Beauty Make up Before and After

So here you can see a before and after shot of my make up before retouching. Looking at any image people can forget about the work that goes into creating that perfect image. Especially with beauty. The one fundamental thing now is retouching. I remember when I first started makeup I had always tried to create the perfect make up look in every way down to the last hair as I didn't understand the retouching side. Only from working with magazines and editorials have I learnt this skill and understanding how a finished image should look before going to print. Looking at my make up portfolio a friend of mine once said ' why can I see hairs on her face? Do you not get your work retouched?' And me being proud of what I created and my work I said firmly 'what good would that be as a make up artist that you have to get it retouched?' So I checked out retouching websites and had very mixed feelings as I realised how much people used these tools to hide the imperfections. I was shocked that a make up artist could get away with creating not so perfect looks especially bad skin, wonky lip line and bad eyeliner and blending. I'm not saying it is intentional but if you can't do that properly how can you call yourself a make up artist, is this not the whole point of doing this job? Not to mention retouching hours spent for the photographer. Big spots and lumps are still visible even if you try to cover up with concealer but luckily retouching solves it in a second. I suppose if I was to rely on retouching then I would not push myself to perfection, so in a good way it has kept my skills in shape and always a healthy challenge. With this knowledge I can now manipulate my images to the best they can be.

You can spot instantly the differences between the two images here. The skin being flatter and polished like it's been airbrushed. Lips and eyes are brighter. No matter how perfect I would do it by having that bit more of retouching it actually does looks a lot better. However if you had never seen it retouched then you would accept the first image at face value and with nothing to compare it to, it would be acceptable as a nice image. Which brings me to the point of perfection in beauty. The magazines we see on the shelves are packed with beautiful images that we forget have been airbrushed and it is amazing how many women and men still believe that the model or celebrity looks like that everyday. When really the secret is the team of professionals behind the scenes creating it.