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6 Reasons I Can Tell You Facetune

I love Facetune as much as the next girl, but there are rules. This isn’t ‘Nam. And if you’re not careful, you can easily go overboard. I’m here to show you the mistakes that are getting you caught. Zoom in on all images on mobile to see the differences.

1. Your Lips Are White

Wrong
Lips Are White
Right
Teeth Whitener, Right

Whitening your teeth is the probably the basic first instinct everyone has when editing a photo, and I see no shame in it. A whiter smile makes for a better photo. Whitening your lips, however, makes you look like you just blew Casper. To avoid whitening outside your actual teeth, utilize that zoom feature. If you screw up, erase. Don’t over-whiten, because it will look fake. You want your teeth to look pretty and natural, not blinding.


2. The Bags Under Your Eyes Completely Disappear

Wrong:
Invisible Bags
Right:
Slightly Smooth

It’s easy to overdo this. The bags/dark circles under your eyes make you look one hundred, and removing them will liven up your photo quickly. You’re fucking this up in two ways.

1. You’re “picking” one color under tones, and coloring in your entire dark circle. What you should do is “pick” a tone for the outer corner, the center, and the inner corner of your eye (pick from right below each section of your eye), and very lightly shade and blend your dark circle. It’s more work, but it looks more natural.

2. You’re double smoothing your entire under eye. You should instead zoom all the way in and smooth only the crease where the bag forms, not the whole bag. That bag is also the bottom of your eyeball. You can’t erase it completely, lest you look like an alien.


3. You Have No Lines On Your Face

Wrong:
Too Smooth
Right:
Slightly Smooth

This is my biggest pet peeve, though admittedly, when I first downloaded Facetune, I was the biggest culprit. You want to look airbrushed, so you smooth out every imperfection, and you feel like a goddess. Unfortunately, You are also removing lines that are supposed to be there, and in fact, need to be there, because you are a three dimensional figure. You need to avoid your smile line and any creases in your face, as well as the edge of your face, so you don’t blend into the background. I only smooth the very center of my forehead, and the center of my cheeks, so the skin is smoothed out, but the integrity of my face remains.

Important: The same holds true on your legs. It is natural to use the smooth feature to remove cellulite, but make sure you are only smoothing the center of your skin, and not blending your legs with the world. Use a light hand when you’re doing this, and avoid making your skin look one-dimensional, and unnatural.


4. Your Eyes Are Too Bright

Wrong:
Too Bright
Right:
Bright Eyes

The detail feature is perhaps my favorite feature on Facetune. It makes your eyes pop, which can really make an entire photo look much nicer, but it’s way too easy to make your eyes look creepy. You should only go over your eyes once, maybe twice. If you have dark eyes, be extra careful, so they don’t look beady. Again, zoom all the way in, and don’t detail any of the skin around your eyes, just your eyeballs and lashes. Erase anything outside your actual eye that’s highlighted.


5. You Have Wiggly Backgrounds

Wrong:
Wiggly
Right:
Skinny

Oh, how interesting that your fence molds itself to the shape of your body! This is the biggest indicator of Facetune and even guys can pick up on it. When you’re thinning yourself out, you need to be VERY careful that you’re not altering any of the solid shapes in the frame. Take notice of patterns on the walls behind you, and glasses in your hands. Make sure everything maintains its original shape, except you.

To do this, zoom ALL the way in, so that the only thing on your screen is the area you want to adjust. Facetune won’t move something that’s not in the frame. If a line moves slightly when you adjust your body, use the “Refine” feature (not the “Reshape” feature) to slowly inch it back. You may have to go back and forth moving your body away from the line in question, then moving the line back into position until both look how you want them to. Do not skimp on this.

Important: Don’t make your friend look fat in order to make yourself look skinny. People will know. She will know. Friendships have ended for less.


6. You Only Facetuned Yourself

Wrong:
Just You
Right:
Final Product

Not only are you giving yourself away, but you’re also an asshole. If you have smooth lines and bright eyes, while your friend is raw, dull, and unedited, it’s going to be obvious that this is not the version of you that graced the Earth. Take the extra two minutes to make sure everyone in your photo is enhanced. You want to stand out, but not in a way that makes it obvious you’re a liar.


Final Product

Original:
Original
Final:
Final Product

And voila! The final photo. Personally, I like to use the “lighter” or “expose” filter right within Facetune’s apps under “lighting.” It brightens up your pictures and makes them pop. The final product is a slightly enhanced photo, not an outright Photoshopped lie.

You’re fucking welcome.

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Veronica Ruckh

Veronica (@VeronicaRuckh) is the Director of Total Sorority Move for Grandex, Inc. After having spent her undergraduate years drinking $4 double LITs on a patio and drunk texting away potential suitors, she managed to graduate with an impressive GPA and an unimpressive engagement ring -- so unimpressive, in fact, some might say it's not there at all. Veronica has since been fulfilling her duties as "America's big," a title she gave to herself with the help of her giant ego. She has recently switched from vodka to wine on weekdays. Email her at [email protected]

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