Please make me look human on Zoom calls?

[MissPettigrewIsWFH]

45, dark hair, grey eyes, combination skin. I spend a LOT of time on Zoom and look awful. Ruddy, uneven skin, tired eyes, no "glow" at all. I feel old. What can I do?

Not interested in Botox/fillers etc and unlikely to find to time for a full face of makeup (start wok at between 0500 and 0630 to juggle child care) - are here magic tinted moisturisers etc I can use?

No big budget....

Decent lighting and positioning.

I say that knowing that I don't understand lighting at all and know that I mostly look like the (barely) undead. There are many videos about lighting on YouTube but I've never been able to frame a photograph or light it properly and I continue to fail at this.

I use soft lighting from a lamp and sit further away from the camera!

If my face is bothering me I just hide the view of me and instantly feel much better.

I figure everyone else already knows what look like so no need for be to see myself during every meeting.

I got all excited about the 'enhance my appearance' etc features people were talking about, until I realised that actually most of my calls are on Google Meet - which doesn't offer this feature. Pah!

Great advice on raising the laptop and improving lighting. And the No. 7 product looks worth investigation too. Thank you!

Cut out sugar and drink lots of water.
Take some floradix.
Go for brisk walks in the fresh air regularly.
Get your natural glow back.

If you have time, use a face mask weekly and and give yourself regular face massage using a gua sha or roller.

Positioning yourself so that the light comes from behind the camera- either a ring light, or sit facing a window- makes a big difference. But honestly, I think the one thing that is really noticeable on video calls is if there is a huge difference between the profile photo and the real person. I’m thinking those ones where someone has made a huge effort to have a carefully posed, angled, fully made-up, all the filters on photo, that means they inevitably look 20 years older in real life. I feel bad for people who are insecure enough to do that, but it’s also quite funny.

Ha! @LoobyDop - I know what you mean. Thankfully my profile pic is dire too so no shockers there!

The no7 thing is called beautiful skin. And apparently it’s BB not CC (not idea what the difference is)!

Another vote for ring light