Creating a successful dance recital makeup look can be straightforward and easy with this guide. Concentrate on these five areas and a beautiful look can be achieved for all ages.

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Skin: Prepare a good base for your dance recital makeup. Start with a clean, dry, moisturized face. Use a sponge to apply Dual Mineral Powder Foundation over your entire face, blending it into your neck. Remember if you apply wet you will get a more opaque look, dry and you will achieve more sheer coverage.

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Eyebrows: Get your eyebrows ready by shaping them with a brow brush. Next use a thin eyeliner brush to draw a line down the center of your eyebrow, your brow brush can be used to smooth out and spread color to the rest of your brow.

If you are doing dance recital makeup for a younger dancer keep these tips in mind, an eye shadow slightly darker than your hair color will give a less severe look then an eyebrow pencil. A thicker eyebrow gives a more youthful look; a thinner severe line creates a sophisticated dramatic older look.

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Eyes: There are several steps to dance recital makeup when it comes to your eyes. Begin by using a eye shadow brush to highlight the brow bone and inner corner of your eye. This should be done with a shimmery white shadow. Using a damp brush to apply will give you a stronger highlight.

Use a brown eyes shadow at your lash line, fade the intensity of it as you bring it up to your highlighted brow. Very lightly apply this shadow under your lower lashes. When doing this begin in the middle of the lash and draw it out past the corner of your eye. Do NOT begin your line in the corner of your eye. A JAM white highlighter eye pencil is perfect for in between the upper and lower lash line. For dancers who are seven and up finish the eye with JAM black water resistant mascara.

It is important to remember ADDING color is much easier then SUBTRACTING once you’ve already applied it to your eye. Start out lighter first.

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Cheeks: Use a blush brush to apply your cheek color. Begin at the hairline and draw the brush toward the apples of your cheeks. Then use a large powder brush to blend by applying Dual Mineral Powder Foundation over your cheeks and face. Make certain you aren’t creating “clown circles” and never let your blush travel below the lip line.

For young dancers it is especially important to create a soft blended blush line. A severe blush line will make a dancer’s face appear older.

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Lips: For a dramatic look line your lips and fill with Warm Brandy Lip Liner. Then use a red lipstick. Try Fierce “red” Mineral Lipstick.

While lip color can be a matter of artistic preference I believe younger dancers should avoid the bold reds. Lining lips and filling lips with a pink mauve lip liner and using a rose colored lipstick creates a perfect young dancer look. Try using Wild Child “rose” mineral lipstick. A mauve color will still highlight a dancer’s mouth and help communicate their expressions without aging them unnecessarily.

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Following these steps will help you complete your entire dance recital makeup look. Feel confident knowing you are looking your best as you step on to stage. And remember simple adjustments at the eyebrows, cheeks, and lips allow this look to easily transition to younger dancers, giving them a wonderful youthful look that can still be seen clearly on stage.

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About the Author

Jessica Dupont is a former Professional NYC Dancer and Makeup Artist. She owns JAM cosmetics, which is a line of ULTIMATE performance cosmetics for dancers and cheerleaders. JAM specializes in dance makeup, cheer makeup and is known for their beautiful half lashes and step-by-step video tutorials.

Find out 4 secrets the pro’s use AND 3 things you NEED TO KNOW to look gorgeous and stand out from the crowd, by getting Jessica’s free dance makeup e-Guide NOW at www.JAMcosmetics.net.

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.

MAKEUP – Makeup look as determined by studio owner / director / cheer coach. All dance makeup products should be water-resistant, highly pigmented, and long-lasting.

· Foundation & any application tools (sponge, foundation brush, etc)

· Loose Powder

· Mineral Eye Shadows

· Mineral Blush

· Black Water-resistant mascara

· Black Waterproof Liquid Liner

· White Highlighter Eye Pencil

· 2 pairs of False Lashes

· Waterproof Eyelash Adhesive – DUO is the BEST!

· Lip Pencil

· Mineral Lip Stick – healthiest option for long lasting performance color

· Makeup Brushes – lip, thin eyeliner, 2 eye shadow brushes (1 for dark colors/1 for light colors), blush, complexion/large powder, brow comb/brush

· Makeup Sponges

· Any glitter or shimmer items as determined by studio owner / competition director

· If using JAM cosmetics, include a small dropper bottle of water in your makeup kit so you can turn your black eye shadow into a water-resistant, smudge-resistant eyeliner

BEAUTY AIDS

· Makeup Remover Wipes – I love Ponds Makeup Remover/Cleanser Wipes!

