As a child, I was fascinated by the play of light and shadow - it was by watching her that I decided to become a makeup artist. I was fascinated by how different the colors look at noon and sunset, and how the object becomes more voluminous when the beam falls. My favorite makeup trick is contouring, and I don't try to change the proportions of the face with it, but follow the beam of light, emphasizing the relief. I mainly work on set, and when photographing about 35% of the details are washed out by studio light and flash. For example, I see a model with beautiful cheekbones, but in the photo they will be smoothed out, looking flatter. Contouring helps to emphasize the natural relief of the face so that it can be conveyed in all its glory in the photograph.
By "contouring" I don't mean what you see on instagram. I always recommend looking at the face as a skull in master classes: you will see that the shadow falls not only under your cheekbones and on your forehead, but also on your temples and on the inner corner of your eye. And these facts often elude Instagram users who do makeup tutorials. Don't blindly repeat what you see on social media. All you have to do is just look at the face, let go of your thoughts and you will see everything. Our global problem - as makeup artists and as people - is that we think too much. As soon as we stop following the canons and start just looking, we create, not repeat.
The play of light and understanding it is the basic knowledge from which I always start when working with a face. If you want to do something interesting, avant-garde is great, but you always need to understand the basics. I always tell young makeup artists who come to study with me - hide bright colors for the first six months, work only with neutral tones, until you understand the details of the anatomy of the face. Let's say you want to do some cool blue makeup:
When making this make-up, I made the inner corners of the eyes darker under the eyebrow, since this is how blue plays in nature. Thus, I did not lose the brightness and intensity of the hue, but in general this make-up is perceived as softer. By understanding the anatomy of a face, you have more control over your makeup, it is easier for you to express its idea and make it exactly the way you want it.
