How To Replicate The Viral Passport Photo Makeup
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Taking passport photos can be stressful because these pictures are meant to last. If you end up with a photo you don't like, you're usually stuck with it for the next 10 years. Some people are naturally photogenic, sure, but a good makeup routine helps. In April 2022, Tiktok user Georgia Barratt went viral for her step-by-step passport makeup routine that resulted in a flawless photo, which will serve looks for the next decade.
"This look is all about contour," explains Barratt in the tutorial. Barratt revealed that she doesn't usually contour so heavily for her everyday look. However, this routine is meant to enhance her facial features in the flash of the camera. In good lighting, minimal makeup may be your friend, but in the harsh lighting of a photo booth, Walgreens camera stall, or wherever your passport photo is being snapped, heavy makeup can add some glow back into your face.
@georgia.barratt Reply to @petassnym yes I’ve got as it was on repeat the whole way through #xyzbca #beauty #makeup
Whether you're getting ready to renew your passport or have your passport photo taken for the first time, this viral passport makeup tutorial will have you looking picture perfect in no time.
Brush those eyebrows up and out
The very first step, according to Georgia Barratt's tutorial, is to brush your eyebrows up using a spoolie and hair gel. Barratt's product of choice is Schwarzkopf's Got2b Glued hair gel. Once you've coated your spoolie in gel, brush your eyebrows up and at an angle to create lift and a fuller structure. Be sure to maintain the arch of your brows as you go and don't worry about any sparse spots. You'll fill them in in a later step.
If you'd rather use brow gel than hair gel, you can achieve the same results. Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel, Benefit Cosmetics 24-HR Brow Setter Shaping & Setting Gel, Refy Brow Sculpt Shape and Hold Gel with Lamination Effect, and Makeup by Mario's Master Hold Brow Gel are just a few products Elle recommends. If you want to go for a simpler option, you can press a spoolie into a bar of soap to sculpt your brows.
Prime and hydrate your face
After her brows are set, Georgia Barratt applies a skin care product — this would be a good time for moisturizer — and then works in a hydrating primer. Barratt opted for Rose Glow Hydrating Primer by The Beauty Crop. A good primer provides a base for the foundation and other products needed for this look, so make sure you apply a thin layer over your entire face.
Pro makeup artist Christine Cherbonnier told Vogue, "Some makeup primers are a miracle when addressing specific skin types or challenges when preparing skin for makeup."
Primers run the gamut when it comes to price. In the $35 to $55 range, Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Primer, Chanel Base Lumière Illuminating Makeup Base, and Ilia True Skin Radiant Priming Serum are all great options, according to Vogue. But don't discount the cheaper products – they can work just as well. Byrdie recommends NYX Professional Makeup Marshmellow Smoothing Primer (retails for $16) and Too Faced Hangover Primer (retails for $18). Barratt's primer of choice is even cheaper at $14.99.
Lay the foundation and conceal, conceal, conceal
The building blocks of makeup really begin in step three — the foundation stage. You'll want a full coverage foundation as the base of this look, as it will create a solid canvas from which to build. Georgia Barratt uses Nars Radiant Long Wear Foundation, which retails for $49. However, you can achieve the look with a different product.
In an interview with Forbes, celebrity makeup artist Jamie Greenberg explains that the best foundations provide even coverage and have nourishing ingredients. Lancôme's Tent Idole Ultra 24H Long Wear Matte Foundation and MAC Pro Longwear Nourishing Waterproof Foundation are great full-coverage options (via Forbes). If you're looking for a more budget-friendly option, Almay's Clear Complexion Make Myself Clear Makeup is a solid choice. It retails for only $10 (via New York Post).
After applying foundation, Barratt uses Beauty Crop Vitamin Babe Concealer ($12.99) under her eyes and on her eyelids. She then carves out underneath the brow line and the space between the brows using a slightly lighter shade of contour to make her brows look as symmetrical as possible.
