By now if you have, read some of my Definitive Guides or have any inkling of this blog, you know I am the weird beauty blogger. I don’t look at colors of makeup at their face value or pretty little packaging. I look at colors as extensions of lighting. This is probably the reason why I am addicted to television.
I start to analyze the makeup because it tells me ALL the ways I am probably applying it wrong! Makeup today has a cohesiveness, the colors have to work together or look as though they work together. Everything from contouring, highlighting, foundation, concealer, and color; all of it has to look as one. You could say, makeup does have its zen moment when it looks right.
One good example of cohesiveness in makeup is the beautiful Jessica Lange in American Horror Story: Freak Show. In this story line, she plays Elsa Mars who is owner of a traveling freak show circus. She is the fallen star of what was once suppose to be a great movie career due to, yes, dark secrets.
Makeup artistry in television always reflects the character’s mood and with Elsa Mars you can see how the makeup reflects her low points and high points.
During her low points, her makeup is disconnected or the colors don't have that flow or fluidity on the face. (By the way, even though the makeup is suppose to look bad, making it look bad for television is COMPLETELY different and involves technique as opposed to someone who just applies makeup and looks bad!!!!!) You can see how the cheek color is really almost like a separate entity from the rest of the face. The eyeshadow looks garish. Her lips are a flustered red. (I admit to looking like the picture above due to my bad makeup application! )
Now, look at the same color makeup with cohesiveness. The blush becomes one with the face and adds just enough color to allow the cheekbones to exist. The blue eyeshadow looks blue yet soft and wearable. The lips are shaped.
You might wonder how can this be. How is this achieved? Skill and technique can help. But honestly once you get that down, you can do only so much with a smooth application. The other is THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX!
Makeup is all about illusion. What you think you see is not actually the way it is applied. Television and film makeup artists are magicians with color and they know how to trick the camera and lights.
I guess you are wondering how the makeup lover can, at least, achieve a small percentage of this makeup magic. Well, for starters you could get a matte taupe eyeshadow which helps in eyeshadow application. The rest? Well, let's just say it takes a lot of decluttering of the makeup brain cells!
