I have always been an advocate of good skin health, but sometimes you need a bit of an extra boost to make the best of your skin.
Men wearing make-up is a tough cookie, something that can be so easily got wrong. By having brighter, smoother and healthier looking skin you look more healthy, but as soon as cover is detected you shatter the illusion, leading to the question “what’s underneath?”. So you need to know what to apply and how. Below is a picture of my skin before applying anything: I get slightly dark under-eyes as well as a little bit of an uneven skin tone. Having oily skin also makes my pores a little larger in certain areas.
Get the base right
After you’ve applied your daily skincare, look at using a primer; sometimes this’ll be all you need. I love Sampar Glamour Shot, it’s a huge men’s favourite despite being in a pink tube, and it mattifies the skin, shrinks the appearance of pores and makes skin look like porcelain. There’s no colour in it at all, it’s simply a light gel/cream, and the effects will last all day.
Foundation for men is a tricky subject, and something I’ve touched on in the past. Firstly, if you have facial hair and/or stubble, then cover products need to be avoided there at all costs, it looks completely obvious. Also, having a face that’s one block shade looks completely unnatural, so only cover areas that need covering. And use a brush rather than fingers, it looks more natural and you use hardly any product.
Highlight and conceal
Highlighters like Touche Éclat are great. In my honest opinion, don’t bother with the men’s one; there’s only one shade, which when the original collection has so many, makes absolutely no sense. Use it under the eye area and around the nose, applying with the applicator brush, and then use a concealer brush to pat it in, bringing it right into the crease of the nose and up to the eyelash line.
After you’ve highlighted all the necessary areas, use a concealer to gently cover imperfections, blemishes and dark spots. My weapon of choice has recently become Clinique Even Better Concealer. It masks a whole range of naughties while simultaneously being completely undetectable.
Blend and finish
Once you’ve applied everything, rub your ring and forefingers together to warm them up. Then, everywhere you’ve applied cover, gently pat over. This will ensure perfect blending and leave a more natural finish; slightly pull outwards as you work the skin over.
Here’s the finished product below. Notice how my pores look smaller, but more importantly my skin tone is more even without looking caked in make-up. Hopefully you shouldn’t notice I’ve got anything on at all.
These products are really great to try out and play with, but I’ll be very honest: go to a beauty counter and ask. It’s becoming increasingly common for men to visit beauty counters looking for concealers and highlighters, no one will bat an eye, I swear.
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