Thoughts on Green Makeup

Over the past few weeks I've done a couple of fashion/beauty photoshoots with professional photographer friends of mine. I asked them (River Clark www.riverclark.com and Shiran Nicholson www.shirannicholson.com) to help me because I wanted to experiment with all of the green makeup I've been blogging about in a more work-related way. In other words, I wanted to see how this green makeup "stuff" would measure up with hi-end digital photography & lighting.

For the most part, the end result is beautiful. The makeup holds up pretty well and photographs nicely. At the same time, as a professional and more to the point a perfectionist and my own worst critic, I noticed slight differences in how the makeup was photographing.

The textures aren't quite as smooth, meaning I see the makeup more. It sits on the surface of the skin even after it's been blended well. I'm sure it has something to do with the ingredients. I found myself manipulating the products a lot more through the application. I kept adding more moisturizer to help me blend the foundation further into the skin. I was alternating between either the Rose Day Cream from Dr. Hauschka or the Rare Minerals moisturizer from Bare Minerals. I found myself working a bit harder to even apply the powder just for setting the makeup so that we wouldn't see any chalky white powder bits in the photo.

In general with hi-def cameras both for still and moving pictures, makeup artists have had to change the way they look at makeup in those situations. These cameras pick up every strand of hair that's out of place so there is no room for overlooking the small details.

There are no unnecessary oils or preservatives in green makeup, which is great, but I'm starting to think that our bodies or skin rather, absorb those chemicals more quickly than we absorb cosmetics that don't contain them. And for photography purposes, plus what we need for time efficiency, we almost require the fast absorption for a more flawless end result.

So not only is green makeup healthier in general because of the ingredients but the fact that our skin doesn't drink it up as quickly is a new discovery. Ultimately I think that is great for everyday makeup and skin care users but I'm still on the fence about it for fashion photography. I have to admit that when I was using the green makeup I was tempted to grab my Chanel and MAC stuff to make it easier. I didn't, and I'm glad I didn't but in makeup artist terms I was just plain frustrated.