Stage Makeup Tutorial

I wanted to make this so that everyone in drama club could access a quick to-do for stage makeup that thoroughly covers what you need to do. Let's start, shall we?

 

Supplies you will need:

Pancake Foundation (shown in Kryolan "Natural 2")

Shadow (shown in Kryolan "Congo")

Highlight (shown in Kryolan "Highlight")

Eyeliner (shown in Clinique "22 Charcoal Brown"; *Avon Color Trend "Black"; NewYorkColor "926 White")

Mascara (shown in Avon Wash-Off Waterproof "WC1 Black")

*Eye shadow (shown in Avon True Color "Warm Black")

*Liquid Eyeliner (shown in Avon Perfect Wear "W01 Evening Black")

Cheek Rouge / Blush (shown in The Color Institute palette)

Lip Rouge / Lipstick (shown in Clinique "Firefly" and Clinique "Rouge Violet")

Application sponges

Q-tips

Application brushes

Cup

*Eyelash curler

*Eyeliner pencil sharpener

(* denotes that it is optional)

Start off by washing your face. Stage makeup and street makeup are very different, so it's important to have a clean face when you start. Tie your hair back away from your face.

Using a sponge, apply your pancake evenly. Most pancake is dry and you will need to dip your sponge in water prior to applying the makeup.

 You can choose to start with either highlights or shadow, but I prefer to start with shadows. Shadows are to be applied in the hollows of the cheek (make a fish-face to find them), on the sides of the nose, and on the underside of the jaw.

Blend.

Highlights are to be applied above the eyebrows, along the cheek bones, along the front of the nose, and right along the shadow that was applied to the underside of the jaw.

Blend.

Add a dab of shadow to the tip of the nose.

Blend.

If you are MALE, you will want to add some more shadow underneath your lower lip. Females may add a dab if they wish but it is more common for males.

Blend.

Males will have to use brown eyeliner along the waterline of the eye. Brown is better for males because it defines the eye, but it is not as intense as black. Females may also use brown. However...

  Females will want to use a black eyeliner instead.

Apply mascara. Males should only apply a light coat. Heavier mascara makes the eyelashes much more noticeable on stage, and males only want to define eyelashes to the point where it can be seen that they do not lack eyelashes.

Females normally use a neutral brown eye shadow. You should not use a different color unless you are told so by your director, or eyeshadow at all unless your director wants it for your character. Neutral brown is the best though because it is not an intense eye shadow color.

Females may also choose to (under permission of the director) apply a liquid eyeliner to the top lid.

 Females should generally have more defined lashes than males. Looking at the picture, the eye on the left has more defined lashes than the other. The more defined lashes are a more feminine look while the other eye has more of a male look for lashes.

Both lashes are now defined femininely.

Add a dot of white eyeliner to the inside corner of the eye.

Apply rouge to the apples of the cheeks.

Females! If your character is flirty, you might want to use a bright red lipstick (shown in Clinique "Firefly").

If she is not a flirty character, a pink would be a better lip colour to choose. This is shown in Clinique "Rouge Violet". Always remember to consult your director for the final decision!

This next part covers how to make your character look old. You shouldn't do this makeup AT ALL unless you are playing a middle-aged or elderly character.

You're going to want to make a bunch of funny expressions to find the natural wrinkles in your face. It's much better to do this than to try to draw the lines in on your own, as an attempt does not look as realistic than if you were to draw where the lines would naturally occur.

Use a BROWN eyeliner and trace the lines you made. Black is too intense and does not look like an actual wrinkle.

Blend, but make sure that the like still retains its shape. For crow's feet, it's sometimes better to sharpen your pencil and draw very thin lines rather than using the blending technique.

Congratulations! Use your new knowledge wisely!