Stage makeup

Put on a real show with the right stage makeup!

Stage makeup is one of those things that can either really enhance the medium or send it crashing to the ground in a blaze of failure. Sure, that sounds dramatic, but we’re talking about theatrical makeup here! It’s meant to be dramatic! So what’s good stage makeup? It may be easier to instead talk about what is not good stage makeup first.

Bad stage makeup is theatrical makeup that’s obvious. It’s stage makeup that the audience can see. They can see the pancake, the orange line where the makeup ends and the skin begins. They can tell that the actors are wearing stage makeup, and the actors can tell, too. Their faces itch. They begin scratching at the stage makeup, touching it with their fingernails just to try and get the little sweat beads to stop making them scratch. In modeling, it’s runway makeup so heavy and so dramatic that it takes away from the clothing and places the focus exclusively on the garish runway makeup.

Good stage makeup blends. Like a good actor, good stage makeup becomes part of the show, part of that other world. It looks like it has always belonged there and it’s meant for that fantasy. Stage makeup should be transparent to the audience. After all, the entire reason you use stage makeup is to help the audience forget where they are and to transport them to that different world. That’ll never happen if they’re thinking about how thick the actors’ makeup is.

For related cosmetics products click on a topic below or check out our buyers' guide.

Our buyers' guide

concealer | cologne | discount perfume | lipsticks mineral makeup | skin care | Tanning lotions | nail polish | cosmetics