Stage Makeup Tutorial

If you aren't already aware, I love dancing, singing and acting and I attend a part-time academy where I do just that. It was our biannual show on Wednesday at a local theatre, which I thoroughly enjoyed and went extremely well. As I did my own stage makeup, I thought I'd share with you the look I created and what products I used to achieve it, which might be helpful for those of you who are performers or into musical theatre.

The first step in my makeup routine was concealer. For this look I wanted my face to look as close to flawless as possible, so using a lot of the product was necessary. A heavy-duty, highly pigmented concealer worked best for this, so I opted for the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. I've mentioned this on many occasions, so I won't ramble on about it, but it's a great concealer that was crucial to this makeup look. I applied it all over my face, particularly focusing on more problematic areas, and buffed it in using the Real Techniques Buffing Brush.

I set my makeup into place with a powder, my choice being the Mineral Veil by Bare Minerals. I did this for a few reasons, the first one being that I wanted my makeup to stay in place during the show, as doing a lot of dances and scenes would cause me to get warm and my makeup would slowly deteriorate. The second reason why I applied a powder is because I didn't want my skin to look incredibly shiny or oily with the harsh stage lights shining on it, so this helped to mattify it a bit.

The next step to my makeup routine was adding some colour and dimension into the face. The bright lights on stage have a tendency to flatten the face and wash you out, so this is definitely an important step. I used the Maybelline Dream Sun to bronze up my face, as it's a product that I really love and I know that it doesn't make me look dark and muddy. I lightly contoured my cheekbones using the Sleek Face Form Contour Kit to add more dimension and used the Benefit Watts Up Highlighter on the tops of my cheekbones, as cream products last better than powders.I also wanted to add a bit of blusher before moving on to my eyes, so I used the Bare Minerals Powder Blusher in Beauty, as this is a really bold yet buildable colour.

For this particular show, we were told not to wear any eyeshadow, so I skipped straight to eyeliner. This has to be worn carefully, as the right amount can help your eyes stand out and be bold, but applying too much can make them look narrow and squinted. I used a brown MUA eyeliner rather than a black as it doesn't look too harsh but still provides some definition. I used this just on my upper lash line and smudged it out so that it wasn't too dark. I also used the nude Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeliner on my waterline to open them up and make my eyes look wider on stage.

For this look, I wanted my eyelashes to be a lot longer and more voluminous than usual, so I opted for the Benefit They're Real Mascara. I've had this for quite some time and definitely don't use it enough, but I knew it was ideal for the stage. I applied quite a few coats of this on both my top and bottom lashes to achieve volume, separation and length, as well as curling them for added drama. It also has a waterproof formula, so I didn't need to worry about it smudging throughout the show.

To complete my makeup, I applied a bright red lipstick that I bought from MUA. I never usually wear something this bold or vibrant, but for a show it is vital. I started by applying it lightly on my lips, patting it in with my finger, before forming an intense line of colour. This lipstick is incredibly matte, so I'd recommend exfoliating your lips beforehand, but it looks lovely when applied and was the perfect finishing touch to this look.