# Doing Makeup for a Guy? rop



## sweetsweettart (Apr 16, 2008)

I am helping a guy friend out with some makeup before a photoshoot/test shoot kinda thing. He obviously doesn't want to look like he's wearing makeup and doesn't need a lot, he is pretty tan complected. This is just a one time thing (for now) so I dont want to spend a lot (i save my money and the highend stuff for me lol). He is a totally different skintone than me, so I can't use any of my face products...

So how does this look, just the basics:

Moisturizer mixed w/ a little of my highlighter loose powder
undereye concealer matched well to skin, something like Cinema Secrets
Translucent Powder and a Bronzer (maybe something from Rimmel), for setting and mattifying and contouring a little (he kind of has a large nose), but otherwise has great cheekbones and forehead/hairline
Clear Brow Gel
Maybe a little shadow or liner smudged lightly into lashes
lip balm
I also have a sealant spray

any other suggestions? thanks


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## chocolategoddes (Apr 16, 2008)

Sounds good. Make sure the lipbalm isn't too glossy. I always think it's weird when guys have a natural face look and then glossy lips, unless they're in drag/tranny mode.


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## __allie__ (Apr 17, 2008)

male grooming is fun.  your plan sounds good but i'd skip the shadow/liner unless he has very light or very few eyelashes. and even then i think i'd use a cake mascara instead of a liner.  

also make sure you groom or clean up any extraneous nose/ear/brow hairs. 
make sure the lip balm doesn't have any tint.  i'd probably go for chapstick instead of balm to be on the safe side to make sure he isn't too glossy. 

oh and if his hands will be anywhere in the shot- especially anywhere close to his face-  make sure you at least powder them down and even use some base color if you do any on his face.  men's hands tend to photograph poorly and they'll look weird next to his face if he's all groomed and the hands are natural. 

oh and i'd definitely use a primer or an anti-shine product (plain unscented speedstick applied lightly with a sponge is a great anti-shine) for any kind of print.


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## flowerhead (Apr 17, 2008)

what you wrote sounds good, just make sure the skin is as natural a/p. even i only wear touche eclat & powder, the 'dewey made up contoured look' look on men just looks a little waxwork & strange. with the eyes i'd just use an eyelash curler & a little clear browset on lashes/brows.


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## madame_morbid (Apr 17, 2008)

The way I was trained to do a natural male make up is the following:  Moisturise, concealer on undereye area and blemishes in an exact match to his skin tone, translucent powder, Clear mascara on brows and lashes, clear lip balm and thats it. Because we are not used to seeing men wearing make up, it is very easy to make them look very effeminate if many coloured products are introduced, plus the camera really does pick up everything.....what may look like a tiny bit of bronzer to the naked eye may end up looking all wrong on the finished images.  Less is definitely more when it comes to make up for men.


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## macchristyy (Apr 17, 2008)

if you want to go natural.. i say DONT put eyeliner or eyeshadow AT ALL. you can tell when a guy has a little makeup on his eyes so i dont think he will need it. 

stick with concealing his blemishes and under eye circles and powder with a little bronzer and groom his eye lashes and eye brows 

i think your goal will just to make his skin look flawless and just put a little lip balm to make his lips look well conditioned, groom hair and thats it!


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## sweetsweettart (Apr 17, 2008)

thanks everyone! very helpful!


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## Kuuipo (Apr 17, 2008)

The thinnest ever line of slate eye liner under the lower lash line -so that looks completely natural-works well in photographs.  I have met a few metro men who do this all the time.


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## bartp (Apr 17, 2008)

since I'm the only male MUA in our MAC store, I tend to get male customers, who want a natural look and a makeover in the store.
These are the tips that I have discovered so far.
- select moisturecover is great for natural coverage and blending.
- be careful when you are using concealer without foundation. (esp. if you intend to apply powder to set everything. Usually the powder will stick to the areas where the concealer is).  Just using concealer can be tricky even if you have the perfect match. You are still altering the skin's texture.
- you can mix foundation, use light foundation, use light foundation mixted with moisturizer.
- with the light textures and light diffusing properties of modern foundations you can go quite far without creating an un-natural look.
- if a photographer is using harsh lighting, you might consider doing some shaping. But I don't use bronzers, they look too orange. Go for a satin eyeshadow in a muted brown/grey and that should give a natural effect. It can also help to create depth around the eyes, or extra intensity.
- watch out for the beard area. If you apply powder or foundation on the beard area, it can sometimes look different to foundation applied outside of the beard area. It's then that people notice that someone is using foundation.
- beauty powders are great to get a healthy look without creating shimmer.

