It’s no secret that women want to feel their absolute best before stepping in front of the camera for their boudoir session. For the women thinking about a boudoir session, I’m going to guess that looking amazing has been on their mind too. I’m going to share all sorts of information on why professional hair and makeup will help every babe feel ready to step in front of the camera for their boudoir session!! 

I need to start off this conversation by saying I 100% believe that makeup is not needed to feel beautiful or sexy!! Truth be told, most days I am bare faced and not wearing an ounce of makeup. There has been a push for great skin care in the past few years and more and more women are focusing on healthy skin rather than thick makeup, and I’m here for it!! With that said, whatever daily makeup routine is, it does not apply to camera ready makeup. 

Flawless Skin with Professional Makeup

When stepping in front of the camera, clients are going to want smooth, flawless looking skin. And the best way to get that is with professional makeup.  Getting skin ready with camera ready makeup will most likely feel like more makeup than what is typically worn. But please note that makeup shows up about two to three shades lighter in camera than it does in person. It may feel like a lot, but those images will look amazing!!

Professional hair and makeup is included with every boudoir session at Colleen Michelle Studios. I have taken out the hassle of trying to find someone and time it perfectly with the schedule for session day. Instead clients get to show up at the studio with a fresh face and clean dry hair, and my artists will be ready to pamper them and make them feel absolutely amazing!! The professional hair and makeup artists I use, I have worked with for years. I trust them with my own face and getting me ready for events and photo sessions. I truly only work with the best artists!! 

Customized Makeup Look

We customize every look depending on skin tone and type of skin for each client. My artists’ kits are full of every shade of makeup imaginable, they custom match skin tones to makeup and will ask about skin type and desired coverage. For clients with oily skin, they will apply the best foundation for that skin type. For clients with dry skin, they will use a different line that will give a moisturized glow. The coverage can vary for each client. Some clients want full coverage, and my artists have everything they need to make that happen. For clients wanting a natural, light coverage, my artists are ready for that too! My artists are there to help you feel incredibly beautiful and feel like you! 

Professional makeup also includes false lashes, unless a client already has lashes done. Lashes truly make your eyes pop! We can go as big or as minimal as desired. For a bold glamorous look we can do a strip of lashes. For more of a natural look, my artists can apply individual lashes, giving an enhanced lash without going too thick. Again, we want to stay true to who you are and your style. 

For clients who want to recreate a particular look, it is helpful to bring in a picture, whether that’s an inspiration picture or a previous look to be recreated. A picture helps the makeup artist understand the client vision.

Natural versus Glam

Prior to the session, I have my clients complete a questionnaire including the type of makeup look desired. The options for makeup looks include natural, glam, or I have no idea please do whatever would look best! All of the options are great answers!! I want to dive deeper into what camera ready natural looks like versus camera ready glam. Please note that both of these options are going to be much more makeup than what is typically worn daily.

Natural makeup tends to use natural tones on the eyelids, such as browns and neutrals. Natural makeup can include foundation that is either full coverage or lighter coverage. When we describe these looks as natural looks, we also mean camera ready natural looks. These beautiful women below would all be described as having natural makeup. They are all camera ready and look incredible. They all tend to have neutral eye makeup with neutral, soft lips. We can customize the coverage and how much contouring is desired.

Glamorous makeup looks tend to include full coverage foundation and then we decide what feature to highlight most. If we really want to show off the eyes, a smokey eye would be paired with a neutral lip. If we really want those lips to show, we’ll do a bold lip color with a softer eye. We don’t want eyes and lips completing, so we choose one to go bold with. A glam look can also support a full lash. A smokey eye can be done with grays but it can also be done with warmer browns and golds. The beautiful women below would all be considered to have a glam makeup look. They each either went bolder with eye makeup or lip color. Some women will also choose to include color on their lids, like the first babe, which definitely makes a statement!

Skin Prep

Professional makeup can go a long way in making skin look incredible, but the best way to get the flawless look is with serious skin care. Some clients will choose to go all in and use their session as a reason to pamper themselves with things like facials and massages. Facials are a great way to get skin looking flawless and glowing. I recommend having a conversation with an esthetician to see what type of facials would be best for your concerns. 

Another key to great skin is a moisture. Which means it’s time to start moisturizing!!! And that means not only the face but the entire body! We will be showing off skin and curves, so it’s best to keep up with lotion prior to the session. Also try to exfoliate everywhere twice – but don’t over do it! Starting a new skin care line, regiment, or treatment should be done months prior to a session. The week before your session is not the time to try anything new!! 

My most tried and true way to get glowy moisturized skin is to hydrate. Start drinking a lot of water in the weeks leading up to the session. There’s no amount of wanter that is too much, so get drinking and see how it changes the skin. 

Last Thoughts

While professional hair and makeup will help smooth out skin color, I also want to mention that professional retouching is included with every session. That means any bumps, blemishes, tan lines, bruise, acne, butt acne, etc can be removed through editing. My style is to keep my clients looking natural, not some plastic version of themselves. With that said, we definitely smooth skin and polish up the images so that clients feel confident and their images look amazing. We can do further retouching to remove things like cellulite, stretch marks, wrinkles, but please just ask. I never assume I am removing texture like that unless it’s requested.  Check out some more before and after’s of clients session day transformations here.

I hope that helps answer a lot of the questions we hear about professional hair and makeup. But let me also say that you don’t have to do anything for your session (I know I just gave you this entire list of skin prep!!). But truly, if you show up just as you are right now, my hair and makeup artists will help you to feel incredible. I have tons of lingerie you can use at your session in the Client Closet.  We can have an incredible session no matter what. You just need to show up and we’ll take care of the rest!

Are you ready to do this?? Let’s connect!