Today I was looking at the pix from a friend’s wedding – which, incidentally, was one of the hugest weddings of the 20th century – and almost every one of them showed my makeup as patchy, chalky, with horrible white flour-like spots everywhere. Needless to say, this evoked pure hysteria, given that I had managed to circulate through some 200,000 people (yes! this wedding was that mammoth) for five days looking like a badly uncoordinated orangutan had taken a paint brush to my face.
Yikes! The most ghastly photo EVER!
Fortunately, my makeup artist friend called just before I flung myself out of the window, with a panic-subsiding explanation: I was using mineral makeup for this occasion, which reflects light very easily. It looks absolutely fine in natural lighting but when you take a photo and the flash goes off, suddenly that’s all you’re seeing – a big reflection of powder.
The same thing happens with silica-based powders, which have white undertones and are very pigmented. And that’s even more of a bummer as silica-based products are sometimes your only hope of keeping the face grease-free through a hot and humid evening. That’s why you see this happening to celebs so often, as evident in Nicole Kidman’s pic here:
At least I am not the only one!
The solution? Just check yourself before heading out! Turn off the lights and take a photo of your face with a flash camera – this will help identify any rogue floury-looking areas and you’ll be able to correct them before heading out of the door and confronting a camera. Because photos, after all, are always half the fun, aren’t they?
What’s the most terrible makeup disaster that you’ve ever had the bad luck to run into?
Wow, yikes is right! At least you are in good company
Sunscreen can have the same effect in photos. I never knew that about mineral makeup, that’s what I wear as well. Hmmmm, I wonder how many photos are floating around out there with white patches all over my face.
I have had so many faux paus over the years, I don’t think I could narrow it down to one:)
Am glad you agree that I look ghastly
This has to be the least flattering photo of me ever to see daylight but thought the post needed to show the effect first-hand!
You still look beautiful, just a little white
Don’t worry about making me feel better… after all the whole point of this pic is that I looked ghastly
Ghastly is a pretty strong word. But kudos to you for putting it out there
All in the name of the art