In the Costume and Makeup Design course I have been taking, the class was assigned the task of watching an experienced student apply Ingénue or “stage makeup” on one of our peers while we took notes. During the next class period, we followed the same directions and applied the makeup on our own faces. This process allowed the class to understand what techniques and materials were needed for applying stage makeup, as well as clearly showing the differences between everyday makeup and stage makeup. The first steps were to apply foundation, setting powder, blush, and eyebrow makeup. The next steps were to then apply eye makeup and lipstick. A challenge I faced when applying the makeup was making sure that my eyebrow makeup was even because I had never had much experience with applying brow makeup. Throughout this project, I learned that applying makeup is very similar to painting; you never start by painting the details first. After learning this important piece of information, the steps to applying makeup became much clearer. For example, foundation is always first because if put on last it will conceal the blush that was already applied. I also learned that exaggeration of features is common in stage makeup due to bright lights almost “washing away” your features. This practice of over-exaggeration can be found when applying blush or eye shadow. When applying makeup in the future, I will focus on how important order is when using makeup and the importance of accentuating features for when you go on stage.
Old Age Makeup Reflection:
After learning about how to create an Ingénue or “stage makeup” look in my Costume and Makeup Design class, the class was instructed to create the look once again on our own faces. After everyone was finished, we were given a demonstration of how to create an aging effect on our faces with makeup. It was explained to the class that if we were to ever in a play and had the role of an older person, the technique of aging ourselves with the help of makeup would be useful. The first step was to apply highlights to our forming wrinkles and areas that wrinkled when creating a variety of facial expressions. The next step was to then apply lines of shadow underneath the lines of highlight. This once again could be compared to painting because lighter colors are generally applied first and darker colors or shadows are applied last. Some challenges I faced through this process were creating thin enough lines for the shadows and highlights and making the wrinkles appear realistic when viewing from afar. In the future when applying makeup, I will keep in mind the importance of adding highlights then applying shadows where natural wrinkles have or are beginning to form. I will also try to remember the importance of using highlights and shadows when creating new features or accentuating them.