EVER HAD makeup applied for a special (or not so special) occasion, liked the result and tried to replicate the effect? Fuhgeddaboudit. Those cute little instructional charts of a face specifying where to place expensive product A and more expensive product B don’t cut it.
So, when this weekend’s Wall Street Journal ran a story about an increasing number of beauty people creating YouTube tutorials targeted to an older female audience, it got my attention. More mature faces need different advice. Got it. We’ve all heard less is more, but how much less and what should there be less or more of? The only time I’ve watched a makeup how-to before was one of Angie Castellano’s laugh-out-loud segments. And that was mostly for much-needed comic relief. But I see the sense in following an instructional video on your smart phone while you’re in your bathroom anyway getting ready for the day.
“Five minutes” in the titles of the videos by Lisa Eldridge, creative director of Lancôme Makeup, and actress Monique Parent spoke to my lazy girl habits. Moreover, watching someone blend in foundation is literally watching paint dry. Although I found Parent’s repetitive refrain (“ain’t nobody got time for that”) annoying, I appreciated her fast-forwarding the blending process. In their minimal approach, both women skipped eyeliner, while advocating mascara to wake up the eyes.
Eldridge advises adapting your minutes to suit you. You can’t do everything, says Parent. Focus on one thing to spend more time on.
The video of SugarPuffAndFluff’s vlogger Nisha spends a long 19 minutes focusing on how to minimize the look of droopy eyelids. The importance of a groomed brow and the use of darker and lighter shades of eyeshadow to make areas recede or come forward are my takeaways.
The three women provide links to and/or names of the products they use. Eldridge sticks to Lancome, while Nisha and Parent propose a variety of brands.
Have you gotten any tips from makeup tutorials? We’d love to hear from you about which ones you’ve watched and what you’ve learned in the comments box below!
—Janet Kelly