How important is your pageant makeup? Very important. This week I interviewed Jennifer Kalman of QDazzle to gain her insight to some frequently asked questions I receive.
What general advice would you give young ladies and women about makeup?
- Spend time practicing and learning makeup application techniques so you can look great in and out of the pageant. Most of the time you’ll be responsible for your own makeup application so practice and learn how to emphasize your best features.
- Take pictures of yourself so you can see the results and compare different looks.
- Make sure there are no harsh lines, everything is well blended and eyes, cheeks and lips are in balance.
- For ‘natural pageants’, natural makeup should enhance your features and not be too glamorous or dramatic. Your features still need to show up on stage under the lights. ‘Natural’ does not necessary mean a bare face with no makeup.
- Use translucent powder to control the shine on your face. A shiny face looks greasy, like you’re sweaty and nervous.
- Use a good lip balm that will keep your lips in great condition. Avoid putting Vaseline on your lips because it will fade your lip color and can cause breakouts around your mouth.
- The cost of a product doesn’t necessarily determine the quality. Find the mascara, eyelashes, eye shadows, etc. that work for you.
- Wear your false eyelashes at home for a while so you can get used to how they feel before the pageant.
- Buy highly-pigmented makeup.
How do I find a good makeup artist?
- Take the time to interview them beforehand and look at their portfolio. Do you like their work?
- Ask them about their experience with makeup for pageants, ask to see photos of makeup they have done for pageants, as well as makeup they have done for women with your skin tone.
- Don’t be afraid to assert yourself. It’s very important that the makeup artist listen to what you want and the two of you work together as a team to create your desired look.
- Look frequently in the mirror each step of the way. Remember, you’re the one that is going out on stage and must let your beauty and confidence shine.
- If you hire a makeup artist, allow at least 45-60 minutes for them to do your makeup. TIP: Have them put a smudge of the blended lip color on the mirror of your compact so you can touch up your lips with a lip brush right before you go on stage.
What tips can you share for women of color?
(C) Rinderart. Image from Big StockPhoto.com
- Ask the makeup artist if they are experienced in applying makeup to women of color.
- Your foundation must be a perfect match.
- Makeup tones that flatter women of color are usually deep, rich tones. To show off your natural skin tone, select highly-pigmented makeup shades for more brilliant color.
- Specific color suggestions for women of color are divided into two different categories below: light-to-medium skin tones and dark skin tones.
- Basic eye shadow contouring and color placement, along with blush and lip color placement, is the same for ALL skin tones.
Click the following link to read more on this subject.
http://www.qdazzleprom.com/blog/2010/02/02/glowing-makeup-ideas-for-women-of-color/
What tips can you give about choosing a foundation?
- To provide a smooth canvas for lip, eye and cheek colors, a foundation that is perfectly-matched to your natural skin color is essential.
- The purpose of a perfectly-matched foundation is to simply ‘even out’ the facial skin tone,not to add color to the face. A perfectly-matched foundation color will match your neck as well, so that there is no tonal difference between the face and neck (no mismatched colors at the jaw line and no applying foundation to the neck).
Click on the following link to read more on this subject.
http://www.qdazzleprom.com/blog/2009/12/29/selecting-a-foundation-to-match-your-natural-skintone/
What is highly-pigmented makeup and why should I select highly-pigmented makeup colors?
(C) Rinderart. Image from Big StockPhoto.com
- Makeup colors that look best for photography and stage are usually highly-pigmented, meaning they contain strong color pigments and are not sheer.
- A highly-pigmented makeup color product will allow the user to apply a small amount to achieve a bit of natural color, or it can provide darker, dramatic color when applied more heavily. This allows flexibility for the user to achieve her preferred look.
- Along with being longer-lasting, the strong color pigment in highly-pigmented makeup colors will hold up against the harsh lighting from cameras and stage lights (no washed-out, ghostly makeup looks).
How can I tell if an eye, cheek and lip color is highly- pigmented?
Some products will state they are highly pigmented. If it’s not stated, you can test the color on your hand. When you add more of the product, the color should get darker or more intense. Sheer color products won’t change much in color regardless of how much is used. Sheer color products won’t stay on as long nor will they hold up under the lights.
What is the best way to use frosted colors?
Use frosted eye shadow in the center of your eyelid to bring attention to the pupil of your eye, and lightly under the brow for an eye opening effect. It’s very important to blend the color and don’t use a frost over the entire lid for a headshot, TV work, or pageantry. On the lips, a little frosted lip color in the center of your bottom lip creates a fuller looking lip.
Be sure and check out Jennifer’s website and beauty blog. It is filled with wonderful tips for beginners and pros.
http://www.qdazzleprom.com
I’ll be the first to admit, I love it when a professional does my makeup for a special event. It is very relaxing for me to just sit in the chair for an hour or so, doing nothing but opening and closing my eyes. When they’re finished, I look in the mirror and feel fabulous. EASY.
However, having grown up in the theater, one of the first lessons I learned was the importance of doing your own makeup and doing it well. Most of the time, there was no one to do my makeup for me. Had I not learned the skills myself, I wouldn’t have landed many jobs. Armed with my supplies and solid application techniques that I had learned over the years, I was a self-reliant actress and could make myself look the part in minutes.
At times, it can be easy to have someone else do things for us like household chores, fixing our problems, or perhaps resolving a problem that we were responsible for creating. But if we are to become self-reliant, choosing to accept personal responsibility for our thoughts and actions is a life skill that we’ll benefit from on a recurring basis.
