Let's talk about one of my obsessions:MAKEUP!
I used to do makeup on anyone who would let me when I was 12/13 and this obsession continued into my early 20s. Since I was going through some things, I just sort of pushed it into a dark closet in my mind and forgot about it. Until I started bellydance. Christine used to always emphasise how important makeup also was when we were performing. And thus my love of makeup was revived! I did get how important it was. When I see a dancer with scarily done makeup,with poorly applied,cakey/grey toned makeup, or even a performer who looks too pale, I find myself distracted from their performance and instead think what a shame it is they didn't bother to take the time to do it properly:). Perhaps that's just me. But a polished look does go a long way:).
Christine always emphasises the importance of looking polished as it really adds to your performance, and I have to say that I agree.
This doesn't mean you have to spend a fortune on makeup classes, makeup etc. It just means you do the most with what you have and see what kind of resources are available to you.
It's worthwhile to check whether makeup counters are running demos/workshops where you can learn about shading/contouring,eye makeup for night-time/performances for a really good price/for free. Elizabeth Arden ran a workshop for our students once. Also, my dear friend, Freddy (I'd paste a link to his name, but he styles and does makeup in his spare time only, since he is friends with a lot of the Bellydance Jakarta girls; he's our unofficial makeup guru and official makeup artist coordinator for our big events, last recital he coordinated a team of about 15 makeup and hair people. We're so lucky to have him! he's pretty busy with his day job and doing my makeup *evil laugh*) who is an a fashion editor cum amazing stylist cum super talented makeup artist ran a class for our students where they brought all their own makeup and learnt about how to do a smokey eye(a good bet for most performers) and contouring (which is really important to give your face depth and dimension under lighting).
It doesn't have to cost a lot to learn how to do performance makeup, you just need to be inquisitive and practise! Youtube also has a lot of videos on smokey eyes and different makeup looks and contouring. Just go online and have a look. If you do have the money and are an absolute novice, a short course or personalised class might be useful to you. Christine and I took one at MUFE, we paid about 500 thou for both of us for a 3.5 hour session in their store at Plaza Indonesia. I learnt a few useful tricks. If you want to pay about 2-4 million ( one of our students did and now she has her 'go-to' look for performances) for something more in-depth and personalised, MUFE also runs courses at their centre at Dharmawangsa.
One of my favorite makeup artists, the lovely and talented Dewi Kimora runs a short course where she will teach you how to contour your face and do a beautiful smokey eye.
I am obsessed with makeup and will ask a lot of questions every time I get my makeup professionally done and I watch a lot of videos. I am nowhere near as good as the pros of course, but for a girl who flunked her high-school drawing class, I do a fairly decent job except for my fondness of being heavy handed with iridescent highlight (as Freddy keeps reminding me).
Now, makeup for performances doesn't have to be super-expensive. You just need to find products within your budget that are good quality. My own makeup collection is a mix of inexpensive and more high-end brands. I buy based on what I think is good value and quality, not because of the brand. It just depends on what your needs are.
1. Base/primer
Now, it's important to find a good base/primer for the face/eyes so your makeup won't cake,run or crease.
I use MUFE 5 color base/concealer palette for my eyes as a base as I have discoloration on my eyes and oily lids. I find color clings to this and it covers the discoloration really well. I've seen makeup artists use this, and I have other friends who swear by this product. I know it's pricey though, but it lasts for absolutely eons, so I think in my case, it's worth it. I think other brands such as Revlon and PAC have bases for much cheaper and work well on many people. Base/primer for the eyes is important to keep the eye makeup in place, and for skin like mine that seems to eat up color, it makes the colors pop. I dislike seeing makeup where the colors are just lifeless and have that grey tinge to it. It tells that that either they didn't use a base/primer, or their shadows aren't pigmented enough. Either way, it's not good.
2. Foundation
Now, for darker skins such as myself, I find that a good budget foundation with great coverage and lasting power is Revlon colorstay foundation. They have a great range of colors to suit just about every skin tone needing good coverage. They also do one for oily skin which is great.
If you want to spend more, I personally feel for women with darker skin tones, Shu Uemura works wonders. It glides on, gives great coverage, and you don't need much, especially if you use a foundation brush (the flat-top kind). I used to use MUFE high-definition foundation, but it just looked ashy and grey on my skin, even in their darker shades. I figure their foundations are good for people with pink undertones because Christine swears by it. If you want to make your foundation last longer, buy a foundation brush. You don't need that much foundation for each application with a foundation brush, and it gives really even coverage.
3. Concealers/contouring creams
I love to use Bobbi Brown's peach corrector, because it really covers my dark circles. I love their concealer too. When I have loads of time, I use PAC compact foundation in a dark color to contour my face under my foundation. But if not, I just use MUFE contouring powder set. Again, you can just use any matt brown shadow or matt bronzer and light colored shadow for this. As for the concealers, I hear that LTPRO, a local cosmetics company owned by La Tulipe, have excellent products at a very reasonable price. Apparently they import all the raw materials (same source where MAC and other brands get their raw materials from) and manufacture here, hence the pro-quality without the price tag. They gave Freddy a whole set, and he was really pleased with it.
