Whether you're a WFH vet or new to the game, after a few weeks of social distancing, most of us have a work from home tale to tell. Love it or hate it, videoconferencing is here to stay. The MASAMI team has fully embraced it. Now that we're cooped up indoors, we crave community more than ever, and thankfully technology is here to keep us connected and sane when we most need it.
However, looking good during COVID19 shutdowns is proving...challenging. Some of us have it better than others (lucky James is bald), but I am comfortable saying that I have video call appearance induced anxiety. While I recognize that my appearance is the least important thing on my list of things to worry about (seriously, who cares), maintaining a polished appearance when chatting with colleagues and friends is one way I can keep a sense of order in my day.
I didn't work in a silk bathrobe when I commuted to an office, so there's no reason why I should show up to Zoom calls looking a mess. Besides, looking good feels good, but how do I make it happen?
I reached out to a few experts to get some tips on how to look good while videoconferencing.
"Great lighting is key to looking fabulous on camera, but since most of us are working from our homes and not a well-lit studio set, it's not realistic to achieve. So let's focus on what we can do and often overlooked is a very important factor of camera position. Make sure your laptop or desktop camera is at least eye level, even preferable to be higher, looking down at you. This automatically gives a more flattering angle. No one looks good being shot up at, even supermodels. So keep the sweats on below but whatever you do raise that camera angle and smile. You can't beat that combination." - Bianca de la Garza, Founder - BDG Beauty
"We coach experts, spokespeople, and clients on how to prepare for media interviews on a regular basis and are now deploying not-dissimilar advice for Zoom meetings. As you can imagine, this question has come up often in the past three weeks. Every situation is different, but there are a few gold-standard rules on which we rely for speaking on camera - be it a tv camera or an iPhone video meeting." - Diane Bates, Co-Owner - Blue Sky Communications
Diane has the following tips for those who choose to wear makeup "focus on contouring, blush, and lips. Keep eye makeup to a minimum since indoor light tends to cast unflattering shadows that could conflict with eye makeup resulting in an eye area that reads dark on camera." She also advises us to consider the following during outfit selection: "wear a color that coordinates with the room you are in. Avoid white, avoid stripes. Avoid bulky sweaters, sweatshirts, and hoodies."
I also chatted with Sonia Roselli, a talented makeup artist from Chicago who coaches professional women & other beauty professionals on this exact topic via her company Glossible. Sonia says, "you must start with a good canvas before you apply your makeup, and the solution for this is skin prep. Skin prep is more than primer; it's how you prepare the skin before makeup so that the foundation lays on the skin beautifully and looks even, radiant and gorgeous. Skin prep is like a mini facial before you apply makeup. The more hydrated the skin, the easier it is to get your complexion looking flawless for the camera."
I will put the expert advice above into practice. Still, before I sign off I'd like to share my three totally unconventional and potentially useless tips for looking good during FaceTimes/Zoom Chats/Google Hangouts/Skype Meetings/whatever involves people seeing my face when I've been away from my salon and spa for two weeks.
Insist on Zoom as your video chat tool of choice
Why? Because it is the only tool I am aware of that has a touch up option. Snapchat filter, but make it professional. It works wonders. The touch up is very natural looking and involves no sexy bunny ears whatsoever. Plus Zoom has several backgrounds you can choose from, so you can pretend you're taking a meeting from the beach.
Cover your face with a pet
No matter how gorgeous you are, every single one of us would rather see your furry friend. Sorry, you had to hear it from me, hottie.
Face the window
If you can, position yourself with a window in front of you and avoid artificial light. Try it and thank me later. It is shocking how few people know this simple trick. Take a selfie facing the window and then one with the window behind you. See the difference? This effect is even more amplified during video chats.
Turn on the Zoom filter, grab a pet face a window, listen to the experts, and crush your video chats.
Hit us up below with your tried and true tips for looking good while videoconferencing.
