Six Steps To Stage Makeup
Show makeup is one of your most important accessories as a performer on stage. Yes, your Angel Competition Bikini is crucial but, what good is a stunning suit, if it hides the beautiful face sparkling behind it?
Step 1: No Spray Tan On The Face
While spray tanning is a given when it comes to body building shows, take it from a makeup expert: DO NOT spray tan the face. First of all a spray tan on your skin isn't just bad for your pores; it’s a massive source of pore clogging. Secondly, it makes blending in the makeup on your face difficult and messy, giving more of a muddy look, rather than flawless. Lastly it is not necessary. If you are using a foundation that is matching your tan, then a spray tan underneath is unneeded. Which brings me to step number two.
Step 2: Mix Foundation Colors
Speaking of spray tans. You want to make sure your foundation matches your spray tan. This may seem like an obvious one, but it is trickier than you think. Personally I find that a spray tan can vary drastically in color and shading depending on a number of things, such as the application and the athletes build for example. I recommend having on hand a dark chocolate shade, as well as an orange-based brown foundation. By having both shades of foundation, you have the ability to match the dark brown shade spray tans, and the orange toned tans. However, in my experience I find it best to mix the two bases in order to achieve a more effective blend into the tan as it transitions from the neck into the chest.
Step 3: Locking In The Look
Let’s start with bases: moisturizer, primer, translucent powder and setting spray. A hydration mask the night before would be a great idea, then in the morning right after washing your face use a daytime moisturizer.
Note: be sure to use a moisturizer that does NOT contain any spf, as it creates a flashback in photography and that’s the last thing you need in your stage photos.
Be sure to apply the moisturizer first thing in the morning to your skin so that it has a chance to soak it in before you start applying makeup, you don’t want it sliding around. In addition to face moisturizer do not forget about lip balm! My favorite brand is Nivea, and it is available at most drug stores for super cheap! This creates a great base for wearing lipstick all day long, which can be very drying on your lips. Next comes primer, after moisturizer this should be the very first thing you apply. Primer is one of the key elements to “locking it in” and creating a base for the makeup to stick to all day and night. Again, it is important to give the primer just a minute or two to settle and soak in before you start applying right on top of it, you don’t want your face sliding off before it has even begun. Once you have the look completed, be sure to add a translucent powder over the skin to set the liquid foundation in place, this is an important step to not only ensure that the makeup lasts throughout the day, but also to avoid a greasy or shiny look on stage under all those harsh stage lights.
Lastly but very important is setting spray. I am a makeup artist who loves to experiment with products and brands – a fancy way of saying I am a makeup junkie - so I’ll tell you what I like from drugstores and what I like from bigger brand names. My favorite to date is the Urban Decay “All Nighter: Long-Lasting Setting Spray”. It comes in small travel sizes for a much cheaper price if you are looking for something only to throw in your bag and go to stage with, however if you are a makeup fan yourself, the full sized one is more expensive, but if you look at the ml in each of the sizes you’ll see the bigger size is more for your buck. As for drugstore brands, much cheaper in price, however I find both the NYX setting sprays (They come in both dewy and matte finishes, I recommend matte for the stage) are good, and the L’Oreal: Infallible Makeup Extending Setting Spray is not bad either! Either way, once you have the entire look set with a spray, you are locked in and ready to strut the stage.
Step 4: Keeping The Essentials On Hand Backstage
Take a small makeup pouch of some kind (the little Ibsy ones are perfect and tiny) something that you can take with you backstage and pack the following
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a small dab of foundation with a small triangle sponge
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powder for the sweat and shine (you might underestimate how hot the stage lights can get)
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eyelash glue
Step 5: The Bigger The Better
When it comes to show/stage makeup, there is no such thing as “less is more”… the phrase is “more is more, and more is not enough”. Now don’t get me wrong, nobody wants to go on stage looking like they put heir face in a cake… but a dramatic and bold look up close, looks just the right amount on stage; with bright lights and judges sitting in the crowd you need the bigger look so that your face doesn’t literally white-out up there. This means:
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smoky dark eyes
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bronzer
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contour
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a bright lip
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lots of color
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bold fake lashes
Majority of the stage makeup I have done has been classic silver/grey smoky eyes, a thin liner with drama in the lashes. This is a common look, and it is easy to see why, its dark and makes your eyes pop. For Morghan, I skipped on the sharp cut creases, sleek outer corners, and went with more of a buffed outlook with color on the lid to make her stand out from the classic looks posing next to her on stage. I used her beautiful suit by Angel Competition Bikini as inspiration but was careful not to mimic it. See how the colors make her eyes pop, and tie the entire look together below. This brings me to my final step of advice, but an important one nevertheless.
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