How To Do Your Makeup If You’re Low Visual Weight
A great makeup look begins with learning what works for your face, so here’s how to do your makeup if you have a low visual weight.
Ever wondered why that bold red lip looks great on your friend, but it looks like way too much on you? Or why bold winged eyeliner and smokey eyes look sultry on other women, but when you try it, you feel ridiculous? You need to try doing makeup for your low visual weight.
Your visual weight is all about the proportions of your features. And it’s key to knowing how to do your makeup. If you aren’t sure whether you have a high or low visual weight, let us help you out. High visual weight faces have big features and a striking or sharp structure (think Angelina Jolie). Low visual weight faces have small features that blend harmoniously (think Korean singer and actress IU). You can also use TikTok’s bold glamour filter – if the makeup in the filter suits you rather than making you look like you're wearing a Halloween costume, then you’re high visual weight.
A third way to figure out if you’re high or low visual weight is the photo test. Using a selfie, apply the Mono color filter. Then, use the contrast feature to compare your features at either extreme end (100 or -100). If your face is clear at 100, then you’re a high visual weight. If your facial features are more clearly distinguishable at -100, then you’re a low visual weight.
How To Do Your Makeup If You’re Low Visual Weight
Now that you know you’re low visual weight, you can start doing makeup that will best suit your features. The goal is to choose styles that don’t overwhelm but instead enhance your natural beauty and bring out the best in your features. Natural makeup allows less prominent features to really shine instead of being hidden behind lots of makeup.
Focus on Your Base
A key to mastering your makeup as someone with low visual weight is focusing on the base of your makeup. Make sure you prep your skin. Moisturizer and primer will be your best friends! Conceal the areas where you have blemishes and use foundation as sparingly as possible. Remember, with your face, less is more!
Strike a Balance
A great rule of thumb for low visual weight is that if you’re playing up one area, you should leave another area more natural. So if you’re wearing eyeshadow, go for lip balm or a natural color on your lips. Or focus on full coverage with your skin, but skip doing your eye makeup.
One product you don’t need to be too afraid of with low visual weight is blush. It will look super lovely and feminine, and is a great way to enhance your features.
Choose Natural Shades
Your makeup will look best when it seems like part of your face. The no makeup-makeup look or the clean girl aesthetic is a perfect fit for your features. So if you’re doing contour, you’ll want to do it in the most barely there way possible. And when you pick out your makeup, choose shades that feel like they could really be part of your face. That will look different for every skin tone! Mastering no makeup-makeup is all about learning how to subtly enhance your unique features so that the smallest amount of product can make the biggest difference.