Not everybody wants to be young and beautiful. Ok, we’re just kidding, of course everybody wants to look younger in real life, but sometimes, in showbusiness, you need to make people look older and less attractive. Ageing people for the necessity of the camera can be done with prosthetics or just with makeup. Prosthetics have always been, and still very much are the luxury product of the makeup industry. Using their properties provides impeccable effects when there is the need for a flawless reproduction, usually in high budget blockbusters, because even thou prosthetics are very convincing and real like, they tend to take hours and hours to adjust, and let’s not forget to mention that their cost is always sky high.

Make-up on the other hand is less expensive and can be done in a much shorter time. The final product is close to excellent considering that there is no visible change to the surface of the skin, no tangible wrinkles. This type of artificial ageing is perfect for photography, because the subject is standing still in the photograph and the makeup will look unbelievably real. Also, a lot of motion pictures have small amounts of close ups, or the scenes are shoot with minimal lighting, which makes it a great opportunity for the ageing with makeup technique, no need for a detailed look or prosthetics.

It is quite amazing what can be done with just make up. If you apply it correctly and properly, each layer becomes another decade you have overcome, the more layers you add the older the subject is going to look. On the other hand, if you want to achieve the opposite effect, numerous layers of makeup won’t do the trick. When it comes to beauty makeup, the trick of making someone look younger, is the less the better. The subject has to look younger, not cemented like a brick wall. The ‘’too much makeup’’ look is something you can get away with on a younger skin, but if you overdo it on an older skin, it will probably look like you tried to age the person, not make them younger. That is why the most important thing for a professional make-up artist is knowledge. Knowledge on how the skin naturally ages, and how to make that process look stronger or weaker, it is essential and priceless.

Photos courtesy of JL STYLE Beauty Academy