A dab of mascara, a hint of blush, and you’re ready to roll with that homemade makeup look. Most often, it’s stunning as it is, but in the world of makeup, god is in the details. And one Russian make-up artist Julia Ismailova is showing what a day and night difference a little subtlety can make.
From adding a touch of bronzer on the cheeks for a sun-kissed look to simply smudging bold eyeliner to make eyes look bigger, Julia’s transformations are all about little details that go a long way. In a series of Instagram posts, she has put side-by-side pictures of makeup done by her and the girls themselves, and the result is truly surprising. Check out the looks down below and let us know which ones you like better!
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Bored Panda reached out to Julia Ismailova, Moscow-based professional makeup artist and the founder of the beauty studio Makeup Cultura.
She told us that the idea of recreating women’s makeup came naturally after she realized that most of her clients who came to Julia’s individualized makeup classes would wear heavy makeup. “It didn’t complement these girls at all,” she said.
Julia then took a picture of her client before the lesson while she was wearing her go-to homemade makeup and compared it with the "after" look that was done under Julia’s guidance. After posting the picture on Instagram, “I received outstanding feedback from my audience—they loved it!”
The makeup artist said that usually, “Women see the tiniest flaws on their faces, but do not realize how beautiful and unique they truly are.”
That’s why so many of them use makeup to hide and cover up their flaws, but “this is so wrong,” Julia said. But makeup is an opportunity to "let yourself shine and show the world what’s unique about your appearance.”
Julia never does the transformations according to her personal tastes. “The result of all my clients’ transformations is our joint effort and creativity,” and she calls it “a co-creation.” As a result, she never tries to break habits, but rather “corrects them.”
Chances are, there are a few more face creams and lipsticks right there in your bathroom cabinet than there used to be, like two years ago. But it’s not just you. In fact, the beauty industry has been among the fastest-growing in the past 5 years and it’s nowhere near ready to stop.
As of 2019, the global beauty industry was valued for $532 billion with the US being the world’s largest beauty market. Meanwhile, the cosmetic products market keeps growing in an upright direction. Zion Market Research has shown that it will reach a whopping $863 billion in 2024.
Forbes reports that the beauty consumer, aka you and me, is also changing alongside the booming market. We now “define beauty” and demand an “inclusive and authentic image” to which we can relate. In the past, beauty adverts used to communicate aspirational ideas and unattainable standards, but these days, more than ever, brands celebrate real and natural beauty.
I like the before pic better, the makeup pic makes her look like a real doll.
No way!!! She completely changed her vibe!! She was rocking the dark lipstick cat eye look and she made her face look so plain which completely throws off her look and takes away from it!! I live for punk style how dare you dampen it down like that!!
Before is better. Don't obliterate her personality. Don't cover up her beautiful skin. Don't make her blush and lips TOO PINK !!
BEFORE is better. Just take away the green eye-shadow and she's all set. AFTER PHOTO - you made her TOO PINK !!! You've got an obsession with PINK FACES !!
I like how the artist didn’t choose only models, so most of these women look like actual people, which is unusual for these kind of posts. I also like how the artist chose not to change their looks drastically, and mostly kept their styles.
The artist only did things that they can do easily themselves at home. That's the only kind of makeover most people want. A lot of people use the wrong colors, too. All she did was set them straight.
Load More Replies...I am so pleased to see that the most of the make up was more on the natural side rather than the bright or dark eye shadows, ridiculous amounts of contouring, fake eyelashes etc. The make up was done nicely and gave most of these women a fresher look.
Kind of depends for me. I normally go with natural looks, but every now and then I just want to do kind of creepy, dramatic looks. Like going for a gothic look or a dead girl kind of look. Sometimes it isn't about making myself look pretty as much as it about me wanting to look drastically different. Weird makeup was the reason why I got into makeup in the first place, but I do agree people look better when the makeup looks more natural.
Load More Replies...it's great that make up artist chose very subtle make up, unlike those cartoonish make up that looks kinda acceptable only in photos. It's very subtle make up which only just brings up good features in these women. Tutorial, please!
I like how the artist didn’t choose only models, so most of these women look like actual people, which is unusual for these kind of posts. I also like how the artist chose not to change their looks drastically, and mostly kept their styles.
The artist only did things that they can do easily themselves at home. That's the only kind of makeover most people want. A lot of people use the wrong colors, too. All she did was set them straight.
Load More Replies...I am so pleased to see that the most of the make up was more on the natural side rather than the bright or dark eye shadows, ridiculous amounts of contouring, fake eyelashes etc. The make up was done nicely and gave most of these women a fresher look.
Kind of depends for me. I normally go with natural looks, but every now and then I just want to do kind of creepy, dramatic looks. Like going for a gothic look or a dead girl kind of look. Sometimes it isn't about making myself look pretty as much as it about me wanting to look drastically different. Weird makeup was the reason why I got into makeup in the first place, but I do agree people look better when the makeup looks more natural.
Load More Replies...it's great that make up artist chose very subtle make up, unlike those cartoonish make up that looks kinda acceptable only in photos. It's very subtle make up which only just brings up good features in these women. Tutorial, please!