Stage Makeup Secrets: Your Comprehensive Guide to a Show-Stopping Look
Alyssia Chang
- Published
Looking for a the ultimate guide on stage makeup? You’re in the right place.
As someone who used to act a lot on stage and is now a professional makeup artist, I’ll walk you through all the essential steps and products you’ll want to incorporate into your backstage makeup looks to create the best performance!
Get ready to transform and fully emerged yourself with your character and new persona!
Key Takeaways
Essential Supplies: Invest in primers, setting sprays, and powders to ensure long-lasting makeup that can withstand stage lights and sweat. Primers create a smooth base, while setting sprays and powders lock in makeup and control shine.
Contouring and Highlighting: Use contouring and highlighting to define and enhance facial features under stage lights. Focus on shaping cheekbones, jawlines, noses, and foreheads to create a more defined and dramatic look.
Eye Makeup Techniques: Emphasize your eyes with layered eyeshadows, defined eyeliner, and waterproof mascara to capture audience attention. Proper eye makeup application helps in framing and opening the eyes, making them more expressive from a distance.
Long-Lasting Lips: Choose kiss-proof and long-wearing lip products. To ensure your lip color stays put, use lip liners, setting powders, and lip stains that won’t transfer or fade during performances.
Mastering the Basics: Essential Supplies for Stage Makeup
Achieving a stunning and effective stage makeup look requires the right supplies, similar to how a painter needs the right brushes and paints (cheesy I know).
Artistic and SFX makeup brands like Ben Nye, Kryolan, Mehron Makeup, and MAC Cosmetics Pro make some of the best theatre makeup products – but don’t let that deter you away form incorporating or just using your own makeup from everday makeup brands.
Here are all the basic steps, tips & tricks, and makeup essentials you’ll need to create your ideal theater character and make them last!
Make Your Makeup Last With Primers
Every painting begins with a prep and prime to create a smooth canvas, and for stage makeup, think of that canvas as your skin.
You’ll want to use a daily skincare routine that includes products such as a face and eye cream/moisturizer, lip balm, exfoliator, makeup remover, and face wash.
After that you need a makeup primers for each of the face’s main elements: the eyes, face skin, and lips, as each section is made up of a different kind of skin type and reacts differently to sweat and makeup wear.
Creating a smooth base with primer not only acts like Velcro to what ever you put on top of it, but it also enhances the makeup color and controls excess sweat.
Here are our top gender neutral stage makeup primers you’ll LOVE:
Essential Stage Makeup Primers:
Matte Setting Spray: Ideal for long-lasting makeup, this product helps set your makeup and controls shine. If the spray nozzle becomes clogged, simply run it under hot water and clean it to restore functionality.
Pre-Foundation Primer: To avoid a cakey appearance, use a small amount of this primer all over your face, neck, and ears. It creates a smooth base and helps the foundation stay put.
Eye Primer: Apply to both upper and lower eyelids to keep eyeliner from smudging, prevent mascara transfer, and enhance eyeshadow colors. Finish with a skin-toned eyeshadow or setting powder for best results.
Pore-Reducing Primer: This primer minimizes the appearance of pores and controls oil, giving your skin a smooth, matte finish.
Lip Primer: Use this to prevent feathering and improve the longevity of your lip color. It also helps lip products adhere better and can act as a stain for extended wear.
Keep in mind that to apply stage makeup requires a light, sparing application of primer, different from regular makeup used in real life. Less is more!
The Role of Foundation in Defining Your Onstage Persona
Foundation is super important on stage as it evens out the complexion, gives the skin a clean slate for shaping with other makeup products, and can be used to help you adapt to your character.
Even if you just use powder foundation, that will help control any shine so that you don’t get any light bounce back!
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Make sure to blend your foundation and face powders along the neck and ears, especially if you turn red under pressure or when you get nervous. This also helps when you have un-even skin or a tan!
The Art of Contouring and Highlighting Under Stage Lights
Imagine standing under the bright stage lights and your makeup is perfectly enhancing your features and giving the best depth to your face.
Now this is the power of contouring and highlighting — accentuating the shadowed areas of the face and lifting up the lighter portions to create the ideal oval face shape!
Wondering how to achieve a more defined bone structure? We’ll explore techniques to define the cheekbones and jawline, and highlight the nose and forehead.
Chiseled Cheekbones and Jawline
When it comes to sculpting your face, your cheekbones and jawline are the main features that you want to start to shade. Feel free to layer Especially if you’re appearing as an older character.
And if you love a sun kissed tan, you can enhance the definition by sweeping a matte brightening powder on your cheekbones and increase the warmth by using a bronzing powder in the same areas.
Nose and Forehead Contour and Highlight
Contouring your nose and forehead can change the shape of the center of your face.
Focus on the sides and the lower tip of the nose to lift and shape it to your character’s liking. Then add a hint of shadow along the forehead’s hairline. Make sure to blend well with a firm yet soft contouring brush.
Then apply the matte highlighter on the nose bridge, tip of the nose, cupids bow, and sides of the nose to lift up the face.
