One of the best things about make-up is the confidence it can bring to those with insecurities. Whether it’s having acne-prone skin, uneven eyebrows or dark circles – with the wave of a make-up brush – you can undergo a complete beauty transformation. Take a look at some of the heart-warming and jaw-dropping before and afters we’ve seen.
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Amazing acne transformation
When Em Ford posted this video of her ‘date night’ make-up on YouTube, her before and afters went viral. “I’m the first to admit that I have personal confidence issues,” she says. “Acne can take a huge chunk of what confidence and self-esteem you have away.” Since sharing her adult acne woes, she says “I’ve had so many comments, emails, tweets and messages about how I’ve helped other people accept who they are, accept their skin and make them feel beautiful when they look in the mirror and honestly, that makes me feel so happy.”
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Glam grandma
Grandmother to make-up artist Tea Flego, 80-year-old Livia is one lucky lady as Tea is constantly giving her make-overs. Needless to say, the difference is astonishing! And Livia doesn’t mind getting her glam on at all… “She is not ashamed of her wrinkles and age,” says Tea. “But she says, ‘Why wouldn’t I go to the nursing home ball with full make-up and look 30 years younger?’”
DIY dark circle concealer
We all know coloured concealer can work wonders at correcting imperfections, but we never considered using red lipstick to make dark circles disappear, until Deepica Mutyala showed us how. She explains in her YouTube video that for those with similar colouring to her, a bright orangey-red lipstick can be used to neutralise dark under-eye bags. Deepica explains, “Why go and spend money on something [new, when] you can actually just use the products you have at home.”
bh recommends: ulta3 Flame Vs Plum – Moisturising Lipstick in fire breather and MUD Lipstick in Red Roulette
The power of make-up
When YouTuber Nikkie De Jager only applied make-up to half of her face, it showed just how powerful make-up can be. But the real message behind her half-face transformation had to do with why we apply make-up. “I’ve been noticing a lot lately that girls have been almost ashamed to say that they love make-up,” she says at the start of her video. “[Be]cause nowadays, [if] you say that you love make-up, you either do it because you want to look good for boys, you do it because you’re insecure, or you do it because you don’t love yourself.” She goes on to explain that she wears make-up because it’s fun and she loves to apply it – not for any other reason. This then sparked the start of #ThePowerOfMakeup campaign, with YouTubers and bloggers all over the world sharing their half-face of make-up and the reasons they choose to wear it.
The eyes have it
Following from Nikkie’s video, a woman in South Korea also created a half-face, but this time she started with a full face and then removed her make-up from one side. The video went viral because of the massive difference between her eyes once she revealed the finished result. The eye with make-up looks almost double in size!
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Natural make-up for men
We often forget how lucky we are as women to be able to use make-up to cover our imperfections, but men too want perfect skin. So when Jake-Jamie (The Beauty Boy) uploaded a video showing how men can conceal their dark circles and make their skin look flawless (without it being obvious that they’re wearing make-up), we and many others applauded him. “I have been amazed at the level of support, and how quickly my following has grown,” he said.
“I was also amazed at the amount of messages I received from straight males, just wanting to make their skin look perfect – and why shouldn’t they? We live in a modern world, and us men are worth it too.”
