Stage makeup for men

Stage makeup for any male actor can be simple and applied in less than 30 minutes. It is supposed to counteract the effect of stage lighting and distance on the features of the face. It also can alter features of the face to better suit a character, exaggerate features for dramatic or comedic effect, create the illusion of old age/bad health (or youth/good health if need be) etc. and create fantastic effects. Stage lighting flattens the face and washes out the features. Hence, thick foundation, often in a darker shade than the actor's natural skin tone, is required to counteract the effect. Strong lines around the eyes and the mouth aid in redefining what bright lights and distance blur out. Contouring aids in recreating the dimensions of the face that the lighting flattens. Colours are brighter because they too are washed out by strong lighting. Highlights and shadows and/or prosthetics can create character, fantasy, or age effects if need be.

  1. Wash your face with facial cleanser. This removes oil and dirt.
  2. Apply facial moisturizer as a base.
  3. Apply base or foundation makeup of your skin tone to your cheeks, nose and forehead. Blend in an upward motion using a cosmetic sponge to create a base of makeup on your face. Use a mirror. Blend the makeup into your hairline, and from your jawline into your neck area. Cover both the front and back of your neck in order to avoid unsightly makeup lines.
  4. Spread rouge or blush on your cheeks. Brush the rouge on your cheeks in an upward motion using a large makeup applicator brush. Stand up from your work station, and move about one room's length away from the mirror. Apply more blush if it is barely noticeable. Blush should look naturally rosy from a far distance.
  5. Apply a small amount of pencil liner or brown creme liner along your eyelids. This will bring out your eyes. Take the pencil or brush with creme liner in one hand, close one eye and, using your free hand, stretch the outside corner of your eye out until the eyelid is almost flat. Then draw a thin line from one corner to the other. Do the same with your other eyelid.
  6. Apply mascara. Do this with a smooth, outward stroke from the bottom of your eyelashes to the top. Use several coats if needed for darker lashes.
  7. Add character definition. Use the brown and white creme liners for this. Apply brown liner to eyebrows using a small applicator brush; this defines the eyebrows. Then apply a thin line of white liner below the eyebrows and blend it lightly. Play with ways in which you arch an eyebrow for villainous type characters. Use this same technique on your jawline by drawing a line of brown creme from one side of your jaw to the other and drawing a white line under the brown. Blend the two in a downward motion with a sponge applicator. Stand up and move away from the mirror. You should appear to have a prominent jaw.
  8. Cover your entire face with face powder. This sets the makeup. First, place the sponge or brush inside the powder pot. Then dust off excess powder from the sponge or brush to avoid streaks. Finally, apply the powder until your entire face is covered.
  9. Spread neutral rose tone lipstick from one corner of your lips to the other. Apply to both your top and bottom lip. Press and/or rub your lips together to even the color. The lipstick should appear natural at a room's length

A male dancer’s advice

PRE-MAKEUP TORTURE - SHAVING! This is the worst part (or it was for me!) Time your shave so it's about an hour before you apply makeup. More, and if you have a thick or dark beard, you'll have shadow, less and you will shred your face putting on foundation. It doesn't hurt to have some sort of skin lotion to apply after the shave, I liked aloe gel.
FOUNDATION - In the Paleozoic era, we used pancake makeup (Max Factor, actually.) Go a few shades *darker* than your natural skin tone, you will wash out in the lights. I have pale skin and usually used either an amber or warm tan, (for a photo shoot I would have used Natural No. 2) Apply base evenly to your face (and neck, don't look like those ladies from Dallas!), use a makeup sponge for application.
EYES - The hardest part, but the place you can make the most difference. You need a cover stick in white, eyebrow pencil or liner, mascara and shadows in varying shades of beige and brown (it's easy to find a brand that gives two or three compatible shades in a holder). DON'T USE BLUES OR PINKS! You're supposed to look like yourself. Use rusts and browns. To make your eyes look larger and more expressive on stage, raise your natural brow up slightly as follows: Apply brow pencil to the TOP of the brow and slightly above, put white cover stick on the lower portion of the brow and the very top of the eyelid. This also brightens your eyes. Put a lighter shade of beige shadow directly below, a darker shade in the crease of the lid. Mascara goes on both the upper and lower lashes. I didn't put liner directly on my lower lid, but about 3/8 of an inch below it, again, to make the eyes look bigger on stage. The line should extend horizontally SLIGHTLY beyond the eye (gently following the curve of the eye, then extending straight out). This is usually the hardest part of doing eye makeup. You should not look like you're waiting for Cleopatra's Barge. I also usually smeared a little white cover stick on my finger and applied it outside my eye between the lower line and the eyebrow line, again, to brighten the eye.
CHEEKS- Eyeshadow and blush are your friends. Apply blush to the cheekbone itself and a slightly darker shade of shadow directly underneath to contour your face. I have no cheekbones, I built them every performance! Blush should start about halfway out your face and be applied outwards. Rusts and browns, guys. Slightly ruddier colors than the shadows, but again, the point is to provide contouring rather than color. Again, check the effect from a distance.
LIPS -Applying foundation to your face and the lights makes your lips wash out. Choose a lipstick close to the actual color of your lips. For me it was sort of a matte reddish purple. You can also use a lip pencil around the edges of the lips. I often didn't.
CONTOURING -The 101 uses of eyeshadow! Strengthen your jawline by lining it with a dark shadow. Use it to contour cheekbones as above. I also used it to help thin my nose a bit.
FINAL NOTES -The point of stage makeup is to make you look like yourself even under intense lighting. It's not to make you look feminine or pretty. To check the effect on stage, stand at least 10 feet away from your makeup mirror and look.