Saturday, 1 December 2012

Before/After: A Glowy Burnished Look for Black Women

I adore doing makeup on anyone but have a soft spot for doing makeup on black women. The texture of the skin, features and colours is so different from other skin colours and as a result, you can do things that wouldn't look as dramatic. Anyway without gushing on and on, let's meet Philomena!
Face Prep: Lancome Galatéis Douceur Soft Cleansing Fluid, Bioderma Crealine H2O, Emma Hardie Lighter Hydrating Lotion, Illamasqua Matt Primer (on shiny areas where you can see), Dior Creme De Rose.

As you can see our Philomena is a beauty and except for a minimal amount of uneven skin tone there really isn't anything to do. Now I did go for a glowy and contoured look, and by contoured it is not to give Philomena "white" features. Contouring gives anyone dimension but on black skin, it also gives warmth as well as creating a 3D effect. I'm sure you'll understand when you see the results.
Foundation: Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer, Chanel Perfection Lumiere, MAC Studio Sculpt, Iman Luxury Radiance Liquid Makeup.
Eyes: YSL Waterproof Eye Pencil in Black Ink & Patent Leather & Luminescent Gold, Bobbi Brown Eyeshadow in Rich Brown, Madina Shiny Stick in 002, YSL Luxurious Mascara Shocking Volume in Deep Black.  
Eyebrows: Anastasia Brow Wiz in Brunette, Bobbi Brown Eyeshadow in Rich Brown, MAC Brow Fix in Clear.
Cheek: Bobbi Brown Eyeshadow in Rich Brown, Daniel Sandler WaterColour in Dare, Madina Shiny Stick in 002.
Lips: Mac Lip Pencil in Mahogony, SmashBox Nude Lip Pencil in Pinkish Nude & Soft Nude, Mac Lip Conditioner in Petting Pink.
Powder: Shu Uemura Face Powder in Peach, Iman Semi Loose Powder in various shades.

Here's a shot with daylight & flash to show how it looks in photography.
So what do you think? Any thoughts on contouring for black skin? I'd love to hear comments and feedback. I hope you like the look!

Posted by KennethSoh at 10:51
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82 comments:

  1. Her skin looks immaculate and her eyes are beautiful.

    Nic x

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  3. Gorgeous, stylish and stunning. x

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  4. Gorgeous, stunning and stylish. xx

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  5. She is stunning! I love how you did her base. XX

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    1. Thank you, she's beautiful isn't she? x

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  6. Stunning makeup and what a beautiful smile!

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    1. Thanks Jodie, she is a stunner! x

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  7. Gorgeous! I've recently tried the Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate, it's good! Damaging on the pocket though :(

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    1. Thanks, I love the TF Shade & Illuminate, it's a brilliant product and def a dent in the wallet!

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  8. WOW! No hair or earrings and she still looks absolutely amazing. I think this just silenced every critic of contouring for black skin.

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    1. Haha thanks Jade-Marie, I love a bit of contouring! X

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  10. I love the look Kenneth and the contouring is amazing x

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  11. Oh I love her natural looking lips... and those eyebrows are to die for! So beautiful!

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    1. Thank you! She's ever so pretty isn't she? x

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    2. Yes, yes she is! You took her natural beauty and just 3M'd it :)

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    3. Haha Christy you have such a way with words! Thanks x

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  13. Absolutely gorgeous, I REALLY love what you've done!

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  14. Wonderful Kenneth, her skin looks flawless! She is beautiful also xx

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  15. Gorgeous and just so right! Your work is beautiful!

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  16. This (and she) is stunning and looks natural. I'd love to know exactly what you did as contouring on black skin is often very obvious.

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    1. Thanks Lynda, it's really hard to describe without showing. Maybe I will do a video some day when I can. Thanks for your comment. x

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  17. In Australia, we don't get the opportunity to work on many dark models.. But sometimes we come across some beautiful Sudanese girls or Sth African girls. Many MUA's here don't know know how to work on such skin, but you've made her look divine.! Can't wait to work on skin like this again soon.! xo

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    1. I am sure! It's such a joy to work with different skin types I think. Thanks for your comment x

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  18. My first reaction when i saw the after picture, was WOW. Great job!!

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  19. Wonderful! What shade did you use in the Chanel Perfection Lumiere if i may ask?

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  20. You did an awesome job. Her makeup brings out all her lovely features. Great job!

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  21. Wow!!! She looks so beautiful. Love her make up for it looks light and natural. It have bring out her natural beauty.

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  23. You're an artist! I wish you'd my makeup too!

