I don’t’ watch much TV so I joined the team late and have reluctantly become a fan of the infamous “So you think you can dance?” reality TV show.  I can’t help it.  I just love watching dancers do their thing.  And I am in awe of how the dance industry has been forever changed.  Artists of all genres are being inspired by the choreography, the costumes, and of course, my favorite – THE MAKEUP. 

However, I am seeing a trend that is being followed that is doing a disservice to dancers.  Dancers performing on stage are following the makeup trends they see on TV shows like “So You Think You Can Dance” without understanding a very simple but important fact.  The live audience members at these taped TV shows cannot see the gorgeous makeup these dancers are wearing as clearly as we can see it on our TV screens.  That is because these makeup styles are designed for TV.   

My point:  There is a BIG difference between makeup applied for TV and makeup applied for STAGE.  

TV Makeup is applied for TV lighting.  The intensity of the makeup look is for the distance between the performer and the audience.   TV (especially HD TV) brings the performer’s face into the living rooms of their audience so the makeup needs to be seen at a distance of, at the most, 5 feet away.  The lighting for TV is very intense and the cameras are going to be up close…so close you can almost see their pores!  You are looking at the performer’s face as if they are standing right in front of you.

Stage Makeup is done for stage lighting and to accommodate for the distance between the performer and the audience as well.  And even though the lighting is very intense, the audience will NOT be in the performer’s face.  The audience is going to be pretty far away from the dancer’s face.  In fact, the best case scenario is that we are a minimum of 40-50 feet away from the performer and that is in a small theater.  As an audience member, we are going to struggle to see the facial emotions of that dancer if the makeup is not bold enough.  Now, I am not talking about the old “clown-like” style of stage makeup we applied with grease paint that we needed because of intense footlights that used to line the front of the stage .  NNNOOOOOOOO!  Footlights are not being used anymore!   Our lighting today is much gentler and much kinder but still intense so that the performers can be seen well to the back of the theater.  Our stage makeup should be applied skillfully but intense enough to reach the first 10 – 12 rows of the theater – approximately 30 to 50 feet.  After all, at a Broadway show, they paid the most for their seats, right?  Shouldn’t they get to see those beautiful faces?

On shows like, “So You Think You Can Dance”, I’ve seen stunningly beautiful dancers wearing lovely, soft tones on their faces to match their costume.  The looks are gorgeous – so light, pretty for HD TV – but would not have been enough for a stage performance. 

Trendy TV reality show makeup looks are beautiful but trends should not be followed just because they are popular.  Make sure they are appropriate for the venue you are performing in.  Why would you want to work so hard on choreography, costumes, and rehearsals only to have the audience in a theatre not be able to see the part of your body that expresses the most emotion – your FACE!

Jillian, of Dance Etc/Newtown, CT, at Showbiz competition rockin' JAM cosmetics ALL DAY LONG!

Facebook Question:

How can you make your dance makeup sweat proof or at least not have sweat lines?

Answer: Great question! Regardless of whether you are a dancer going on stage, a bride walking down the aisle, a business woman about to enter a meeting, or a girl in high school walking up to that boy you think is super-hot…you NEVER want blotchy, creased, or faded makeup, right? In fact, when would we EVER say to ourselves, “Today I don’t really care if my makeup runs down my face, leaves me with spotty, blotchy skin or looks kind of ‘blah’ and faded.” When? When would anyone ever say that to themselves? NEVER!

I believe there are three main things you need to consider for beautiful sweat-proof/sweat-resistant makeup:

1) Skin care: Your skin is the canvas that you apply your makeup too. If it is not in its healthiest, smoothest, and moisturized condition, how can your makeup look its best?
Solution:
a. Mornings – clean your face with good skin cleanser, toner, and moisturizer that is appropriate for your skin type.
b. Evenings – use a makeup remover (I use and love Cetaphil!) to remove your makeup THEN clean your skin with a good skin cleanser, toner, and moisturizer that is appropriate for your skin type.
c. Skin care TIP: I always use a washcloth when I cleanse because it exfoliates the skin (removes dead, dry skin cells) as well as cleaning the skin.

2) Cosmetics Ingredients: So many makeup companies these days are advertising “24 hour long color” or “all day coverage” makeup products. But, really, what kind of chemicals would you need to put in product to make it stay on for 24 hours? It scares me a bit to think about it! AND if those chemicals are in your lipstick, you’re EATING them and ingesting them into your body through your mouth! Ewww! Gross! So, personally, I AVOID anything that says “waterproof” or “sweat-proof” because I know it is impossible for it to be sweat-proof without a ton of junky ingredients in it.
I prefer high quality, professional grade “water-resistant/sweat-resistant” products that have less harsh chemicals that could be harmful to my body and I choose products that have ingredients that NATURALLY do what I need. For example, high quality mineral makeup colors are NATURALLY water-resistant and smudge-resistant. You don’t need to add anything to them to make them that way…they just ARE that way. Cool, huh? That doesn’t mean that all mineral makeup is like that because some companies use so many cheap “fillers” in their product that they are no longer water-resistant. This saves them money because then they can use less high quality minerals or lower quality minerals powders and earn a higher profit.

