Make-up Artists Cory and Aniruddha Talk About Body Make-up

Amrita Rao

Primers, powders, and shine are no longer just for the face. They are traveling southward to add that much-needed sparkle to your skin. After all, what’s a perfectly made-up face without a body to match? Enter: Body make-up for that smooth and satiny feeling all over.

Make-up expert Cory Walia explains that there are two kinds of body make-up. The first and the most essential is make-up that involves bringing all the exposed areas of the body to one tone. The second involves highlighting and contouring.

Tone trick
Make-up expert Aniruddha Chakladar says, “On most occasions, it is tough to apply make-up to all the exposed areas to match the face. The best option is to create a new skin tone altogether. So bring down the face tone, while lifting the body tone.”

Dabbing make-up all over, is impossible. Here, it is important to choose the same tone as the face to coordinate texture and shade.
“Before you begin application, smooth over some moisturizer (M.A.C Oil Control Lotion). Dot foundation and then blend with M.A.C 185 Body Buffer Brush,” says Aniruddha. It is also advisable to choose a pan-stick foundation (M.A.C Studio Stick Foundation) rather than messy liquid foundations. “Dust some M.A.C Select Moistureblend to finish,” adds Aniruddha.
If the arms are considerably darker than the face and you are hard-pressed for time to indulge in all-over body make-up, then Cory has a trick: “Apply base and colors on your face as you would have normally, but leave a natural tone on the edges around the face.”
While a face requires minute application, the body demands generosity. “Birthmarks and scars need heavier foundation (M.A.C Full Coverage),” says Aniruddha.
The same goes for a bare back in less-than-perfect condition. It may be tough to slap make-up on a zone that you can hardly reach, but imagine a back that is five shades darker than your face!

Play up
Body make-up is also about playing up your assets with a subtle touch. Aniruddha says that it is necessary to apply a primer (M.A.C Prep + Prime Face Protect SPF50) on the body before the shimmer and shine. Moisturize your body (M.A.C Oil Control Lotion) if the skin is even-toned or else dab some foundation (M.A.C Face And Body Foundation) to make it even.
Brush some M.A.C Iridescent Loose Powder in Silver Dusk/Golden Bronze (depending on your clothes), just brush some on the collarbones, shoulders, center of the arms and cleavage.

Body make-up can help highlight the cleavage beautifully. “Highlight the center of the cleavage in a shimmering hue (M.A.C Beauty Loose Powder in Dancing Light or Drizzlegold) and shade the edges of your bust with a darker color or a bronzer (M.A.C Iridescent Loose Powder in Golden Bronze). This gives the perfect depth,” explains Aniruddha.

“An overall sexy glow is easy to attain with a shimmer lotion. Just add some shimmer powder to your daily moisturizer (M.A.C Oil Control Lotion) and create your own shiny lotion (M.A.C Strobe Cream),” says Cory.

Amisha Patel

Here’s another style advice from Cory: If your outfit is dotted with Swarovski crystals and silver work, then use silver shimmer. A gold or bronze shimmer is for traditional zardosi and aari work. Also co-ordinate the shimmer shade with the jewelery tones.

“But be very careful with glitter. A dash on the shoulders is more than enough,” adds Cory.