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    1. Thanks, who knows? One day... Hehe x

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  24. Love how you've brought her skin to life!!!
    I need to learn how to do this!
    Ambarina ~ Beauty Passionista Beauty & Style Blog
    xXx

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    1. I'll teach you, let's do a play date soon x

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  25. Hey Kenneth
    What lovely work you have done... not only does her skin look flawless but you've chosen a beautiful and complimentary colour for her cheeks. Great work!
    Lucy x

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    1. Thank you Lucy, Philomena is gorgeous naturally, I only brought out her beauty even more. x

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  26. Stunning, her skin is beautiful, and thank you for the point about contouring not being about westernising our features. So many black women shy away from it thinking this, contouring on our skin is flipping brilliant and adds such a lovely dimension.

    herecomesthehotsteppa.com

    x

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    1. You're very welcome Sonya, I adore contouring, especially on black skin. It really shows it off gorgeously! Thanks for the lovely comment x

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  27. Wow! This is the most amazing before/ after I've seen in a while!
    You must be a magician....

    keep up the fantastic work,
    Kathi

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    1. Haha Kathi I am hardly a magician, just lots of practice and a good model to work on. Thanks x

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  28. Oh gosh your work is beautiful.

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  29. this model is beautiful and your make up definitely brings out her best features. Great Work :)

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  30. OMG!!!.............can i be your next makeup model??? LOVE what you did to Philomena, can we please have the video tutorial. OMG, (yeah, i can't stop saying "OMG") she is stunning!

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  31. OMG, SHE'S STUNNING!!!!
    Video tutorial plz!

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  32. OMG!!!.............can i be your next makeup model??? LOVE what you did to Philomena, can we please have the video tutorial. OMG, (yeah, i can't stop saying "OMG") she is stunning!

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    1. Haha thanks, you're very kind. Sadly I don't have any plans to do video tutorials atm. If I do in the future I will let you know. X

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  33. Gorgeous skin.. someone do that with me every morning please! :D

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    1. Thanks Phillipe! Shall I send you my rates? :-) x

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  34. One of the best contouring on a black woman I've ever seen. She looks divine. As a black woman myself I see so many black celebrities with very contoured faced, generally overly highlighted under the eyes and trying to use makeup as a nose job. I had almost lost faith in contouring until I saw this picture. This is contouring perfection. It's not in your face OTT, it's subtle, perfectly blended, very chic. And her eyebrows are to die for.

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    1. Haha Ysatis I know how you mean, I've seen pics of extreme contouring. I must admit it's incredible but I agree it's far too much. Thanks for the kind compliments. X

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  35. It looks like you did some magic on her! Absolutely incredible work.

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  36. I can't even begin to say how stunning this lady is pre and post makeup!

    You did a beautiful job! I love it!

    xxx

    www.ashaelle.blogspot.com

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  37. Oh my.. I can't even begin to say how stunning Philomena is pre and post transformation. I have some uneven skin tone too and I struggle to do my makeup but I'm definitely going to give this a go. Just wow.

    You did a brilliant job!

    xxx
    Visit me at www.ashaelle.blogspot.com)

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  38. Hi,

    This is amazing! Her foundation is immaculate! I was wondering which shade of the Estee Lauder Double Wear concealer you used? If you remember that is :)
    Thanks!
    x

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  39. Hi,

    This is beautifulll! Her foundation is immaculate and I especially love how you kept the lips simple with a bolder blush. Which shade of the Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer did you use?

    Thanks

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    1. Thank you! I can remember TBH it was 2 of the darker shades as I tend to judge by eye rather than shade number. It's about 1-2 shades lighter than her skin tone, if that helps.

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  40. Hi
    I absolutely love this look, she looks amazing! I have some issues with discolouration so really trying to find a mix of products that work for me. Also wondering where you found the madina shiny stick in different shades? So far I can only find it in a standard pearly colour. Thanks!

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    1. Hi Gibby, I agree and to tackle black skin or discolouration, it really boils down to clever combination of products and it's all so subjective! As always I get my Madina from Milan, Italy but I know they are fond of changing their ranges and consistencies very often. Any brand that offers a bronze or gold highlighter would work well for darker skin tones. Thanks for the comment x

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  41. I love what you did, she looks amazing. I too have dark skin and prominent cheekbones and a flat round nose. I would prefer to only contour my face but I wonder if it's necessary to highlight as well.

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    1. Hi Jo, thanks for the kind compliment. I like doing both but remember that if you highlight, it makes your contouring more distinct. So in theory you should need to contour less. It's like colouring outside the lines to make the shape more distinct. Makes sense? X

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  42. Just beautiful naturally!and da makeup just makes it perfecto!!!! Lovely!

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