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By dint of using filters on social networks, it seems increasingly difficult to accept yourself in a much less flattering light, whether in front of a mirror or in a passport photo. Something that has not escaped the notice of TikTok users who swear by “passport makeup”, an infallible method for successful ID photos.
Are you among those who are reluctant to take out their passport or driver’s license, failing to accept the photo affixed to the corner of said document? If it is now possible to start a photo over and over again, or even add a filter to it, to appear in its best light, passport photos are only rarely flattering, and for good reason… The required criteria for such a photo to be eligible are increasingly strict, with one fairly clear constraint: being recognizable.
A special passport makeover
Requirements that do not suit tiktokeurs, who favor style in the practical sense, despite the craze for more natural beauty observed since the start of the Covid pandemic. As a result, when a user revealed her passport photo, which shows her makeup like never before, the TikTok sphere simply ignited. For several weeks, the phenomenon has continued to rise on the Chinese social network to the point of seeing the hashtags #passportmakeup and #driverslicensemakeup accumulate more than 120 and 7 million views, respectively.
At stake ? A host of tutorials designed to boost your beauty potential on your passport photos. An unexpected trend that we owe to the user Georgia Barratt, whose tricks have already won over millions of users. The young woman, whose passport photo has already made the rounds on the web, would be at the origin of the ideal beauty treatment for this type of photo, bringing back the trend of contouring – and multiple layers of material – up to date.
A real phenomenon
In a video that has been shared tens of thousands of times, the user begins by brushing her brows for the perfect line, then applying a moisturizing primer before tackling the most delicate – and time-consuming – part of the complexion. It is a question of applying a foundation, a corrector, concealer, and to (re)start contouring… The idea being to camouflage all the small imperfections and to ‘lift’ the features of the face to obtain a flawless and radiant complexion. The features are stretched, the cheekbones prominent, and the complexion is worked in such a way as to draw the light to the points to be highlighted. All that remains is to enlarge the look with a line of eyeliner – as discreet as possible for the photo to be validated – and to do the same with the mouth with a gloss and a pencil. That’s it.
According to Georgia Barratt, this beauty would be validated by the authorities, and would make it possible to appear in its best light on a passport, a driver’s license, or an identity card. A statement that does not seem to have convinced all tiktokeurs, according to the comments posted under his video. “In theory, if you want to travel without makeup, you can’t…“, emphasizes a subscriber. “I prefer to be more beautiful in person than in the photo“, specifies another. If many users validate this specific beauty, they are also numerous to declare that the young woman does not look like the photo, and – by the way – that she is much better in the natural.
Demanding criteria
As a reminder, in France, an identity photo “must be similar“, can we read on the official website of the French administration. “The face should be clear, the hair should not cover the face, the ears should be clear, [et] the eyes must be perfectly visible and open“. In theory, the photo of Georgia Barratt meets all of these criteria, except for natural resemblance. A detail for you, but which probably means a lot for the administration, which can quite refuse a photo that does not comply with the requested requirements.