What to Bring:
You can never be too prepared, no matter how much of this stuff is provided for you.
First of all, always bring your own mirror; one with a built-in light is very useful, but at the very least make sure it can stand on its own, because it’s a pain trying to put on your makeup or doing your hair with a hand-held mirror
Second of all, always bring makeup removing cloths. This way, if you mess up you can take off the makeup you messed up and redo it. Also, you’ll have a much easier time taking your makeup off once the show’s over.
On the topic of skin, also bring face moisturizer and cleanser.
Make sure you bring as much of your own makeup as you can. Ask the person in charge of makeup exactly what colors he or she wants you to wear, and bring those if you can. As a rule, you really aren’t supposed to share makeup or applicators. Obviously, there are types of stage makeup you will probably not be able to bring in. However, bringing your own makeup is more hygienic, comfortable and convenient, because you won’t be scrambling around trying to find the right colors or wearing a base that’s the closest they have but still makes you look like a Muppet.
If you can’t find out which colors to bring, just bring a few common, basic shades, make a couple educated guesses, or bring a small makeup palette if you have one.
Makeup to bring: base, lipstick, blush, eyeliner, and loose powder are the most basic cosmetics. You may also need eyeshadow and/or mascara. Concealer isn’t a bad idea if you feel self-conscious about your complexion.
Makeup applicators are a must, specifically brushes and wedges.
Also, bring your own hair stuff. A brush, comb, some pins, and some hair elastics (you never know when one will break). Gel and spray might also be a good idea depending on what type of hair style you’re going to wear.
Now, if you need to run out and buy any of these things, a drugstore will be your best bet. NYC is a good makeup brand to look into because the stuff is really inexpensive.
How to Apply:
Basically, it all has to be thick. You may look like a whore in all that makeup under normal lighting, but you’ll look normal once you’re under the stage lights.
Before applying: try to wash your face first. Then, after your skin is completely dry, apply some moisturizer so your face doesn’t dry out under your makeup, and so your makeup goes on more easily.
Base: Like I said, THICK! This is why I recommend bringing your own base, and bring something that won’t clog your pores, or your skin will look like hell the next day. Be sure to cover your whole face, and be sure to blend the base where it meets the skin so it doesn’t look like you’re wearing a mask, or like you have really weird tan lines.
Eyeliner: Doing this on your own takes a lot of practice. Get close to the mirror so you can see exactly what you’re doing. Place the index finger of your non-dominant hand on the corner of your eye and gently push outward just a tiny bit, so that the surface is pulled a little tighter and you have more control over your eyelid. Then take the eyeliner in your dominant hand and draw a nice, defined line along your lash line, as close to your eye as possible. Draw the line working outwards. You can start at the nose or, if you’re on the same side as your dominant hand, you can start somewhere close to the end, draw outwards, then start again a little farther in than last time and connect the line to where you originally started. When you’re working on your bottom lid, keep your eye open. When you’re working on the top, you may keep your eye open or you may close it, it all depends on what you’re comfortable with. Once you’re done with the eyeliner pencil, take a narrow eyeshadow brush and gently go over your eyeliner with a powered eyeshadow that matches, or is a little lighter than your eyeliner.
Note: if you’re using a concealer, use it after you apply your base but before you apply blush.
Blush: Some people smile to get a better idea of where the blush is supposed to go, others suck in their cheeks. I prefer sucking in my cheeks, but that’s just me. Now, you’re not painting on a red circle unless you’re playing a doll. Powder blush works best in this scenario. Brush the blush into the apples of your cheeks towards, but obviously not all the way up to your ear. Try to keep the blush from going past your eyes. You should have enough on so that you can tell you’re wearing blush. Remember to blend the edges.
Lipstick: pretty simple. Apply the lipstick to your lips, and then kiss a piece of tissue to take off any excess.
Eyeshadow: if you need to wear this, apply it to your lids only, do not apply it to your brow bone unless otherwise instructed or you’ll look like a clown.
Mascara: Also pretty simple. Apply it to your eyelashes, and make sure it doesn’t go in your eye.
Powder: after you’re done putting your makeup on, brush on some loose powder to set it, and to keep your face from getting too shiny. Re-apply as needed.
Remove as much as you can with your makeup removing cloths. You may need more than one cloth for this. Once you’re done, if you have access to a sink, wash off the rest of your makeup and apply moisturizer. When you get home, it may be a good idea to exfoliate your skin or use a mask to remove any impurities the makeup might have left behind.
