Suz Mcfadden is a branding and portrait photographer and we have been working together since 2021. She is fun loving, and choir singing, musicals and books are her jam. She always sits with her clients to chat with them while I do their makeup. So she has been watching me work for a few years now. Finally in November last year she asked me to teach her makeup. Suz learnt to do her makeup in the 80’s but she completely stopped wearing makeup during the pandemic and didn't really pick it up again because she didn't like how makeup looked on her anymore. Now that she is in front of a wider audience with her speaking engagements, both virtual and in person, she feels the need to update her makeup game.
We started with a makeup audit, nearly all of her makeup was bought before 2020 so we had to throw it all out. It was nice to see her all excited to throw it all out and start from scratch. Before we threw her makeup out, we did take a look at the colors and discuss if those worked for her or not. We then went through her skincare. Her skin is sensitive and she was told by her derm to stick to Cerave so we decided not to add any additional skincare products. We did go over the amount of product she should be using, especially sunscreen and how to properly clean off makeup and sunscreen. We also went over how to keep her brushes and tools clean. One of the biggest reasons for frustrations with your makeup looks could be dirty brushes and tools.
Then came a quick 10 minute makeup look. This is a quick everyday look that I teach using fingers because you don't have to worry or stress about your brushes being dirty! It also helps you understand your own facial structure which then helps you place makeup products correctly to suit your features. I taught her to do an easy eye look with eyeshadow sticks and an eyeliner technique she could quickly master. We then discussed how to correct and conceal her under eye area. She felt the concealer always looks cakey and settles into her fine lines, so I addressed that with her with a few simple tricks.Then we went on to brighten the face and add blush. She wasn't too impressed with liquid or cream blush so we stuck to powder blush. Lips was our biggest battle, her lips have gone thinner with age and the only lipsticks she ever wore were absolutely nude. I explained to her that as we age, our lips lose pigment and definition and that is the reason to wear slightly darker / brighter lips.
I then prepared a pdf of the products I recommended for her according to the color, finish and textures that would work for her. She decided to take up my personal shopping experience, so we went to Ulta for her needs. We spent 1 hour there and bought a few things from her list. I usually give 2-3 options from each category of makeup so my clients can refer back to it even a year or two later. She bought the Hourglass holiday face palette, a Too Faced eyeshadow palette and because she has been using Clinique, we picked up an eyeshadow stick from them. And she of course picked up some brushes, an eye primer and a spanking new Mascara.
A week later we had the Complexion Intensive class- this lesson is where we went a little deeper into makeup. We started with the eyes, something I always recommend regardless of the look. We used the Hourglass palette, it was an investment at $90 so we wanted to make the most out of it. I usually like to ease clients into eye makeup with face products because these tend to blend out much easier giving them the confidence to master their blending game. I showed her how to create a soft diffused liner that not only darkens her lash line but doesn't have her spending a lot of time perfecting it . Then we moved to foundation, we figured out her undertone and worked on how to identify a perfect foundation color when she wants to go shopping. Her own foundation seemed too orange for her winter skin so I suggested using a blue corrector to tone that down, but she wasn't going to go through the trouble and doesn't really like the feeling of foundation on her skin so we decided to let it go. Yes, you don't really have to wear foundation every time you have makeup on. We used a tinted moisturizer and I helped her blend it out without any visible strokes or patches. We then did the corrector and concealer and moved to blush. I explained if she needs her makeup to stay on all day she needs to apply everything in thin but multiple layers. We then figured out blush and bronzer placement and for her skin I felt the baked face products were stunning with a lighter diffused coverage (using that hourglass palette to its full potential). Her brows were full but the brow hair is light so instead of filling in the brows we decided just a brow mascara was all she needed. Finally it was lipstick time, I had convinced her to buy Mac Soar, which she did albeit reluctantly. When I showed her a diffused way of putting it on she didn't mind it.
The third lesson happened a month later because she got busy but that gave her a chance to practice the first 2 lessons really well. The last lesson was the Signature Look which is a deeper dive into eye makeup and culmination of all the techniques she learnt in the previous lessons. We finally used eyeshadow! Her eyes are deep set so I showed her techniques to bring more light to her eyes. And use both techniques she learnt in the earlier classes for eyeliner. She had become a pro at mascara at this time. I got her a product that temporarily smooths and depuffs the under eye area and that got her really excited and she loves using it. We went through the complexion products and techniques one more time so she can become confident in the way she does them. For lips she has grown to like the way the lipstick Soar looks.
I do see her once or twice every month and so happy to report she is still doing her makeup every single time I see her. She says she does the 10 minute makeup routine for networking events and casual get togethers and more when she is presenting. She has decided not to use a lot of cream and liquid products on the face because it feels heavy on her skin but loves all powder products I recommended. She now loves using Soar, the lipstick ( still hates the name though)
Suz is an amazing artist and you see it in her portraits and I feel very honored that she trusted me and my artistry to help her with this.
Please go check her work out at https://www.suzmcfaddenphoto.com/
She decided to write a blog about her experience doing these lessons too, check it out to see her perspective on it too.
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