Is it AI, or a real face?
I’ve noticed something scary this year that’s becoming all too common. As makeup artists, we’re used to clients showing us inspiration images, it’s great, and it’s crucial for communication. But it’s shocking how many of those faces aren’t even real. So many of the images I’m shown are AI.
My clients are always surprised and ask, “But how can you tell it’s AI??”…
Firstly, these are images we are constantly being shown so we know they are filtered and we can tell when it’s not real because it’s simply just too perfect. There isn’t a pore, a line, an imperfection in sight. Which is just simply NOT real. Filters are overused, unnecessary, and they’ve become the new normal. Everywhere you look online, skin is blurred to plastic and eye colours are edited into something unrecognisable.
As a makeup artist, I find that these filtered images take the joy out of appreciating real beauty. Good editing has its place, and when it’s done well, it enhances. But the filters I’m talking about are the ones that completely change a face. And clients bring these images to us expecting them to be recreated. A makeup artist cannot replicate Photoshop, it’s impossible.
What people forget is that highly edited images have a whole team behind them. Hours of shooting, lighting, retouching, producing, it’s a different world entirely.
Of course, filters and lighting have their place. A small tweak to undertones, a slight crop, a gentle brighten, these tools help correct what cameras distort. But when the filter creates a new face entirely, it’s disappointing.
I’ve lost count of how many clients joke: “You’ll need Polyfilla for my face!” It breaks my heart. Babe, I don’t want Polyfilla, and I definitely don’t carry it in my kit.
Here’s what I do see: your eye colour, the sparkle, the shape. Your bone structure. High cheekbones, full lips, beautiful full brows, soft arches, the perfect forehead. Give me a face and I’ll bring out its best features. I don’t see the ‘flaws’ that you fixate on.
What worries me most is the younger audience who might compare themselves to these unattainable images. Even in my 30s I sometimes catch myself doing it. If it affects us as adults, imagine being a teenager again, when everything already feels awkward and heavy. Social media makes filters seem normal and attainable, and that’s the dangerous part.
My job is to help you look your best, not filtered, not blurred, not plastic. Everyone has texture, pores, scars, little lines.
Sometimes I panic when texture shows in a photo… then I remind myself we’re human. I love showing real beauty. The confidence behind the smile, the way the eyes crease when someone laughs… that’s what makes a face beautiful.
So next time you sit in a makeup artist’s chair, tell them the feature you love about yourself. They’ll love you for it.
Lauren x