4. Eyes (my favorite!),Cheeks andLips
I love eye makeup. I love,love eye makeup. I think your eye makeup really determines your whole look. One of the fun things about performing is getting to try out all kinds of dramatic,fun looks on my eyes. I am obsessed with it. LOL.
I think NYX does great single pressed eyeshadows if you're on a budget or don't want to spend a lot on makeup. I own many shades of their singles, and they give great color payoff. In fact, right now, I use NYX on my eyes almost daily. They are really good quality, especially for the price. For some reason, I am not crazy about their palettes because I feel like the colors don't pop as much and has more fall-out. PAC has great 4 color palettes that are great for stage, but if you carry it around, the shadows crumble easily. This happened to my PAC single eyeshadow and 4-color palette. PAC does fantastic glitter and shimmer powders. Great value-you get a lot of product and great quality, comparable to MUFE for a fraction of the price, I found.
Of course, if you want to fork out more/don't mind spending the moolah, MUFE and MAC are obvious choices, even though I personally have been more drawn to MUFE. My current favorite is a custom palette from Shu Uemura- a fabulous dark purple with a hint of shimmer, a black that looks dark grey but is deep black when you put it on, and a two heavenly glitter eyeshadows in bronze and white. I am still in raptures over it. I also recently discovered a brand called the Makeup Factory from Germany, they have a counter in Glow. Cheaper than MUFE and MAC. They have a beautiful deep shimmery blue similar to MAC, with great color pay-off. I use it with black and some highlight and voila!My eyes are done. This is great when I don't have much time to get ready for gigs after work.
I'm considering trying Coastal Scents, the makers of eyeshadow palettes that come in sets of up to 180 eyeshadows for really affordable prices. I've heard good reviews and seen some makeup artists use it to complement their kits. If you want 88/120 eyeshadow colors for less than 400 thou, CS is available in Indonesia via an online store/facebook seller. I can't vouch for the store personally because I've only made inquiries and haven't purchased anything, but they replied quickly and seem to have a lot of happy customers. If you've tried CS, let me know. I do hear great things about their palettes though.
I love to use pencil and gel eyeliner for my waterline-it just intensifies my eyes. I like Bobbi Brown, but I think Revlon also does good eyeliners.
Anyway, whatever your budget is, you have a lot of great options, playing around with different looks is part of the fun!
I used to experiment with lots of different blushes such as maybelline and revlon, but found that MUFE had the most flattering colors for my skin tone. I bought a peach a few years ago, and I used it for work,play and performances and it lasted me almost two years and although it got knocked around a lot, it didn't crumble in the pan. I bought another one in a pink color early last year, and I've barely made a dent in it LOL.
As for my brows, since I have such thick brows, I just groom it and I am so old-school- I still use Viva LOL.
I dislike brigtly colored lipstick- so I prefer a nude color with some gloss over the top. I love lipglosses, and since I am really forgetful, I keep forgetting where I put them, and end up buying more only to find the ones I thought I lost a few months later:(.
PAC has a great clear gloss, MUFE has great shimmery lipglosses with a good smacking of color, but they're pretty pricey and I finish them quite quickly as there's not much product in them. So, despite the fact they have great colors and finishes, I think they're overpriced. I used to like Maybelline's nude matt lipsticks. They have a good selection of nude colors. I also like MUFE's 5 color lipstick palette. It lasts for ages and they have gorgeous nudes you can mix and play around with.
Fake eyelashes really ties the whole makeup look, IMO. They're a must. If you want to use basic lashes that cost around 4/5 thousand from Ambasador/Pasar Festival, double them up for a more dramatic look (Freddy taught me this). I've used Elise lashes, which cost about 11-15 thou I think. They have a great range of dramatic lashes that you can re-use if you store them properly. Or I like to use Mary Kay eyelashes which cost about 25 thou. They also have a great range and last for a while. Mbak Dewi Kimora swears by Eye Putty, an adhesive which you can get if you make the trek Pasar Baru/Ambasador (but beware of knock-offs, she says). I think lashes are also cheaper at the cosmetics shops in Pasar Baru.
My final say about makeup: Invest in some good brushes, whatever your budget is. They really help, especially if you have poor drawing skills, like me. They don't have to cost a lot either. There's a seller on FB that I purchased some brushes from, she sells really good quality brushes for a fraction of the cost of MAC/other more high-end brands. Check her out on FB http://www.facebook.com/makeuptoolshop
Have fun with it! Good makeup can really top off your look, on and off-stage:).
Phew....that was a long post........more later!xoxo
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