When it comes to lights, camera, action, the last thing you want to get in the way of a great showing is an underperforming complexion. In today’s men’s makeup blog, I’ll be running you through an eight step routine, to help you master the perfect look in front of the camera. Due to the variety of camera angles, lenses and lighting, that can all cause distortions and inconsistencies on your face’s skin tone and ability to look fresh and healthy, a large proportion of male actors, TV presenters and reality stars simply have to turn their attention to men’s makeup.


I’d personally recommend powdered products for men, as these harbor a better ability to maintain a shine free finish during even the most intense filming sessions. If you are bald also, powdered products can be applied to your head also, to reduce light bounce back and shine. After working with several actors over the past eighteen months, quite rightly, the most desired look on screen is a natural ‘no makeup’ makeup appearance, as mastering this incredibly subtle look will ensure you are not remembered for all the wrong reasons.


During filming of my recent BBC1 documentary and various news interviews, I was really able to test and tweak my own makeup routine, to ensure my skin looked flawless, natural and truly HD ready. I put together a male grooming regiment that every guy can follow, in order to achieve a truly campion complexion. Beginning with men’s skin primer, before moving onto the likes of foundation, concealer and just a smidgen of clear mascara, I was able to master a true men’s makeup routine, perfect for television.


I started off by applying a men’s skin primer all over my face, in the same way I would apply my normal daily moisturiser. It was important that my skin was fully cleansed beforehand and allowed to dry, before taking this first step into men’s TV makeup. A men’s skin primer is essentially a silky smooth makeup base that prepares the skin for makeup application and creates a healthy barrier between your skin and cosmetics. Let it dry for about 60 seconds, before moving onto step two.


Next, I used a mineral matte foundation in a powder form and gently applied this over my face, concentrating on areas of my skin that had more blemishes. The natural blanket of coverage that came with applying this product offers the first real enhancing element of this regime and with its matte finish, it doesn’t look feminine in the slightest. Finish your foundation application with a light layer all over your face to unify your skin tone, before moving onto the next step.


Step three involved targeting any lingering blemishes and imperfections on my face with a men’s concealer. A simple dab onto these confidence cripplers and blend in with my finger tip did just the trick and within a couple of minutes of application, my skin looked completely flawless. You could even use a blending brush for this, if you have more severe imperfections, but for me, blending in with my finger tip was extremely effective.


The next two products I used were a matte finish men’s bronzing powder, such as MMUK MAN’s in the colour 300 and an Anti-Shine Powder, sometimes called Translucent Pressed Powder. Apply the bronzer lightly across the areas of your face that would naturally catch the sun, such as the cheeks, bridge of your nose and forehead, before blotting your face with the anti-shine powder, concentrating specifically on the t-zone, which tends to secrete more oil.


To finish, a slight application of clear mascara really perked up my eyes and made them look more awake, perfect if you know your days on screen are going to be long and a gentle application of clear brow gel, just to bring them a little conformity too. The idea behind the clear formulas are that they remain completely unnoticeable and offer very subtle enhancement to your face, whilst creating a wonderful ‘no makeup’ appearance. If you’re a guy like me, who rocks a bit of facial hair, a touch of beard filler on thinning areas will really bulk up your beard and remove the appearance of any patches. Beard filler is an absolute gold mine in the men’s cosmetic department and for such a simple product, it can take you an entirely long way.


With these eight product forming a fantastic men’s makeup routine for TV, you are really able to master a memorable complexion. If you need advice on what shade of products to try, or even require my services, feel free to get in touch and I’ll do all I can to assist. Until next time gentlemen, it’s lights out.