Eye Makeup That Captures Attention
In stage makeup, your eye makeup should be framing and open!
From mascara that frames your eyes to tightline eyeliner that defines them, eye makeup is your ticket to a captivating stage presence.
Eyeshadow and Eyeliner: Framing the Windows to the Soul
We all know that your eyes are one of the most captivating aspects of an actors face, so let’s learn how to enhance it for on stage!
Add shape and contour to the eyelids by layering different shades and tones of colors together. The classic eyeshadow method is a light to dark transition:
This can be used with neutral to brighter colors, as long as you first lay down a “base” eyeshadow color which should be the same as your skin tone.
Then apply a lighter sheen, slightly reflective eyeshadow in the inner corners of your eyes.
Use a transitional darker shadow color half way on the lid.
Blend and contour with a darker shade on the outer lash area and upwards towards the crease to create shape.
Don’t forget to define the lower outer edge by using the transitional darker shade on the quarter ends of the eyes.
And when it comes to eyeliner, starting mid-pupil and extending outwards creates a lifted look that will capture the attention from the audience.
Mascara and Brows: The Finishing Touches
Let’s talk symmetry and balance — using mascara and eyebrow products will take your stage makeup to the next level!
Always use water-proof, sweat-proof, and transfer-proof lash and brow products so that no matter how hot or long you’re working, that the makeup lasts.
Essential Lash and Brow Enhancers:
Waterproof Tinted Brow Gel: Ideal for long-lasting wear, this gel helps define and color your brows while resisting water, transfer, and smudging. It also provides coverage for any grey hairs and is sweat-resistant.
Waterproof Eyebrow Pencil: This pencil features an angled tip for easy application and precise filling of sparse areas. It offers long-lasting wear and is resistant to water.
Volumizing Waterproof Mascara: A great choice for adding volume and length to your lashes, this mascara is oil-free, non-clumping, and resistant to water, ensuring it stays put throughout the day.
Waterproof Clean Beauty Mascara: This mascara combines effective waterproofing with clean beauty ingredients, offering both volume and length while being gentle on the eyes.
Lips That Last: Kiss-Proof Strategies
Now, if you choose to wear lip color or just go on stage without anything on your lips, at least do yourself a favor and wear a hydrating lip balm!
We all know what it feels like when you’re focusing on your lines, and not drinking enough water to hydrate those bad boys.
When you want to use color for your stage performances, it’s crucial to use long-lasting, kiss-proof lip products!
Wearing Lipstick that Lasts
Creating the perfect pout is easy to do for the stage with these tips:
If you choose to wear lipstick or anything that fades, peel back one layer of tissue. Then place it on the already applied color lips.
Use a loose translucent setting powder and powder brush to stipple on powder to make it matte and non-transferrable!
Emphasize the shape with applying lipliner before and after. This will help the color not to feather and stay defined.
To make your lips bullet proof, just use a non-transferring lip stain such.
Blush and Lip Balance: Harmonizing Facial Color
Balancing your blush and lip color is all about creating an even facial appearance.
If you want to look younger, apply blush directly onto the apples of the cheeks and the tip of your nose. To look more like a modern adult, apply the cheek color onto the higher cheekbones of the face.
If you’re stuck on what color of cheek blush you should wear, consider your skin tone, the depth of your eyeshadow, and the tone of your lips. It should look balanced and have the right focal points to where you want people’s attention drawn the most.
Sealing the Deal: Setting Sprays & Powders
Once most of the makeup is done, applying setting translucent powder and setting sprays are the final steps.
These products hold a significant role in stage makeup. They not only make your makeup last and more blended, but also provide a barrier against sweat and rubbing.
While setting sprays give your skin extra protection, keep it matte, and seal in everything. It’s like hairspray, but for the face!
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Double cleanse your face after wearing all your theater makeup! Use an oil-based cleanser to melt off your makeup, and wash with a gentle foaming cleaner to get rid of any residue and dirt.
Summary
Stage makeup can be intimidating or even a little confusing, so just remember that you want the audience members to see your features just as good as from the front row to the very back row.
Let’s transform into your character. Go bold, use color, and make sure everything is set to prevent any shine!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is considered stage makeup?
Stage makeup is all about creating exaggerated features that can be seen from a distance, with blended lines and strong makeup elements for maximum impact!
What is stage makeup called?
Stage makeup is called theatrical makeup, and it involves the use of cosmetics, plastic materials, prosthetics, and other substances to create the appearance of characters in a theater production.
What are the essential supplies for stage makeup?
You’ll need makeup brushes, sponges, skincare, primer, lip balm, concealer, foundation, brow pencil, blush, setting sprays, and powders for your stage makeup!
How do contouring and highlighting help in stage makeup?
Contouring and highlighting help define facial features, making them stand out from every viewing point. They add dimension and enhance the actor’s appearance, especially when the stage lights can make everything look flat.
Why is eye makeup important in stage makeup?
Eye makeup is important in stage makeup because it enhances your eyes, makes them look more awake, and draws the attention of the viewers. Use different textures of eyeshadow, defining eyeliner, framing mascara, and water-proof brow products.