Contour and shape
Contour is everything in this makeup routine. Georgia Barratt focuses on her temples, the top of the cheekbones, nose, chin, and jawline, going for an OTT (over-the-top) contour. Georgia Barratt uses the Pink Honey Bronzing Face Frosting cream contour in the shade Toffee Truffle, which retails for $19.99.
Follow a standard contour template and define the hairline, including the forehead, around your temples, cheekbones, jawline, and sides of the nose. Barratt creates the illusion of a more pointed chin by spreading the contour out from the center toward her jawline. Follow the natural contour of your eyelids out from the corner of your eye toward the end of your eyebrow.
Next, Barratt uses Maybelline New York Instant Age Rewind Concealer in the corner of the eyes, along the bridge of the nose, middle of the chin, and the T-zone of the forehead. After blending the concealer, she adds additional concealer below the cheekbone contour and blends to further accentuate the shadowing.
Set your makeup
At this point in the look, with the structural details in place, Georgia Barratt goes in with a setting powder to mattify and set the makeup for the next steps in the glam process. She specifies that this technique aims to get rid of under-eye bags. In her tutorial, she uses a combination of very affordable setting powders: Maybelline Fit Me Loose Finishing Powder and SheGlam Insta-Ready Setting Powder. She uses a beauty blender to really push the setting powder into the skin.
Loose powder is really key here. "I recommend a finely milled powder that won't settle into lines," celebrity makeup artist Jamie Dorman told People. If you're looking for a higher-quality setting powder, check out Chanel's Poudre Universelle Libre Natural Finish Loose Powder or the cheaper yet very effective Beauty Bakerie Face Flour – both of which have been named among the best setting powders of 2022 by People.
Add some shimmer
Next, it's time to add some bronzing powder over the areas you contoured. Bronzer can deepen the contour and add a shimmery, sunkissed appearance to the skin. Makeup artist Kasey Spickard told Glamour that people with fair skin should opt for a bronzer that has more neutral undertones, while bronzers with more of a reddish-orange undertone can work better for tan, olive, or darker skin tones.
In her passport photo makeup tutorial, Georgia Barratt uses Benefit Cosmetics Hoola Bronzer in the shade Caramel, which retails for $32. Barratt isn't the only one who likes this bronzer — reviews are overwhelmingly positive. As one reviewer wrote, "I always come back to this bronzer, time and time again. It has the most natural colour and finish and sits on my dry and sensitive skin very well." Nevertheless, you can find cheaper alternatives that work very well. According to Glamour, Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer Murumuru Butter Bronzer and Tower 28 Beauty Bronzino Illuminating Bronzer can bronze your skin for $16 and $20, respectively.
Work in a little color
It's time to add some color! Apply just a couple dabs of liquid blush above each cheekbone, extending toward the temple. Although Georgia Barratt doesn't disclose which liquid blush she uses, Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty has earned rave reviews from Good Housekeeping for its Soft Pinch Liquid Blush. Another good liquid option is Makeup by Mario Soft Pop Blush Stick. Alternatively, you can use a blush oil, like Youthforia's Color Changing Blush Oil (via Glamour).
Georgia Barratt also uses powder blush — BPerfect Cosmetics Scorched Blusher – on her eyelids and temples. Similarly, makeup artist Joseph Carrillo is all about using two shades of blush. "The softer shade is to look like a wash of color on temples, hairline, [and] cheekbones," he told Allure, "[and the bold shade is] buffed out around the temple and on the outer part of the eye and high points of the cheekbone."
Highly reviewed powder blush options include Chanel Jouse Contraste Powder Blush ($45), Makeup By Mario Powder Blush ($24), and Patrick Ta Double-Take Crème & Powder Blush ($34).
Get ready to bake
In the next step of her tutorial, Georgia Barratt uses a beauty blender to apply Laura Mercia Translucent Powder, adding a significant amount of the powder under her cheekbones, under her eyes, and around her contoured nose and letting it sit before blending. This is known as "baking."
