How to look polished on video calls: A simple makeup routine for busy working days (with a tip from Smooche)
You have a client call at nine, a team catch-up at eleven and a pitch at three. Somewhere in between you would like to eat lunch. Spending half an hour on your face is not going to happen, and it does not need to.
Cameras are odd things. They flatten your features, wash out colour and pick up shine you cannot see in the mirror. A few small changes to your routine can make a real difference to how you come across on screen. None of them takes more than a minute or two.
Sort out your light before your face
The best makeup tip for video is not makeup at all. Sit facing a window. Natural light from the front smooths skin and brightens your eyes better than any product. If the window is behind you, you become a dark shape with a halo.
No window nearby? Put a lamp behind your laptop, level with your face. Then raise the laptop on a few books so the camera sits at eye level. You will look more awake before you have opened a single product.
Even out your skin, lightly
On camera, heavy foundation can look flat and mask-like. You only need enough to even out redness and shadows. Apply a thin layer to the centre of your face and blend outwards. Add a little concealer under the eyes and around the nose.
Shade matters more on screen than in person, because webcams exaggerate a base that is too light or too orange. Check your match in daylight along your jaw.
If you find shade matching a chore, some brands now make formulas that adjust as you apply them. The US brand Smooche, at smooche.com, sells a one-shade liquid called the Color Changing Foundation. The brand says the pigments release as you blend so the colour adapts to your skin, and that it is designed for fair to medium skin tones. It has medium coverage you can build up, a soft matte finish and SPF 15. Try any new base on a quiet day first, not on the morning of a big presentation.
Take down the shine
Laptop cameras love a shiny forehead. A light dusting of powder across the forehead, nose and chin keeps you looking fresh through back-to-back meetings. Keep blotting papers on your desk for the afternoon. They remove shine without adding another layer.
Put some colour back
Because cameras wash you out, blusher is the product that does the most work. Use slightly more than you would for the office. Smile, dab it on the apples of your cheeks and blend up towards your temples. A cream formula takes ten seconds with your fingers.
If you look tired, this is the step that fixes it. It works better than more concealer.
Define your brows and eyes
Brows frame your face, and on a small screen they give it shape. Brush them up and fill any gaps with a pencil. That alone makes you look more put together.
For eyes, curl your lashes and add one coat of mascara. Skip shimmer on the lids, as it can flare under a ring light. A matte neutral shade, or nothing, is fine.
Finish with your lips
A bare mouth can disappear on camera. You do not need a bold red. A tinted balm or a lipstick one shade deeper than your natural colour is enough to bring your face into focus. Keep it on your desk and reapply before each call.
Think about what you wear near your face
Your top and your background change how your skin looks on camera. A bright white shirt can make the webcam darken your face. Busy patterns flicker on screen. Solid, mid-tone colours such as blue, green or soft pink tend to work well and need less makeup to balance them.
Jewellery is worth a thought too. Large earrings that catch the light or knock against a headset are distracting on a call. Small studs or nothing at all keep the focus on what you are saying.
Check yourself on screen, not in the mirror
Before your first meeting, open your camera and look at the preview. What you see there is what your colleagues will see. You may find you need a touch more blusher or a little less shine. Thirty seconds of checking saves a day of wondering.
Keep a small kit by your desk
You do not need a full make-up bag at work. A concealer, a cream blusher, a brow pencil, a lip colour and blotting papers will cover almost every situation. Keep them in a drawer so you are ready for the call that appears in your diary with five minutes’ notice.
None of this is about looking like someone else. It is about making sure the camera shows you as you are on a good day, so you can stop thinking about your face and get on with your work.
