WHY LOW CONTRAST MAKEUP WORKS and how to do it

Low-contrast makeup. What is the science behind it and how do you do it? In today's video, I'm going to show you exactly how to do low-contrast makeup, but before we get into it, let's talk a little bit about the science behind low-contrast makeup. This trend has taken social media by storm. Low-contrast versus high-contrast makeup. I already did a video about high-contrast makeup, so if you're interested in checking that out, I'll have it on the screen here, as well as linked in the description, but low-contrast makeup is its own thing. So the whole theory behind low-contrast makeup is to create a very soft and natural look where one feature or one element of the makeup is not standing out too much. There's a very harmonious balance to the makeup, and typically in low-contrast makeup, you're reaching for colors that are not super bold. Colors that are a little bit more subtle, close to your natural skin tone, are going to be your best friend when you're creating a low-contrast makeup look. And for me, at least, my approach is to make the makeup look like it's part of my skin, and I'm going to show you exactly how to do that. I think the science behind these makeup trends is actually quite simple. Our eyes naturally are drawn to contrast, and so when we apply makeup in a soft way and we use more subtle tones, naturally the makeup is going to be more soft and less abrasive to our eyes. It's going to look more cohesive. By using colors that are closer to our natural skin tone, and by using a technique that allows them to look very natural, it creates a more soft and blurred effect. Overall, this is just a very flattering way to do makeup, and it really does suit most people. Allegedly, I'm a high-contrast makeup girl. I don't know. Leave a comment down below. What makeup contrast am I? Personally, I prefer more low-contrast makeup. I feel my most beautiful in this style of makeup, and I honestly think you'll feel really beautiful with this kind of makeup too, but you've got to make sure you use the right technique. So, let's get into it. Starting with the skin, I really just want to achieve a natural-looking, soft, glowy base. So, what better to use than my Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter as a base? I like to add this to my skin to give a little bit of warmth, a little bit of glow. This looks pretty natural on the skin, but it gives a slight tint to just kind of even everything out. I'm blending this out with my Hourglass foundation brush, and I'm making sure to apply this in a nice, thin layer. So, that added a nice glow to the skin, but I still want a little bit more coverage. I'm going in with the NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in the shade Light Zero, and I'm applying a light layer of this to my skin just to further even out my skin tone. My approach with skin for low-contrast makeup is to keep it looking natural but still achieving a flawless finish. I want my skin to look very healthy and very evened out, and that's why I love this tinted moisturizer. It applies so beautifully on top of whatever you have underneath. I've never had an issue with pilling with this tinted moisturizer, and it gives me a very natural effect, but I still do feel like it gives me a more perfected finish. Those two products together create such a pretty base. My skin looks so natural, and it's got that natural skin-like glow as well, which is essential when the skin looks too matte. It's kind of a dead giveaway that you're wearing makeup, so I like this sort of finish, especially for a low-contrast makeup. In person, it does not even look like I'm wearing anything on my skin. Now for contour. Contour is basically like adding contrast to the face, so I really wanted to pick a product that's going to give me a very subtle and natural effect. I'm using the Soft Sculpt Bronzing and Shaping Serum by Makeup by Mario in the shade Fair, and I'm going to be completely honest with you guys. I'm still deciding whether or not I like this product for daily use, but I do think for low-contrast makeup, this might work really well. I'm using the Duo-Foot Applicator to apply that contour in any of the areas that I typically would. I like to put a little on my forehead, cheekbones, a little bit on my jawline and nose, and then I'm going to blend that out with my RFI Duo-Ended Brush, and I'm really going to take my time blending this out. You don't want to see any lines. The whole point of low-contrast makeup is to not see where the makeup starts and where it ends, so make sure you blend your contour really well for this step. One thing to note about this product is its thin serum-like texture. It blends really easy, but again, it gives very, very minimal effect, which is okay for this makeup, but for everyday, I don't usually reach for this. Now that I'm looking at this bronzer in the camera, it does look pretty good. I don't know why I can't decide if I like it or not. You guys, what do you think? Does this bronzer look good? What are our thoughts? So now I'm going to go in with concealer, and I'm in with my Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Concealer, and I'm just applying that in all the usual areas underneath my eyes, centers of my face, and on top of any blemishes I might have. This concealer is really good because it's light to medium coverage, but it really doesn't look heavy on the skin at all. It's very skin-like, but it really does give you a perfected look, so I thought it'd be perfect for this makeup look. All right, time for blush, which I'm sure if you're familiar with my channel, you know I can get a little bit carried away with. So this is the most natural, skin-like, juicy blush I've ever used. This is actually one of my longtime favorites. This is Merit's Cheek Color in the shade Beverly Hills. It is the prettiest natural peachy pink. I apply it right to my skin, and then I blend it out with a brush, and you can see it's super buildable. It goes on very sheer. You keep that natural skin-like glow, but I almost feel like you cannot over-apply