Beyoncé Video Phone Make-up Tutorial Part 1: Full-Coverage Foundation Application

In her recent Video Phone video, Beyoncé features a dramatic yet beautiful look for the first sequence, with dark, metallic eyes framed with angled eyebrows. In Part 1 of this 2-part series, I am going to show you how to achieve a flawless, even complexion just like Beyoncé’s look in the video. Before you begin applying make-up, make sure that the skin is properly prepped with moisturizer.

Base Matching
To prepare for a full coverage, even make-up application, begin by trimming the edges of three MUD Professional Make-up Sponges. Each sponge will be used according to its purpose: highlight, shadow and foundation. A mixture of YG 1 Cream Foundation and GY1 Cream Foundation is used as our model’s base match. To properly base match, try a few colors on the neck area; if the color disappears, then you have a great match. You may have to use more than one color for base matching.

Preparing for Highlight and Shadow
To create dimension on the face we need a highlight and a shadow. The highlights pull areas forward while shadows push areas back. For uniformity, we make a base tone relationship – a mix of the base with a highlight or shadow. The Highlight shade from the Highlight and Shadow Palette was mixed with the base (YG 1 and GY 1) for the highlight. For the shadow, create a mix of the base with GY 3 to contour the face.

Get This Look:

Highlight: The highlight is used to lift and narrow the face. When used properly, it can also give the illusion of higher cheekbones. Load a MUD Professional Make-up Sponge with the Highlight mix and stipple under the eyes and the top of the cheekbones. Feather the highlight towards the hairline, just below the temples. Turn the sponge on its side and stipple a straight line down the nose to give an illusion of it being thin and narrow. Carry the highlight to the center of the forehead in between the eyebrows. For more pronounced lips, use the Highlight mix above the mouth in between the nasal labials and under the mouth on the entire chin. Lastly, highlight the brow bone and connect the highlight to the cheekbone.

Shadow: Take a new sponge and load the shadow mix (GY 3, YG 1 and GY 1); start applying under the cheek toward the back in the middle of the ear area. Create a triangle, with the widest area towards the back, and taper in a downward motion as you stipple the product toward the front of the face. Stipple the shadow around the hairline and temples. Remember to leave skin showing for the base (in between the highlight and shadow). Create a shadow under the chin and jaw line. Lightly connect the jaw line to the widest part of the cheek contour to give the appearance of a more narrow face. Turn the sponge on its side and contour both sides of the nose.

Foundation: Here’s a great tip for a flawless base application: with your last sponge, stipple the base ONLY on the areas where the natural skin is showing. There shouldn’t be any exposed skin at this point. Now, stipple on the highlighted areas. Finally, move to the shadows. Blend the colors to create soft edges. This technique is used to prevent your make-up from becoming muddy.

To complete the application, set the make-up with Loose Powders. For the highlighted areas, load the puff with the lighter Shell Loose Powder and use a rolling technique to prevent any lift of product. For more definition, use the same rolling method to set the contour with the darker Desert Loose Powder.