Do We Need to Look Our Best?

Of course we do!

We know how hectic it can be to bake, pack, clean up and deliver. Or meet with a client then rush to meet deadlines. There is no time to fix ourselves. The star of the show is our products not us, anyway.  So, why bother? Well, we should because our overall appearance can make an impact on our image as a business owner.  Our look can define how we run our business.  As home bakers and  home cooks, we need to look neat, clean and presentable. I mean, would you trust a baker with dirty fingernails? 

We talked to the “experts” Professional Makeup Artist Rae Salazar and Wedding and Food Photographer Noel Salazar about our concerns and they shared their recommendations.

Good Skin Care

“ Start and invest in your  skin… skin care is your best friend…alam mo pag gising mo ang fresh mo na. Additional nalang ang makeup.”

Rae Salazar

Having good skin certainly has a lot of advantages.  We can look fresh and young if our skin is healthy. We would need minimal makeup too! This means more time for our products. Isn’t that great? So, let us invest in good skin care!

But wait,  wouldn’t that be expensive and time consuming? 

Not at all. 

Having good and healthy skin doesn’t need a gazillion products and procedures.   Aside from maintaining a balanced diet, all you need is cleanse, tone and use moisturizer with spf.  Also, don’t underestimate the power of keeping hydrated! 

MakeUp In 5 Minutes

Sometimes, even with diligent care for our skin we can’t help but have late nights, bad days, hormonal changes and other skin emergencies.  This time we need makeup to cover our flaws and enhance our best features. 

And as promised, Rae has given us tips to be Zoom ready in 5 minutes with the use of only 5 tools!

Full Coverage Foundation Powder

This is to prepare the canvas which is your face. Apply  a thin layer of full coverage foundation powder all over your face.. This is to cover some imperfections such as puffy eye bags, slight redness of the skin and even out the skin tone.  This will act as your foundation, concealer and powder in one.  Use this with a brush for a more even coverage. 

Contour

Zoom or having meetings online can make you look flat. You need contouring to give your face the depth and life it needs.  Use a shade darker than the shade of your full coverage foundation powder. Dust them on your cheekbones, neck, nose line and temples. But don’t overdo it! Remember we are trying to go for something natural. 

Blush and Lip Tint

These add color to your cheeks and lips making you look rosy and healthy. Apply a light shade of blush on the apples of your cheeks for a healthy glow. Add a pop of color to your lips by applying a tinted lip balm. This is a great way  to moisturize dry chapped lips while looking Zoom-worthy!  

Eyes

We just want something natural and simple. Yup, no dramatic dark smokey eyes for a Zoom meeting. We aren’t competing in a beauty contest! HAHAHAHA

Mascara can do wonders in lifting those tired peepers.  Apply a coat or two and it will do wonders for your eyes. It would also not hurt to apply some neutral eyeshadows to add a bit of color to your lids. 

Eyebrows

Well-groomed eyebrows are key to a neat and presentable look.  Trim, brush and clean excess eyebrow hair. Fill in spots with sparse or less hair to make your eyebrows look even. Go for eyebrow pencil colors that are close to your hair shade. Safe colors for Asians would be chestnut or ash brown. Here’s a quick guide to make those eyebrows dandy in a jiffy!

Also, check out this course Make Up 101 for all the essentials you’ll need in knowing the best kind of makeup suited for you!

Tips and Tricks For The Camera

That wasn’t too hard, was it? It’s nice to know that we don’t need a luggage full of makeup and brushes to achieve a well-groomed look.  But there’s more tips and tricks to look even better especially for online meetings! 

“ First, have a good night’s sleep. Second, get a camera with a better resolution. Third, achieve good lighting through natural or artificial light.”

Noel Salazar

There is no substitute for a solid eight hours of sleep.  It will really show! Your eyes are more alive, your skin is clearer and you’ll look fresh and ready to handle anything.

Getting an expensive external camera for online meetings is really not necessary.  Most phones now have great front cameras that work just fine. But if you have the budget, then, why not?

With online shopping nowadays, getting a ring light is easy peasy! That’s basically all you need to illuminate your face. If this isn’t available, natural light to the rescue! Just position yourself in front of a window with a sheer curtain and you are good to go! …Uhhh, make sure your meeting is during the day!

Oh and Noel added that your camera angle matters.  We should position our camera higher than our faces.  This would “hide”  flaws such as double chins and wide faces.  We want to have leaner features, right? Also, avoid slouching! This would give an air of being unprepared. Sitting up straight, on the other hand, will make you appear confident, prepared and ready to take on life’s challenges!

Our Products Too!

Now that we’re all set and Zoom ready, let’s talk about how to make our products drool-worthy on our social media pages! Most of us eat with our eyes first. Let’s admit it, better food pictures usually have the edge over ones that aren’t really scrumptious to look at.

The question is how do we take good food pictures? Do we really need an expensive camera to have beautiful images?

The answer is NO! You don’t need an expensive camera to make your food look amazing in pictures. Phones nowadays have good quality cameras and you should take advantage of this. However, there are still a few guidelines that we need to follow to capture great food photos. Noel shared practical tips and tricks to get us started.

It is important to light your food.  But never use flash as it can flatten the image.  A light source can give shadows and show textures making the subject more interesting. Artificial light is good as you can shoot anytime fo the day. But if you don’t have access to artificial light yet, natural light can help you create stunning images too!

Another tip would be to highlight your food’s best and unique feature. Focus on the cake’s chocolate drip, the fresh strawberry on top of a cupcake, the juicy meatballs on a spaghetti platter and the bite mark on a brownie. You get the drift, right? The Bailiwick Academy has a course on mobile photography if you want to learn more. Here’s a sneak peek:

Now, let’s go shoot some awesome food photos!!!

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