This information is aimed at those that infrequently or never wear make-up and find themselves facing a student belly dance performance with no idea of what to do. Leaving your face unadorned when you have costumed the rest of you can spoil the effect. Not using make up for an actual stage production under lights is never recommended. People won’t be able to see your eyes and will have trouble connecting with you.
The quickest and easiest way to learn about make-up application is to go to a free make over. These are offered by big department stores as well as make up companies or artists trying to build up a following.
One of my past dreams/interests was to be a makeup artist. I did a lot of research on my own and used to practice with friends. Nowadays I am lucky if I remember to put on lip gloss before running out the door!
I will outline below the cheapest and easiest way to get started.
Essentials:
Eye liner preferably black
Eye shadow (3 to 4 shades)
Lip stick
Really good to have:
Foundation
Blush
Lip liner
Mascara also black
The first 2 under ‘really good to have’ are essentials if you do not have clear skin.
Now there are so many other products that are also great to have but careful use of the above will yield a pleasing result and start you on your way to familiarity as to what suits you.
Colors:
Lipstick – Check with your belly dance teacher if you are doing a group piece – this is fairly likely as you are just starting out. Everyone in the troupe wearing the same shade of lippy helps give a unified look. If the teacher does not mind then its up to personal preference. A fairly nude or pale lip colour has been quite fashionable for a while now but doesn’t work well for everyone. I recommend a deep red as a starting colour; it usually goes well for most styles of belly dancing and most colours. If you are fair watch out for reds with too much of an orangey tone to them – it can highlight all the flaws in your skin. Lip liner should be darker than your lipstick and preferably in a similar color range.
Eye liner – go black. Most belly dancers wear very dark eyeliner and it will blend you in with your troupe. Felt tip pen eyeliners are easiest for beginners.
Foundation – to suit your skin tone
Blush – ‘cause if you wear foundation and no blush you will look featureless and scary.
Eye Shadow – a 4 pack of different shades of brown (Dark brown to a pale neutral shade). Why? Because it looks good to great on almost everyone, is available in many brands, is natural enough looking that people new to make up won’t freak out when applying it and you can use it later outside of performance.
How to apply...
There are many tricky techniques you can use but I will cover the bare, bare essentials to get you on your way. Once you know the basics you will find youtube a treasure trove of help!
Apply foundation to your face.
Apply eyeliner to the edge of your top eyelid as close to the eyelashes as possible. Now we are going to extend it out to give a more exotic look. With your eyes OPEN put a small dot as to where you want your line to end – then close that eye and connect the line. If you do not, the line will tend to droop down and be unattractive. Don’t worry about putting any on the bottom lid until you are more experienced with taking things into account such as your eye shape, etc.
Use one of the shades to accentuate your eye brows – be really light to start with and fill in any gaps and neaten the shape. This will of course work best for people with brown hair. The dark brown in most 4 colour sets is dark enough for most people to get away with when they are beginning. If you are really fair skinned try using the next shade up.
Use the darkest brown to follow along just above the eyeliner line also apply a bit to the crease and up a little in the 1/3 of your eye furthest away from your nose. Use the next shade to blend in to the dark brown – above the crease out to the extended line and below the crease in the furthest third. Use the third shade to blend in to the the rest of the eye lid and above the last shade. The light colour can be used to highlight under the brow and a little in the inner third to give a wider set to the eyes.
Apply Blush on a diagonal along your cheekbone. For younger dancers you can apply it mostly to the apples of your cheeks. To find the apples just smile and lightly brush over the rounded sticky out bits! Use a big make up brush for blush application.
As for your lips, everyone has a preference and you have to take your lip shape into account. Many people place the lipliner on the outside of their lips and use their lipstick to just color inside of the lines. This lends to a fuller lip! You can really use your liner to build any shape you want to before filling them in. Play with it until you find the look you want!
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