Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Cheap Makeup?

Message

   My one class in theater (decades ago) was one on makeup.  So I have a general awareness of the art form. After seeing the current prices for even a student theatrical makeup kit, I started to investigate alternatives.

I tried some cheap Halloween makeup, but there was so little pigment, that it was a complete waste of time.

There certainly is no shortage of makeup in dollar stores. The eyeliner stuff is all fine.  But, for character makeups, most doesn't seem very useful for theatrical applications.  I tried using an eyeshadow kit with some darker browns and white to do general highlighting and shadows. But, nearly all eyeshadow has glitter or something shiny in it.

The $1 store cake makeup and liquid bases are sufficient for a plain, straight makeup. But, there is no doubt that a cream makeup is preferable to do character work.

I did look again the other day, and came across a concealer, which was a cream with good coverage. But, there were only two color choices that looked nearly the same, with one being a little pinker.

With so many pre-gray individuals involved theater and needing to look older, doing something to grey another ongoing issue.  The pro sprays certainly have a high dollar figure per application. I experimented a little with applying hair spray and then talcum powder while the hairspray was still wet, but it really didn't work.

So, specifically, I am hunting for cream makeup with a range of colors at a low cost.  And ideas for home-made hair whitener.

-Joe

Author	Message
jdunfee12 Player Joined: 8/26/12 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 11	Topic: Cheap Makeup? Posted: 1/13/16 at 1:21pm
	My one class in theater (decades ago) was one on makeup. So I have a general awareness of the art form. After seeing the current prices for even a student theatrical makeup kit, I started to investigate alternatives. I tried some cheap Halloween makeup, but there was so little pigment, that it was a complete waste of time. There certainly is no shortage of makeup in dollar stores. The eyeliner stuff is all fine. But, for character makeups, most doesn't seem very useful for theatrical applications. I tried using an eyeshadow kit with some darker browns and white to do general highlighting and shadows. But, nearly all eyeshadow has glitter or something shiny in it. The $1 store cake makeup and liquid bases are sufficient for a plain, straight makeup. But, there is no doubt that a cream makeup is preferable to do character work. I did look again the other day, and came across a concealer, which was a cream with good coverage. But, there were only two color choices that looked nearly the same, with one being a little pinker. With so many pre-gray individuals involved theater and needing to look older, doing something to grey another ongoing issue. The pro sprays certainly have a high dollar figure per application. I experimented a little with applying hair spray and then talcum powder while the hairspray was still wet, but it really didn't work. So, specifically, I am hunting for cream makeup with a range of colors at a low cost. And ideas for home-made hair whitener. -Joe
	Joe Dunfee

	IP Logged

biggertigger Celebrity Joined: 4/16/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 188	Posted: 1/17/16 at 5:50pm
	Joe, I can't help you with cheap make-up, but for covering hair that looks natural I use liquid shoe polish. Simply squeeze some into a bowl and use a toothbrush to brush it into the hair. I do this with the white and black to cover gray. It just washes out with warm water and shampoo. -Daniel J.
	The two greatest days in a theater persons life, the day you start a new show and the day the damn thing closes.
	IP Logged

jdunfee12 Player Joined: 8/26/12 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 11	Posted: 1/17/16 at 7:08pm
	Thanks for that great suggestion. And while make-up is not cheap, the actual cost per application seems to be higher for temporary hair coloring. Liquid is also better controlled than spray, which is important for graying hair. -joe
	Joe Dunfee
	IP Logged

jdunfee12 Player Joined: 8/26/12 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 11	Posted: 1/17/16 at 10:26pm
	I went and purchased some $1 store liquid shoe polish. They had a Brown/White/Black set in one pack. Since I had difficulty finding it, I ended up looking where they had the craft paint, and saw some window markers. Recalling the use of white liquid shoe polish for the same thing in my youth, I purchased some of that as well. The $1 store liquid shoe polish was useless, since it had very little pigment. It was a milky, watery liquid, that has NO coverage on any surface. However, the $1 store window paint was quite acceptable. Like the shoe polish version, it had a sponge applicator that you could saturate by pressing against a hard surface. But, I just pressed against something and squeezed it until a paste came out. This white paste had excellent coverage on hair, and also washed out quite easily. In fact, it washed out easier than the professional stuff. So, I can see that it might run if the actor is sweating. Perhaps mixing some of it with hair gel would give it more staying power. Of course, using something like this on your head, with potentially some of it running into your eyes, is something that gives me pause to re-evaluate. There was no skin irritation on myself, but the eye might be another matter. The ingredients are totally unknown. -Joe
	Joe Dunfee
	IP Logged

jdunfee12 Player Joined: 8/26/12 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 11	Posted: 1/24/16 at 1:06pm
	I came across a great resource. Though, I doubt the makeup recipes will be great for realistic makeups, they might be good for fantasy or animal makeups. http://new.4-hcurriculum.org/projects/theatre/TheatreArts/homemademakup/default.html -Joe
	Joe Dunfee
	IP Logged

jdunfee12 Player Joined: 8/26/12 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 11	Posted: 2/28/16 at 10:23pm
	The production is over. Never found anything satisfactory from $1 stores. The regular street cream makeup at Walmart, in the colors I wanted, were nearly as expensive as getting the genuine theatrical stuff. I purchased a Mehron "Mini-Pro Student Make-up Kit". Though the oxymoron did suggest that the "pro" part of the description was in doubt. Also, on Amazon, two different kits are described as "mini-pro" I purchased the $19 one with 8 different cream colors. Several of the creme foundations looked very close to each other in shade, but in general the quality looks good. I just wished for a larger spread of colors for shading. They only provided a very dark brown, and a pure white for shading/highlighting. I actually did a lot of mixing to get the shades.. For whitening my hair, we used clown white makeup and brushed it on lightly with a wide brush. This is certainly not the easiest stuff to get of your hair. But, it does work, and is fairly cheap. After powdering it, it did not come off onto the many hats I had to wear as grandpa in "Meet Me in St Louis" -Joe
	Joe Dunfee
	IP Logged

Props, Scenery, Costumes and Makeup
Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board :Producing Theater :Props, Scenery, Costumes and Makeup