@georgia.barratt Reply to @petassnym, yes I have received as has been frequent all the way through #xyzbca #beauty #makeup
♬ original sound – georgia barratt
The last time I took a passport photo, I was 22 and headed to Costa Rica to teach English after graduating from college. I wore a plaid button-down, a muted red scarf, and absolutely no makeup. Somehow, I still look cute, it’s been almost 10 years since then, and yes, you guessed it – it’s time to get a new passport photo. I’ve already accepted the fact that it’s impossible to look cute in any photo without at least a little makeup, so when I saw viral makeup tutorials for the “perfect passport photo” on TikTok, I decided to test it out to see if it was worth all the hype.
The viral video, created by TikTok user Georgia Barratt, included more steps than my usual daily makeup, so not only did it take a while, but there were a few things I had to practice a few times before I could get it right. (I’m looking at you, winged eyeliner.) I followed Barratt’s instructions to a T, combining products I own that closely matched everything she used in her video.
The steps were a little confusing to follow, and while I was in the midst of putting on my makeup, there didn’t seem to be much rhyme or reason in the order of the application, but the end result was well worth it. Keep scrolling for a step-by-step guide to getting the perfect passport makeup look and check out the results for yourself.
Step one: clean your eyebrows
To start, I cleaned my eyebrows with brow gel to give them a full, lifted look. Any eyebrow gel is fine, as long as it has a strong hold that keeps the hair in place. In Barat’s video, she pulled the ends up and out and kept the hair square in the front sections, so she tried to copy her look completely.
Step 2: Apply a moisturizing primer
I’m not a big fan of primers, but Barratt’s next step is to use a hydrating primer. I chose to use Elf Cosmetics Halo Glow ($14) because it gives me a glowing base without the stickiness that I often get from using primers.
Step Three: Apply foundation and define eyebrows with concealer
Next, I applied my foundation using a small amount of the product to cover my face as I usually do. For concealer, I applied a little under my eyes. I also added the Kulfi Main Match Concealer ($26) under my brows to help sculpt them and give them a bold shape. In Barat’s video, she mentioned that sculpting her eyebrows helps them appear as symmetrical as possible, which is important because the passport photo will be taken live.
Step Four: Apply the “Over the Top” contour.
Barratt said in her video that she used an “OTT” (over the top) contour for this look, so I outlined the same areas of my face as I did: Above my temples, the high points of my cheeks, my nose, my chin and my jawline. At one point in her video, Barratt sucked up her cheeks and painted along the line through her cheeks with contour, so she did that too. I chose to use Milk Makeup Bionic Liquid Bronzer ($30), and finished it all off by adding a small amount of contouring to the corner of each eyelid.
Step Five: Add some concealer
Barratt added a little more concealer between her eyebrows and the corners of her eyes, but this time she chose a lighter concealer that looked three shades lighter than her skin tone. I don’t own a concealer this light, but I chose to use Lollis Conceal The Dell Concealer ($26), which was a little lighter than other concealers I’ve used.
Step 6: Tap your blusher
Following the steps in Barratt’s video, I took a small amount of liquid blush and applied three dots on the high points of each cheekbone, then blended the color using a blush brush.
Step Seven: Rinse the face with concealer
Although Barrett did indeed apply concealer, after adding blush, she added a little bit under the areas she had outlined on the cheeks. I did the same using a lighter than concealer.
Eighth step: set with powder
Next, I took Laura Mercier Translucent Powder ($40) and gently applied it to my face to set everything in place.
Step 9: Add bronzer
Next, I added bronzer to all the areas I had previously outlined with a cream contour: temples, cheeks, nose, chin, and jawline.
Step 10: Setting Powder Over Blush
Although I had already applied a small amount of liquid blush, at this point Barrett had applied powder blush to the high points of her cheeks as well as her eyelids, so she followed suit.
Step 11: Bake
Then I applied a heavier amount of translucent powder under my eyes, under my cheekbones, and around my nose with a beauty sponge. I let the powder sit while I completed the final steps of my makeup tutorial.
Step 12: Draw on the winged eyeliner
As I continued letting my powder “bake,” it started to sting my eyes. Barratt painted a little wing with a brown liquid liner in the corner of each eye, and stated that it should be simple and almost eyelash-like, but the goal is to have a fox look. To make it more intense, she also outlines the inner corner of the eye and slightly brings it out towards her nose. I rolled my eyes, and I’ve never been able to get the hang of winged eyeliner, so I don’t even own a liquid eyeliner product. Instead, I used the NYX Lift N’ Snatch Brow Tint Pen ($12) in brown. Surprisingly to me, it turned out so well.
Step 13: Curl eyelashes and apply mascara
The last step in the eye makeup process was very simple. I’ve used an eyelash curler for nearly 10 years to curl my eyelashes, and applied mascara with my current favorite, Tower 28 MakeWaves Mascara ($20). She kept the mascara bars centered on the outer corners of her eyes, and did the same thing, which I found to really lengthen my eyes is a trick I plan to continue using in the future.
Step 14: Fill in the eyebrows
This is the point in the tutorial when I filled in the bars of her eyebrows with a pencil, but I did this step in the beginning (oops). I have very sparse eyebrows, so I always choose to do them first when I apply my makeup.
Step 15: Buff lips and add gloss
I already have really big lips, so I thought I’d skip this step altogether, but I decided to go for it and I’m glad I did. I used Refy Lip Sculpt ($26) to frame my lips “highly,” then used Merit Beauty Shade Slick ($24) to give them a high gloss and shine.
If you stick it through the entire tutorial, I recommend it. I even had my doubts halfway through, but let me just say: The results were worth it. Although this process involved more makeup than I ever wear regularly (or plan to wear again), it was actually perfect for my passport photo and turned out to be amazing. While it may seem like a lot, if you’re looking for the perfect passport photo, this makeup tutorial is the way to get it done – my results prove it.
Image source: POPSUGAR Photography / Renee Rodriguez