· Tweezers – Tweezerman is the BEST!

· Razor and shaving cream (or electric razor, just in case someone forgot to shave)

· Baby Powder

· Vaseline

· Cotton Pads

· Q-tips

· Kleenex/Tissues

· Nail polish remover

· Clear Nail polish

· Nail clippers/nail file

· Clear, gel deodorant

· Skincare products (Cetaphil waterless cleanser & moisturizer is great for young, sensitive skin!)

· Hand, Feet, & Body Moisturizer

HAIR PRODUCTS

· Spray bottle of water

· Hair Gel

· Hairspray

· Hairnets

· Hair Pins/Bobby Pins

· Comb/Brush

· Hair dryer/curling iron, etc (if necessary)

· Any required hair pieces/hair jewelry/hair glitter

COSTUME STUFF

· All costumes - Head/Arm/Leg/Body pieces

· Jewelry

· Any individual props you are responsible for

· Mini Sewing Kit – includes needles, safety pins, scissors

· Thread that matches all costumes

· Static Guard

· Lint Brush

· Hot-glue or superglue

· Double sided tape

· Body adhesive

· Spare clear and tan bra straps

· Spare pair of tights in appropriate color

· Tide “to go” stick

· Shoe polish in the color of your shoes (tan, black, etc)

· A little extra rosin (if competition will allow – BUT do not use on marley floors!)

FIRST AID

· Children’s and Adult Tylenol/Advil

· Antacid/Pepto-Bismol

· Dramamine

· Handi Wipes

· Clear Band-aids

· Neosporin

· Icy Hot/BioFreeze

· Instant Ice Packs

· Ace bandage (If a dancer/cheerleader needs an ace bandage to perform, cover it in makeup/foundation so that the bandage matches the skin and won’t be as noticeable)

FOOD/DRINK

· Bottled water – try Spring Water instead of “purified water”

· Juice Boxes – try 100% juice

· Granola/power bars

· Fruit – try apples & cheese

· Veggies – try celery & peanut butter

· Mozzarella cheese sticks & crackers

· Trail Mix

· Nuts – Almonds are a very healthy choice

· Raisins

· Popcorn

· Goldfish

MISCELLANEOUS/COMFORT STUFF

· Extra copies of music on CD

· Money for program (usually $10-15 dollars)

· Money for photos, videos and souvenirs

· Pens, highlighters, sharpies

· Notepad

· Pillow

· Blanket

· Towel

· Slipper/slipper socks/flip flops

· Pop up laundry basket

· Warm-ups/Studio Sweatshirt or t-shirt

· Extra underwear, dance clothes

· Teen magazines/madlibs/coloring books/workbooks

· Camera

· New batteries

· iPod

· Gameboy or other handheld game options

· Crayons and pencils

· Screwdriver (for taps)

· Extra tissues to use for toilet paper in case venue runs out

· Extra Sanitary supplies

Ideally, choose hypo-allergenic/non-comedogenic (non-clogging to the pores), talc and paraben-free products that are as naturally derived as possible while being effective. A Dancer’s makeup look must be worn for long periods of time and this can be very hard on the skin, especially if it is sensitive or prone to breakouts. You do not want products that are going to make your skin look and feel horrible at the end of a performance weekend. There is nothing that can make you more self-conscious than irritated, reddened skin or an acne covered face.

To choose your look and get a custom Dance Makeup Kit, click here.

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About the Author

Jessica Dupont is a former Professional NYC Dancer and Makeup Artist. She owns JAM cosmetics, which is a line of ULTIMATE performance cosmetics for dancers and cheerleaders. JAM specializes in dance makeup, cheer makeup and is known for their beautiful half lashes and step-by-step video tutorials.

Find out 4 secrets the pro’s use AND 3 things you NEED TO KNOW to look gorgeous and stand out from the crowd, by getting Jessica’s free dance makeup e-Guide NOW at www.JAMcosmetics.net.

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If you’re a dancer, click here

If you’re a cheerleader, click here

If you’re a dance mom, click here

If you’re a dance teacher or cheer coach, click here

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One of the issues that dance teachers have to deal with in regards to makeup for dance is when parents are unwilling to apply enough makeup to their daughters faces for fear of them looking “too mature for their age”.  Makeup for dance performances needs to be much darker than everyday street makeup for a young dancer’s face to be seen by the audience.  This can often make dance moms and dads quite uncomfortable.

