Carnaval 2008 - My Makeup Page
This was my "dry run" for my makeup. I decided again this year to wax down my eyebrows. Kevyn Aucoin (makeup GOD) has assured me in his book "Making Faces" that this was doable, and as years past have proven, Kevyn didn't lie. Eyebrow wax covered in makeup and powder does the trick!
Just pinch off a little bit of the eyebrow wax, roll it around to get it soft, and then smear it onto your brows. It's really best to have them thinned as much as you can, and trimmed of any "wild hairs" - especially you boys - before trying to cover them. If you have coarse, wirey brows, don't trim them too short unless you plan to pluck off the short hairs altogether, as you need a little length to "grab" onto the wax and stay smoothed down.
Here is my brow with the wax on, all smoothed down. You can see how clean they look. Just apply a lot of concealer, press with powder, and you're good to go.
You can see where in these photos, you can still see my brows a little bit there. For me, if I wanted them totally invisible, I'd have to shave them, but I'm satisfied with the way they come out.
This was the first year that I didn't make any major changes between my "dry run" makeup and my final makeup. I was just really happy with the way it came out the first time, and it worked really well with my costume. :) I did make the "swirly" WAY bigger, but that's about it!
Here's what I used, since some people have emailed and asked:
The wax is Kryolan Eyebrow Plastic (for stage, film & television) - should run you from $7-10.
The sealant (that you can or can not use, depending on what you want - I used it the first year, but didn't this year, and it didn't seem to make much of a difference) is Mehron Fixative "A" Prosthetic Sealer #144, about $6
Kryolan makes their own "sealor" (their spelling) and it's called Kryolan Flexible Sealor. I've found that using products together from the same line can be really good.
I found a lot of places online that have the wax and the sealant that I bought. Not so many for the Kryolan.
For my makeup, I used Ben Nye Lumiere eyeshadows and Paradise AQ makeup by Mehron. The Paradise AQ It gives an AMAZING line and is easy to blend and control. I used that really fine, tiny makeup glitter you can get at stage makeup shops to paint on the silver glitter.
This is a pretty good shot of my lashes. I had on two pairs for the bottom and two on the top. I am IN LOVE with the lashes with the silver on the tips; they were a really lucky find after Halloween. I think they went with my silver disco theme so well.
A shot of my lashes from the top. I am forever trying to get the same kind of shot Lane got of me that year I did all the bananas and he shot the candid of me looking down. I love that picture so much but have never been able to get close to how it looked - see below for that photo!
Here I am in b/w. I really like the way this looks. It's the only b/w photo I really liked, since I used such poppy colors.
And now, on to the step-by-step of my makeup. Don't forget to if you have any questions about any of it!
So you wanna be a Drag Queen??
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| Plain base makeup over entire face | Eyebrows waxed down and covered with concealer; light/highlight-colored foundation over cheekbones, nose bridge, chin, forehead | Dark contour makeup on hollows of cheeks, temples, dices of nose, jawline |
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| Translucent powder over all makeup. "Mask" drawn with pink eyeshadow, area around the eyes in white eyeshadow | Depth given to "mask" by painting Paradise AQ on edges | Gradient of turquoise eyeshadow added to forehead, blended to hairline |
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| Swirly of pink added to cheek | Sideview of swirly | Black eyebrows painted well above my natural brow |
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| Accent lines down nose and on chin | Vivid white liquid liner outlining the eyes, corners of eyes | Black liquid liner outlining the eyes |
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| Top lashes (two pair) applied | Bottom lashes (two pair) applied, lashes blended with black mascara into my own lashes | Liquid glitter applied to bottom edge of pink mask, eyelids |
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| Dark liner on lips, filled in with lighter shade of lipstick | A few rhinestones added, and visine in effect! | Final smile!! |
Here are a few photos of my test makeup, followed by some words on my headdress - scroll down!!
- Blow up balloons to the size of disco balls I needed, paper mache' the balls, let dry.
- Cut balls so that they are in the proper position, duct tape them together LIKE CRAZY.
- Mark red dots where the lights will emerge.
- Cover balls in white felt to even out the surface.
- Use power drill to poke holes in the balls. (It was actually more difficult than I had anticipated.)
- Thread heavy gauge florist wire through holes in headdress to affix later to the baseball cap base.
- Cover balls with mirrored mosaic tile, leaving room for the lights.
- Poke lights through, affix battery packs to interior of balls using Velcro.
- Secure lights with hot glue on inside, use silver glitter glue to close the holes on the outside. Use silver glitter glue to fill in any large gaps in the tiles.
- Using a plain baseball cap, remove the brim. Glue the edge where the brim was closed with Fabri-Tac.
- Run more florist wire up through the cap, weaving it in and out and twisting it with the wire from the top of the balls.
- Cover in base fabric. Secure with Fabri-Tac. Stuff with fiberfill.
- Add wide band at the bottom of the cap to cover the fabric edges. Leave the front unglued so I could wrap it tight and secure it with Velcro. Be sure to leave room to reach up and turn on and off the battery packs for the lights, put in batteries, etc.
- Trim with feathers, disco balls, mirrored tiles, etc.
- Attach chin strap. I use a clear bra strap glued to the inside of the cap and then fastened under my chin.
Again, if you have any questions about any of this!
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