Would you rather look good on camera or IRL?

MANILA, Philippines — Now that the dust has settled on the YouTuber pyramiding scheme of social influence, allow me to direct your attention to beauty that needs no filter.

Makeup artist to the stars and herself a celebrity in the industry, Ting Duque has clocked in 26 years of making the country’s most beautiful, like Charo Santos Concio, Bea Alonzo and Janine Gutierrez, even more radiant and blooming, or polished and sculpted — depending on the look they’re going for that day.

She recently gave a Tom Ford Beauty Master Class held inside Adora Makati. Here, Ting debunks one beauty vlogger hack after another.

I know: doing Tom Ford Beauty’s Face Architecture makeup on an already symmetrical and flawless face doesn’t sound nearly as inclusive as what the beauty vlogger community espouses — promising sculpted cheekbones and the sharpest jawline for all with contouring and highlighting techniques. In reality, it only looks good under certain lighting conditions and a beauty app filter. What Ting teaches is makeup that enhances. “YouTube makeup and Instagram makeup is okay, but this is something I do for shoots and clients,” she says.

It’s the kind that makes people go, “‘Ang ganda mo,’ hindi ‘ang ganda ng makeup mo,’” as host Issa Litton notes.

Tom Ford Beauty is the beauty expression of one of the boldest, trend-setting fashion houses, after all. The designer Tom Ford’s architecture background extends to how he flatters a man and woman’s figure in his clothing and accessories, and now his timeless beauty philosophy: perfect, sculpt and define. Here are some of Ting’s tips and tricks.

“Modern flawless.” That’s how Ting describes the complexion she creates: “An even skin tone. I still want to see the skin peeking out. It’s more current.” Ting begins by cleansing and toning the skin, followed by the Illuminating Primer then the Traceless Perfecting Foundation. “I use this during work. People I have worked it have experienced it. There are three formulas available in Manila. All have a skin-like, natural-looking finish that’s long-wearing and humidity-resistant. Each formula has light to medium coverage. You can get full coverage from the stick formula. They have a really good shade range.”

“It is unnatural to see most of the pigment on the sides of the face.” Using a flat brush, she applies coverage to the center of the face then stipples it out using the foundation brush, blending and buffing the foundation down to the neck. “The neck does not receive as much sun, so it is usually lighter than the face.

“To contour, they always say, ‘Start from the ear and bring it down.’ “But I’m more realistic,” she adds. “I believe it depends on where the light normally hits your face. I look at where the shadow usually is, and apply right on the shadow, directly under the cheekbone and not from the ear.” She applies a little at a time. “I’m being very conservative. I always bring it down, especially on the jawline.”

Ting conceals only after contouring. “Especially for dark circles, it is important to first kill the darkness. Even if you use a lighter concealer shade, if you don’t color correct, what happens is it becomes gray-correct. Apply concealer with an orangey or yellow tone that cancels out the purple of dark circles and then you can layer a concealer that’s the same skin tone as the rest of your face.”

“Anything that’s dark will push everything back. Everything light pushes it forward so the face is not flat.” As she explains it, the Tom Ford Conceal Pen is ideal for nasolabial folds. “It’s not a super matte concealer, it has a little sheen that bounces light.”

Ting uses her fingers to pack on any product with shine and glow, using the Illuminate balm in the compact on the high points of the face as well as the glitter shadow in the Photosynthesex palette. “For any sparkly shadow, use your fingers to pat it on and maximize the product more.”

For dimension and longevity, build depth and dimension by starting cream then stippling with powder. “Tom Ford eyeshadows can be used wet for bolder pigmentation or dry for a sheer finish. Not all eyeshadows can do that.”

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Tom Ford Beauty is in Adora, Greenbelt 5 and Rustan’s Department Store Makati.