Written by Corina Wan and Alexis Myers.
Here at QC Makeup Academy, we strive to give our students the MOST out of our their learning experience. Our goal is to make the process of learning makeup online highly effective and all-encompassing, as well as strongly beneficial to those with dreams of launching a success career in the industry!
One of the ways we try to saturate our students with new and useful information is through our regular monthly webinars. Last month, our makeup guru, Nathan Johnson, devoted a full webinar to critiquing real work by students and graduates.
Didn’t get a chance to catch it? Watch the full video below!
Nathan’s goal in this webinar was to teach one major fundamental lesson: that the smallest adjustments in makeup often make a HUGE difference to the overall look!
Let’s examine a few of the student photos that were submitted for this webinar, and see how well they illustrate this lesson!
Why does such a small change have such a big effect?
We were intrigued by this question, so we did some research. Specifically, we looked into how a person’s brain perceives the human face.
In recent years, research has shown that the brain does not actually recognize the entire face. Instead, it recognizes about 20 different aspects of the face, such as distance between the eyes. Our brains then build an image from these different elements.
This explains why a tiny makeup change around the eyes, for example, can have a drastic effect. Amazingly, such adjustments can make the eye seem bigger, smaller, or even change its position on the face! Think of it as a nifty optical illusion, done by tricking the brain into relying on the way it builds the image of the face.
Bet you didn’t think that learning makeup online could get THIS interesting, did you? Well, sit tight, because we’re not even finished yet!
Let’s add in another critical factor. Our brains are said to perceive facial symmetry as a sign of great beauty, right? The problem is that hardly anyone actually has a symmetric face!
Makeup, therefore, has to trick the viewer’s brain into believing that the face is symmetrical.
Great makeup artists do two things. First, they strive for symmetry in makeup application. Secondly, they pay attention to the tiniest detail, knowing that onlookers will subconsciously respond.
As a makeup artist, you’re basically tricking the brain into seeing something that’s not actually there. You’re practically a magician! (Feel free to start calling yourself ‘Harry Potter’ – we won’t judge you.)
Anyone learning makeup online can go to the internet and get a rough idea of how to apple makeup to the face. But this method of learning will only ever be superficially rich, at best. Fact is, the internet will NOT teach you the necessary fundamentals of makeup artistry.
Not only will you be denied information surrounding proper makeup theory, classic technique, etc. – you won’t learn about the psychological aspect of makeup, such as the detail and symmetry perceived by the brain when looking at the human face.
This is why all of QC’s online makeup students are coached by experts like Nathan. Specialized guidance by a true industry professional is the single most effective way to learn how to focus on detail – and THAT is how you’ll bring your work to a professional level!
Do you find it hard to believe that great makeup is defined by attention to detail? Then consider this: an amateur pianist and a concert soloist play the same piano concerto. The same notes are played, in the same order and at the same pace. But what makes one jarring and the other lyrical?
Simple: the attention to the tiniest detail.
Become a true master of your craft by learning makeup online and training at QC Makeup Academy. After all, it’s “The Juilliard School” for makeup artists!