I hope this helps. Good luck


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## Kiseki (Apr 17, 2008)

Apply concealer to the under eye area in the shade of the man's skin. If he doesn't have a lot of darkness, a bit of Bobbi Brown's corrector or her tinted eye brightener can do the trick. If he has uneven skin tone, some of MAC's select tint will allow you to even out his complexion without making him look made-up. If he looks too dewy, mat it down with some pressed blot powder applied with a powder blush making it natural. If you have it in your kit, SK-II's Air-Touch foundation is absolutely fabulous and looks completely natural. Avoid highlighters like Le Touche d'Éclat IMO, if you'd prefer that kind of highlighter La Prairie's pen concealer and By Terry's Light Expert.

Don't overgroom his brows and apply some clear mascara or if he has light lashes, some brown gel mascara (no volume) will enhance his eyes.
If his waterline is too purple or reddish, apply MUCE pencil concealer (or Shiseido) or MAC's.

If you even out his skin tone and his face looks flat, apply some neutral colored blush (I prefer a cream formula) for a very sheer pop of color that will add dimension to the face.

Hope this helps...


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## Kuuipo (Apr 24, 2008)

Some of our local news anchormen use bronzer and mattifier-these can be mixed together. Shiny is not a good look for most people. I know a few guys using undereye concealor stick over preparation h gel as well.


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## Le-Saboteur (Apr 27, 2008)

I know he's tan, but just watch out for the stubble line. Sometimes it can be hella blue if they have dark hair and can look bad on film... if you can, try to have some sort of warm base you can use sparingly to take it away.

If he has great cheekbones, I wouldn't worry about trying to give him any contouring, and since he's tan I probably wouldn't even use bronzer. It can look super effeminate.

Maybe have a highlighter on the brow area if he has heavy eyebrows/uhh... can't think of the word, brow ridge that juts out a lot. I think a little bit of eyeliner can work wonders, too. I would probably stay away from other eye stuff (other than the clear mascara/brow gel).

This is a really informative thread


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## boudoirblonde (Apr 27, 2008)

This is a great thread.
But what if a guy DOESN'T have great cheekbones?
Im doing a guy this wednesday, and although he is very thin/lanky, he tends to look like he has a 'fat' face/really chubby cheeks in pictures.
Any tips for this?


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## Kiseki (Apr 27, 2008)

You can try and contour him (don't use bronzer, it looks unnatural) with Make Up For Ever's Compact Modeler and blend it downwards to create the illusion of shadow, but only if it's for photography, otherwise it will look weird or too made up. And it's all about the angles as well. It should be incredibly subtle or he'll either look cartoony or effeminate. 

Contour his jaw line and well and create a shadow from the chin downwards towards the neck, you can use a blush brush sideways and remember to always shake off excess and mattify his skin so the modeler/pressed powder doesn't create a dirty effect. I like MUFE's modeler because the dark pressed powder has a bit of grey pigment and helps create an illusion of shadow rather than a brownish pressed powder would.

If you're going to bronze him, use a very sheer formula and if he is fair skinned, use a bronzer with a bit of red pigment that will make it look more natural as usually fair skin will redden a bit when they have that sun kissed look.

You can also opt for some bronzing gel or tinted moisturizer as long as it isn't sparkly and avoid the dewy effect.

If you need to contour his eyes to give it more definition and expression, look for neutral shades of cream eyeshadow with a matte finish like some of Bobbi Browns, that can help you define and make his eyes pop through optical illusion without it being obvious that he is wearing eye shadow.


I hope this made sense, as I haven't had my morning coffee yet.


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## joshuaCARTERmac (Jan 12, 2012)

All I use is the following and it works perfect ...

  	1/3 Moisturizer
  	1/3 Foundation
  	1/3 Tinted Moisturizer

  	And I conceal where needed ...

  	Depending on the coverage that you need thats where your foundation and tinted moisturizer would vary but I find that it leaves my skin looking dewy and natural !

  	You can also use blot powder if you dont want that dewy look but it turns out to be super nice looking !


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