How to Make a Makeup Tutorial on Instagram

Beauty and makeup tutorials on Instagram have taken off in recent years. These quick, punchy videos help people discover techniques and tricks to using makeup that they might not have known before. Along the way, beauty influencers have used it as a platform to not only reach audiences with their advice, but also gain sponsorship from cosmetics companies.

However, most might find it surprising that it isn’t easy to put together even a 30-second makeup tutorial video. There’s a lot going on in the background of what looks like a simple thing, yet the final outcome makes it all seem like an effortless one-person endeavor. Here’s a look at how to put together a makeup tutorial for Instagram that really pops and draws attention.

Find the Right Space

The first requirement is a clear, bright space for filming. The room should use natural light as much as possible. There should also be plenty of space for the cameras and crew, as well as sound equipment, lighting, and everything else that’s required for clean, crisp production. In other words, you don’t want to be doing this in a cramped bedroom if you want it to look professional once you upload it.

Get Your Kit Ready

You should also gather your materials. This includes the obvious things, like the makeup itself, the vanity mirror, and other essentials. Bring more than you would actually need, in case something goes wrong and you need to re-apply anything. Unless your tutorial is happening live, it’s great to have the makeup on hand to correct or re-do anything in case you make a mistake.

Test Your Lighting

Lighting is important, of course! Some folks get by with using a window in the back for natural light, but this isn’t always an option. You’ll want to use professional lighting options like those provided by Soonwell, and have someone position them properly. You want the lights to accentuate your features and highlight the good while helping downplay the bad. It’s smart to conduct a lighting test at the start, to get an idea of how it looks on camera.

The Perfect Camera

A high-resolution, high-quality camera is important. The point of this is to make a video tutorial, so the camera is of vital importance. While you don’t need a professional film camera like the ones used in movies, you might want to spend a little to get something with better specifications than your webcam or just any old phone camera. Make sure it’s a dedicated video camera, rather than one meant for still images where movies are a secondary function.

Putting Together the Tutorial

Pick a topic to cover in the tutorial. This gives your video something to focus on, and a limitation to help with the planning. In fact, picking the topic itself can be quite the process.

Broad Strokes or Specific Tricks?

For starters, do you want to cover a more common topic? If that’s the case, you’ll want to do something to stand out from the other tutorials out there. If you’re tackling something that isn’t commonly covered, that could be a great idea. It makes your tutorial unique and interesting and gives the opportunity to build an audience that a broader topic might not.

A few ideas related to focused tutorials would be going for specific techniques or skin types. For instance, there are a thousand and one (or more) tutorials that cover an overall style or look, but how many do you see teaching how to apply eyeliner or giving your lips a nice, natural red look? Makeup also reacts differently if your skin is dry, so that could be a good topic.

Introducing the Inspiration

If you’re taking inspiration from somewhere, like a celebrity, start the tutorial with that. Introduce what you’re doing at the beginning, so your audience knows what you’re building towards.

Make an Outline

It is a good idea to have a guideline on the step by step, so you don’t get lost during the process itself. Yes, you’ve done it a thousand times before, but just keep the notes handy. Sometimes the mind just goes blank when the camera is pointed at us. Making the notes also helps reinforce the order things should be done, making for a much clearer tutorial.

Focus On the Hard Parts

For delicate parts or things that may be over slowly, include close-ups or freeze-frame shots. This can help people get a better look at that part of the process, rather than risk blinking and missing it.  Be sure to keep your voiceover going through this and providing needed clarification at the same time, to keep people from becoming confused.

Build Hype

Announce the tutorial ahead of time. You can do this either by adhering to a reliable schedule such as weekly videos or through announcements on your Instagram on when the next video will go live. This creates hype and builds anticipation, making sure you reach the biggest possible audience.

Proper Presentation

During the filming of the tutorial itself, stay relaxed and be as natural as possible when you talk. If you’re nervous, you might ramble or come across as stiff, which hurts your credibility. Be relaxed and calm. Most audiences also like it if you keep conversational and friendly, rather than treating it as a college lecture.

Audio and Captions

Keep in mind that there are times when people won’t be able to watch the tutorial with the sound on, so voice overs aren’t enough. At key points, stop and have captions of the instructions so people who can’t listen to you right now can follow along.

Before and After Shots

For makeup, having before and after shots can go a long way to showing off what you just covered. In other words, don’t hesitate to apply the makeup techniques on yourself as you cover the step by step. It helps you explain each part of the process and provides a clear visual transformation. Same goes with hairstyling tutorials. The still images of the before and after should be used as “punctuation marks.”

Conclusion

Makeup tutorials on Instagram look easy, effortless even. But they’re the result of a lot of hard work and preparation. Fortunately, these aren’t secrets and anyone willing to make the effort can put together a great tutorial for Instagram, too.