A BASIC GUIDE TO MAKEUP

HANNA BRAUN

Skin

The first step to makeup is understanding a person’s skin; whether it is dry, oily, mature, or a combination. Based on that, I will usually recommend a suitable regimen.

For oily skin, water based and oil free products are important, such as the Neutrogena Hydro Boost, or Ole

Henriksen Oil Control Cleanser.

For dry or mature skin I recommend finding super hydrating moisturizers like Olay or even La Mer if you are looking for a more high-end product.

Once you hit 30, you should see your dermatologist and introduce retinol and collagen into your regimen to keep your skin supple and strong as it ages. Hanna Braun took her first makeup course at the age of sixteen and has never looked back. Now a qualified makeup artist for over 13 years, she works with a massive range of women, including celebrities and photographers, although ultimately the wedding industry is what keeps her busiest! Alongside this, she runs the ‘Pro Academy by Hanna Braun’ makeup school where she combines her passion for makeup with her love for teaching, certifying students who aim to become makeup artists. Whilst based in New York, she travels everywhere for her work, and has also given classes in Canada and Los Angeles. Lastly, she also offers personal one-to-one classes teaching clients how to do their makeup well, and providing them with a detailed, user-friendly list of products for the everyday woman.

Concealer

Concealer is used not only to correct blemishes, but also to lift and brighten, by highlighting and concealing. The trick is to lift under the eyes in a triangle, and along the sides of the mouth and the t-zone area, in order to open up the face. Always use concealer in one shade lighter than your foundation. Some of my favourites are Maybelline Instant Age Rewind concealer, or

Tarte Shape Tape Ultra Creamy concealer.

Contour and highlight

This is one of my favourite parts of the process. I love using contour, blush, and highlighter as eye shadow and concealer for under the eye, and also as a primer for the eye shadow. As I’m doing the contour, I’ll also put in an eye crease to contour the brow bone, and add blush to give the eyes a youthful pop in a monochromatic look to tie everything together.

Contour helps to define and frame the bone structure of the face, whilst highlight lifts, opens, expands, and brings attention to it. The way to contour is to feel your bone structure and use that as your guide and stencil. You then follow your bone structure with your brush to frame the cheeks, forehead, sides of nose, and chin. Look out for contour sticks or bronzers from Charlotte Tilbury or NYX. The next step is to highlight above the cheekbone, the inner corner of the eyes, and the arch of the eye brows to lift and open the eyes and face.

L’Oréal and Charlotte Tilbury both make great liquid highlighters which give you the appearance of glowing from within.

Powder

When it comes to powders, Laura Mercier is definitely my favourite brand, whilst the Terry Hyaluronic Hydra-Power is also a great antiaging one.

Blush

Lately, I have adored working with cream blushes from Honest Beauty, or Fenty Beauty as cream blushes tend to give more life from within than the powder blushes.