Here are 4 tips for keeping makeup for dance competitions and performances youthful and fresh but strong enough for stage.

1)    Eyebrows - Eyebrows need to be enhanced for stage performances because much of our emotional expression is shown in our eyebrows (think “smiley icons”!).  Brows definitely need to be darkened but if you darken every little hair growing in the general vicinity of the eyebrow you will create a monster!  However, a very thin, sculptured, dark eyebrow can look too sophisticated and mature for a young dancer’s face.  An eyebrow pencil can leave too severe a line.  I prefer using an eye shadow color that is the same as or one to two shades darker than the hair color.   Go to the center of the brow, and carefully brush a line of shadow in the center of the existing eyebrow.   A little goes a long way on the eyebrows.  Now, use a brow brush/comb to blend out the center line of shadow that you just applied.  This keeps the brow soft and natural but enhances it enough to allow the audience to clearly see the dancer’s emotional expression.

2)    Eyes – Makeup for dance performances often includes the use of A LOT of black eyeliner and/or eye shadow and often in all the wrong places.  This gives the dancers makeup look a hard, harsh, look that can leave the eyes looking like big emotionless black holes to the audience.  Use black eyeliner ONLY on the top lash line.  Use a brown liner conservatively under lower lashes.  DO NOT use black eyeliner on the inner lash line. Use a white highlighter eye pencil on the inner lash line to keep the eyes looking big.

3)    Cheeks – Makeup for dance is often misunderstood.  Dance makeup does need to be darker and more intense but blush that is the wrong color, too dark, or is applied in hard, sharp lines definitely adds years to a younger dancers face.  Use neutral pink/peach tones of blush to give the face a natural, healthy glow.  Apply blush under the cheekbone to enhance the bone structure of the face.  Avoid circles on the apples of the cheeks by starting at the hair line and brushing blush forward.  Avoid harsh lines by blending the color forward and then up.  Avoid letting the blush color drop below the lip line.  BLEND, BLEND, BLEND to create a fresh, youthful look to the dancers face.

4)    Lips – Makeup for dance almost always showcases a bright red lip stick color that makes a dance mom sweat as she is applying!  Choosing the wrong shade of red lip stick can make a dancer look hard, harsh, and overdone.  Ideally, when choosing a red lipstick color for stage performances, choose a neutral red.  This usually has a slight, browner, or brick tone to it and it looks great on every skin tone!  As a side note, red lipstick is not the ONLY lip stick that looks good on stage.  A beautiful, neutral rose tone makes the lips look fresh and clean without the dramatic look of a red.  For example, Juliet from “Romeo and Juliet” would never wear a red because it would look too mature for her innocent, young character.  Hey, if a rose-toned lipstick works for a ballerina as Juliet, it will work for any dancer, right?

Click here to choose the look that’s best suited for you or your daughter.  You’ll get FREE step-by-step video instructions on how to apply your performance cosmetics so

You look gorgeous AND age appropriate!

Choose Your Look NOW!

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Want a FREE Customized Gift from JAM?

If you’re a dancer, click here

If you’re a cheerleader, click here

If you’re a dance mom, click here

If you’re a dance teacher or cheer coach, click here

…

About the Author

Jessica Dupont is a former Professional NYC Dancer and Makeup Artist.  She owns JAM cosmetics, which is a line of ULTIMATE performance cosmetics for dancers and cheerleaders. JAM specializes in dance makeup, cheer makeup and is known for their beautiful half lashes and step-by-step video tutorials.

Find out 4 secrets the pro’s use AND 3 things you NEED TO KNOW to look gorgeous and stand out from the crowd, by getting Jessica’s free dance makeup e-Guide NOW at www.JAMcosmetics.net.

Throughout my training as a makeup artist at AVEDA in NYC, I learned about the nasty chemicals that go into many of the cosmetic products that we use every day to make ourselves more beautiful. These chemicals can stay in your body long after the makeup is gone, potentially causing all sorts of problems. One of the most questionable of these chemicals is parabens.

Read on »

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!)

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 you?

Before we discuss, take our poll:

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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 we do it?” Read on »

I have been on tour with Star Systems this year, and had the opportunity to judge the 2008 National Championships in Nashville, TN.  As dancer/makeup artist and owner of JAM cosmetics (THE professional makeup line designed for dancers), I felt compelled to write and talk about the TOP 10 PERFORMANCE MAKEUP MISTAKES that I saw on stages all over the country. Read on »