"Baking is a method of using a shine and oil-absorbing loose powder to set the makeup, but also layered on thick to adjust color and highlight," Nick Lujan, director of education and artistry at Kevyn Aucoin Beauty, explained to Ipsy. Simply let the powder sit for five to 10 minutes as it works its magic, and then brush away any excess powder.If you're not a fan of Laura Mercia Translucent Powder, you can achieve the same results with Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish or the much more affordable Blk/Opl True Color Soft Velvet Finishing Powder.
Now that you have the ingredients, get baking!
It's time to wing it
It's time to apply your eye makeup. Georgia Barratt's tutorial calls for a "fox eye." This technique differs from a traditional wingtip because it calls for lining the inner corner of your eye in addition to the outer. This creates more of a lifted appearance. Barratt uses brown eyeliner to achieve the look, but you could elect to use black for a darker, bolder look. The first step is to create a small wing. "You almost want it to look like another eyelash," Barratt explained. Then, on the inner corner of your eye, lightly apply the liner going toward your nose to elongate your eye into more of an exaggerated almond shape.
As you'll be working close to your waterline, you may want to opt for a waterproof eyeliner to ensure smudge-free application. Dior Eyeliner Waterproof in Intense Brown and Maybelline Unstoppable Waterproof Eyeliner in Cinnabar are great options (via Byrdie).
Focus on your lashes
Continuing with the eyes, it's time to curl your lashes. If you don't already have an eyelash curler, Surratt Beauty Relevée Lash Curler and the Kaasage Eyelash Curler come highly recommended (Via The Cut). Similar to what Barratt instructs in her tutorial, celebrity makeup artist Mélanie Inglessis told Self that it's imperative to curl your lashes before you add mascara because they can actually break if they're curled while coated in product. Once your lashes are curled to perfection, you can move on to mascara. Georgia Barratt instructs that the best technique for this passport photo-ready look is to focus the mascara application on the outer lashes.
Although Barratt uses just one mascara, you can use more if you need additional volume. Inglessis recommends using a combination of mascaras designed with different functions (lengthening and volumizing, for example). Just be sure to allow each application to fully dry. Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara and Maybelline's Lash Sensational Sky High Mascara play well together and alone.
Finish your brows with a pencil or powder
Now, to finish what was started in the very first step of this makeup tutorial, fill in and darken your eyebrows, with an emphasis on symmetry. You want to darken them enough to compensate for bad lighting. Georgia Barratt squares off the inner corner of her brows and methodically fills them in, working her way to the tail, using Revolution Relove Blade Brow pencil. However, you can achieve a similar brow with E.l.f. Cosmetics Instant Lift Brow Pencil, Haus Laboratories Edge Precision Brow Pencil, or True + Luscious Brow Definer Pencil (via Allure).
If you need more definition in your brows, consider using brow powder instead. In an interview with Elle, celebrity makeup artist Tasha Brown revealed, "My go-to technique is to use a brow powder and create small, hair-like strokes in the direction the hair grows in the brows. Then I finish with a generous coating of tinted brow gel for a clean, believable effect." This will create a defined, symmetrical look.
Finalize the look by overlining and glossing your lips
You've made it to the final step: the lips. "We're gonna majorly overline our lips," Georgia Barratt instructs.
Using a lipliner pencil, exaggerate your lip shape. When you're looking at the camera head-on, your lips will appear full and defined. In a separate of her TikTok makeup tutorial, Georgia Barratt said she recommends the Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Liner in Chai, although you should pick a shade that compliments the natural shade of your lips. Patrick Ta Precision Lip Crayon, L'Oreal Paris Matte Lip Liner, and REVLON's ColorStay Lip Liner are all good choices (via Byrdie).
Once you have your defined shape, apply nude lipgloss, blending it into the inner line of the lipliner. Georgia Barratt uses Palm Beauty Suncream. Fenty Beauty by Rihanna's Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer and Glossier's Lip Gloss are other highly rated options. Or, if you want an even fuller look, try Too Faced Lip Injection Maximum Plump Extra Strength Lip Plumper (via Forbes).