Solution: Use professional grade mineral makeup colors (psst…I designed JAM cosmetics to be the healthiest, highest quality, professional grade mineral makeup line available to dancers, brides, cheerleaders, or anyone that does not want streaking, creasing, fading makeup) JAM cosmetics has got EXACTLY what you are looking for!

3) Application: Okay, so we’ve got a beautiful canvas to apply our lovely professional quality cosmetics to…hmmm, now what? Yes, even the application makes a difference in getting the best water-resistant results from your makeup.
Solution:
a. Foundation: If you use mineral makeup colors over a face with no foundation or a low quality foundation, your colors can still get blotchy and fade. Your face will have areas that will get moist (sweaty!) and some areas that will not which makes colors look blotchy and discolored. For stage, I recommend a water-resistant, cream foundation because it is thicker and more opaque giving the skin an even, water-resistant base to apply your mineral makeup colors to. At JAM cosmetics, we have a fabulous foundation – the Stage Ready Stick Foundation. Because it is in a stick form, it glides on the face and can be easily smoothed out with a makeup sponge.
b. Street/Stage Makeup TIP: Use foundation over eyelid as a “base” to even out tone.
c. Make sure there are no foundation creases on the lid BEFORE you start to apply colors! If you apply your eye shadow to foundation that has a crease in it, the color will settle into that creased line and “set” the line there for the rest of the day.
d. After applying your mineral makeup colors, brush a light dusting of setting powder over the entire face to smooth out any unblended lines and to “set” the makeup in place. At JAM cosmetics, we have a LOVELY rice/mineral setting powder that works well on all skin tones. I love and use it every day!

Creating a successful dance recital makeup looks can be straightforward and easy with this guide.
Read on »

Competition naturally brings with it nervous anticipation and butterflies. Not only do you think about your performance, but also if you have packed everything you need. By being prepared with a checklist ahead of time can stop your worrying about forgetting something and let your many hours of dance practice shine through. Being prepared will help you perform at your highest level.

I have consulted moms, dancers, cheerleaders, and teachers and compiled a list of must haves for performance weekends. These seven categories will guide you to ensure you have everything you need for competition to make your experience the best you can.

Read on »

Here is, I believe, the most complete list of EVERYTHING dancers/cheerleaders need for competition weekends.I have polled dance moms, dancers, cheerleaders, teachers, and perused websites to create THE list of lists.Print it out – email it to your friends, moms, and dance teacher/cheer coach!If you can think of anything I have forgotten…please comment so I can keep adding.

You might want to have these items delegated and contributed to a “studio/team competition kit” by each family rather than every single family bringing every single item.Do whatever works best for your competitive group as decided by the studio owner / director / cheer coach.

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JAM Prima Diva Essentials Kit

Every year a new crop of young eager dancers perform on competition stages all over the world and so there will always be the question, “why do I have to wear stage makeup?” and “how dark does it need to be?”. Dance moms ask me these questions ALL THE TIME because they feel that “makeup is makeup” and stage makeup seems to be yet another “special” item to buy and add to the bottomless dance bag.  (the bottomless dance bag-now, that’s a great product!)

Do I Need Stage Makeup?

Are there really good reasons for buying and using professional stage makeup or is the studio owner/director/choreographer just trying to pull one over on you?

Before we discuss, take our poll:

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Learn more….
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Makeup for Asian Eyes

After so many requests for a makeup video specifically for dancers with Asian eyes, here it is!  This is the first of two (2) how-to makeup video for Asian eyes that I will be posting.  This look is the more difficult of the two I will present but you can easily achieve it with practice.

Step by step printable instructions appear after you take the LEAP… Read on »

Beautiful lashes make a statement!

Believe it or not, I have had to rewrite this blog several times as I kept coming up with too much information.  Who knew that I knew so much about false lashes?  I didn’t!  Suddenly, I had 11 pages all on LASHES.  So, I will begin with the simplest and most useful information I can think of.  Below you will learn how to put the darn things on successfully so that they will stay on through hours of dancing and not rip out your lashes when you remove them.

Step by step, printable directions and a video follow the jump…

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Because recitals come only once or twice a year – stage makeup skills can get a little rusty. And when are we ever taught how to properly apply makeup to a squirming six year old face?

Here are some quick and easy tips that should make recital makeup application super EASY and FUN! Read on »

When I am working with competition dancers, teachers and parents, they often ask this question…

“What is age appropriate makeup, and how do I do it?”

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