this, which is perfect for this look. Do you see what I mean? It applies so sheer. My skin still has that glow, and I could probably keep building it up, and it would still look natural. Very, very sheer. Super easy to use. Great formula. You can't tell where it ends and where it begins, and that is what low-contrast makeup is all about. Very soft, softening the features. No one part of the For powder, I really want to be very strategic about this. I'm going in with the Kosas Cloud Set in the shade Candy, and this is going to brighten up the complexion a little bit. I'm focusing this under the eyes, as well as a little bit around my mouth, because I do have a little bit of discoloration around there, and I also like to pop a teensy tiny little bit of this in between the brows, too. Another thing I really like about that powder is it doesn't completely mattify. Usually, I like a pretty matte powder, especially if I'm wearing more makeup, but for a soft makeup look, a powder that's not 100% matte can actually look really nice. I think I want to warm up the skin a little bit more, so I'm going to go in with this powder bronzer by Dior. This is their Contour and Glow Palette in the shade 100. I'm just taking that on a rougher 05 brush, and I am lightly brushing that along the outskirts of my face, on my forehead, on my cheekbones, jawline, any areas where I applied that contour. I'm just going right on top of it, and I'm actually just using that exact same brush to lightly fluff that bronzer on my eyelids. This is going to give us a super, super diffused look. You really aren't going to be able to tell where the shadow begins and ends, and it's so quick. I love this little trick for a very quick, easy eyeshadow. I'm also going to take a tiny bit of that bronzer and just brush it very lightly on my lower lash line, just for a little bit of definition, but you don't want to apply too much here. You want this to pretty much look undetectable. I'm going to add a little bit of extra glow to the face. I'm using this Makeup Forever Blush and Glow Palette, and I'm going to mix these two shades right here. These are glowy highlighter shades, and I'm just picking that glow up with my fingers. I'm just going to tap a little bit right on the high point of my cheekbone, just to bring my cheekbone a little bit more forward. I'm just going to add some more definition to our face, add a little dimension, and how pretty. Wow. Again, I'm being mindful to keep this quite subtle. I don't want any step here to get too out of hand. I'm picking up a tiny bit more of that glow. I'm just going to pop that right on my lid, just to give my lids a little something to catch the light when I'm looking down. This isn't really going to look like eyeshadow. It's just going to look like glow. That is so pretty. Oh my gosh. I never really thought to use these as eyeshadow. I'm going to put a little bit in the inner corners of my eye as well. As I'm sure you can already tell, the star of this show for this makeup is the base, so I'm going to go in with some mascara now. I'm just using the L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara because this mascara looks so fluttery on the eyes. It just lengthens and separates the lashes so nicely. It almost looks like you're not wearing mascara. If you hate mascara clumps, you got to try this mascara. For lips, I'm going in with Makeup Forever Wherever Walnut Artist Color Pencil. I'm wearing a little bit of lip liner already on my lips, but I'm just going to go right on top. I'm really focusing it primarily on the cupid's bow. I like to overline that area. I also like to overline in the center of the bottom lip as well. Then I like to just soften it out by patting it with my finger. I really just want a very sheer wash of color on the lips, so I'm going in with one of my favorites, the Ilia Hold Me Balmy Tint. I like to just tap this lip balm right on top of my lips. It gives them the prettiest peachy pink tint, and it's also very hydrating and natural looking. A lip just isn't complete without gloss, so I'm going in with my very own Cherish Cosmetics Water Gloss. Truly the glassiest lip gloss ever. Just look at that shine. It looks like wet glass on my lips. It's insane. I also love how this formula smooths out the fine lines that I have in my lips. It just makes my lips appear more plump and full without that harsh burning sensation. Are you guys seeing that? Look at that shine. Immediately, the lines in my lips are smooth, and my lips were so dry going into this video. It's like instant hydration and plumpness. I'm going to go in with a little more bronzer on my lids, just because I want a bit more definition here. I'm just using that same one by Dior, and the beauty of this makeup is because we're working in such thin layers, we're able to go in and build up and still have it look very natural, just because we're adding little by little. I also just want to add a little bit more blush, just a little, for a finishing touch. I'm using this Hourglass Ambient Lighting Unlocked palette. This is their Evil Eye shade. I'm going to mix these two shades together, just a little bit of the pink, more so of this shade right here. I'm just pressing that into the skin with my Rougher 04 brush. That is the perfect blush shade. This is also going to make the blush last longer throughout the day. Since we're working with cream products, sometimes they can slide around a little bit, so setting them with a little bit of powder is never a bad idea. Plus, these blushes really do preserve the satin-like glow our skin naturally has. They're definitely a little bit luminous, which is something I love about these blushes. And that's the completed low-contrast makeup. What do you guys think? Do you prefer more high-contrast makeup or more low-contrast makeup? Let me know in the comments down below what team you're on. Thank you so much for watching. If you haven't already, please give this video a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel. It really helps me out so much. Thank you for watching, and I'll see you next time.