Guest blog: when to follow a make-up trend

Stacey Kilpatrick is a freelance make-up artist and face and body painter in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, and winner of the Professional Beauty Award for Make-Up Specialist of the Year 2016. She explores the popularity of social media make-up trends and reveals which ones MUAs should incorporate into their services.

We’re living in a generation of social media perfection. It’s a world of selfies and filters, where make-up trends range from the beautiful to the somewhat questionable.

I always reflect back to my make-up heyday and how trends and lifestyles have developed. I grew up in the 90s and admired celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, Kylie Minogue and Claire Danes because they opted for the natural look. Yes, we had over-plucked brows, coloured hair mascara and the famous heather and coffee shimmer Rimmel lipsticks, but make-up back then was minimal.

However, today’s trends are different. They are ever-changing and often extreme, so it can be hard to keep up and know what to take on board, especially with “How to…” beauty videos on Instagram growing in popularity. And we’re surrounded by beauty buzzwords – contouring, strobing, baking – but these techniques have been around from the beginning, only now they have been taken to the extreme so that they appear “new” to the selfie generation.

The top trends to follow at the moment are:

• Contouring – This is the art of working with illusion. If your client has fine features, then a strong contour won’t work. It will be unflattering and could make them appear gaunt. However, if your client has a strong jawline, round face or lacks cheekbone structure then contouring, done correctly, can look incredible. This technique is about making the most of your clients’ features, so you have to know your face shapes. To contour correctly, it’s best to use a foundation that is two to three shades darker than your client’s skin tone.

• Highlighting – Highlighting is extremely flattering on most face types and is easy to achieve, giving the skin a healthy glow and youthful appearance.When highlighting, it’s most flattering to choose a shade that complements your client’s skin tone but avoid anything too white. Also, avoid applying products to areas with fine lines, like the under eye area, because this will draw attention to them in the wrong way.

And don’t forget to:

• Follow the pros – Fashion magazines such as Vogue and beauty features by key make-up artists such as Lisa Eldridge and Charlotte Tilbury will keep you in the know. Techniques picked up by the mainstream media tend to be the ones that will stick around. 

• Know what your clients want – Tutorials such as clown and sugar-skull contouring – extreme colour-correcting, highlighting and contouring – are growing in popularity but don’t jump on the new technique bandwagon too soon. These trends need to be taken lightly as they aren’t for everyday wear. Take heed from your clients’ needs – not everyone will want a pop of neon eye shadow as seen on the runway.    

• Research and practise – Before introducing anything new, be it techniques, products or trends, research the origin, learn the pros and cons, and practise the look on several faces.