’ll use it on my nose and a little bit on my cheeks where my pores are a little bit bigger. What’s important to remember is that you should press this product into your skin! Don’t drag it around, otherwise it won’t work as well!
Foundation:
L’Oréal Infallible Fresh Wear 24HR Foundation
I love this foundation so much. It makes my skin look flawless, and doesn’t break the bank. I keep buying different shades to match my skin tone (not that I had many opportunities to use it when I was tanner though!). The best part is that it’s so affordable!
I really like the Armani Luminous Silk foundation, but that’s $64 (I bought it during a Sephora sale!)! The L’Oréal foundation is only $15, which is a much better price for me to swallow.
Concealer:
An oldie, but a goodie. I’ve been using this concealer forever, and I still love it. But I’d love recommendations for new concealers that are worth trying!
One tip I’ve learned, I wait until my concealer has had a chance to dry a bit and settle into my skin before I set it with powder.
While I wait for my concealer and foundation to dry down a bit, it’s time for brows!
Brows:
I’m picky with my brows, and I like how using this pomade helps get the shape that I want. I’ve never over plucked by brows, I just don’t have a lot of brows so I need to make the best of what I’ve got.
I like to use Gimme Brow after I’ve created my brow shape to give them a little more volume. Because like I said, there isn’t a ton there.
Last but not least, after letting my brows set up for a bit, I’ll use a clear brow gel to keep them in place. You can get clear brow gel at so many different price ranges that work well too.
Powder:
Cover Girl Advanced Radiance Powder
Before I set my undereyes, I use my ring finger to tap out any of the lines and then quickly set my concealer before looking down.
Bare Minerals Concealer – Well Rested
Depending on how my undereyes are looking, I’ll also dust on a layer of the Bare Minerals concealer in well rested, to add a little more brightening.
Coty Airspun Loose Face Powder
This is an OG face powder, and somehow reminds everyone of their Grandma. It works really well, and is inexpensive, which I like. I’ll lightly dust this on the areas I need to set, plus it also works great if I want to take it up a notch and do some baking.
Depending on the products I’m using that day, either I’ll powder my face at the same time as my undereyes, or I’ll wait until after I use my cream products. Never put cream products on top of powders! They won’t perform nearly as well!
Face:
I like to use a little bit of this around my hairline, temples and down to my jaw. I don’t use the standard “3” motion I do with powder bronzer since I don’t want it too intense!
Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush
I’m a big fan of this blush – it’s really pretty and there are so many different shades to choose from. But be forewarned, it’s PIGMENTED and it dries down super fast. So use one tiny drop on your cheek area and blend in quickly! I like to layer the radiant finish on top of the matte, because I’m extra like that.
You 100% don’t need a bronzer this expensive – I bought it years ago during the Sephora sale and I still have it. This bronzer is HUGE, and is going to last a really long time. I don’t remember the last time I bought a bronzer, since I have this giant!
Eyes:
I tend to keep my eye makeup relatively simple – I skew toward neutral and cooler toned shadows, but I’ll occasionally veer toward the warmer side. I love this palette because it has so many different colors to choose from. Depending on the look I’m going for, I’ll use mostly mattes and the occasional shimmer. For photos I know I want to keep for a long time, I’ll use mostly mattes to keep the look more classic.
I’ve gone through so many of these liners! I stopped buying from the brand for a little while, but once they changed owners I decided to go back. This liner just works so well, it’s super black, goes on smoothly in one stroke, and stays put. For the longest time, my go-to eye look was always a cat eye, but I stopped doing it as much after I had my daughter since I only had so much time to get ready in the morning.
For photos, I’ll use this to define my eyes, but I won’t do a big wing so the look doesn’t border on too trendy.
When doing my makeup,I feel my best when my eyes are defined, and I want my eyes to stand out in professional photos!
Highlighter:
This highlighter is so pretty, and goes really well with my skintone. With a lot of highlighters, I think they end up looking weird and standing out too much, and not in a good way. I really like highlighter, like a lot, but for photos I won’t be as heavy handed. I want to look glowy, but I don’t want to look beaming!
Setting Spray:
Morphe Continuous Setting Mist
I’ve gone through a lot of these setting sprays too – they’re affordable, the spray doesn’t leave droplets on my skin, and makes my makeup look great.
Mascara:
L’Oréal Double Extend Lash Mascara
I rarely use the term holy grail when it comes to mascara, but this really is my number 1 holy grail product. I’ve been using this mascara for YEARS. I don’t know how many tubes I’ve gone through. My mascara would always end up underneath my eyes, no matter what I did or what mascara I used. This changed all of that. This mascara turns into little tubes on each lash – it’s wild to take off. It doesn’t smudge, and I layer it with different mascaras so my lashes are extra.
I use the primer first, layer on a different mascara, and then finish it off with the mascara end.
I’m new to using this mascara, but it’s fantastic. It makes my lashes so full and so long, I love it. It’s a little pricey, but I recently bought the travel size tube. I’m not going out all that often, so buying a full-size and having it go bad before I can go out regularly again didn’t make a lot of sense.
I don’t wear false lashes 99.9% of the time, but when I want to get extra pretty for pictures, I’ll use them. They look beautiful in pictures, and open up my eyes even more. I don’t go for over dramatic lashes though – that doesn’t look like me, and definitely not what I’m going for!
I’ll also add, USE ENOUGH EYELASH GLUE! I ended up taking off my lashes mid-way through photos because they wouldn’t stick! Thankfully you can’t tell too much!
Lips:
MAC lipsticks are an old favorite of mine. I remember going to the mall with friends and swatching what seemed like all the MAC lipsticks to find the PERFECT one to buy that time around. There’s so many amazing lipsticks out there, so it’s really all up to personal preference and what color suits you!
For our Christmas pictures this year, we wore pajamas, and I went for a “my lips but better” shade. Last year, we were a little more dressed up so I had a red lip. Make sure you take care of your lips too!
I’d recommend pairing the lipstick for the occasion, but make sure it’s a classic color that won’t go out of style! I also tend to stay away from glosses so my lips aren’t beaming when the picture is taken!
Even though you’re taking photos, do you ever feel like you’re not totally ready until you have perfume on?
In general, I consider myself pretty awkward day-to-day. But what I love about taking professional photos are all the unexpected candids you end up with! They usually end up being my favorite photos!
How do you do your makeup for professional photos to feel your best? Leave them below in the comments!
Make sure you check out Koiya at KJK Photographs – she’s the best!
