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Well I have my opinions about what type of makeup is best to use for CT stages. And quite honestly the answer is SO VARIABLE that to lay any claim that one is best over the next is risky. However, in my educated opinion, I have always used WATER BASED CAKE MAKEUP. That is to say, I've used it all, but I PREFER WBCM simply because of it's range of colors, it's ease of use and it's ease of clean up. BUT and this is the big disclaimer, if you have an actor who sweats profusely, or there are some other mitigating issues that require you use makeup that is much more tolerant to certain conditions, then you use what works best for the individual actor wearing it.
I have tried it all. I've used, cream makeup, grease paint, cream sticks, over-the-counter, high priced, low priced, store bought, makeup company bought, Kellys, Steins, Maybelline, Ben Nye, RCMA, Mehron, no-name, BIG NAME, cheap, expensive, etc., etc., etc. I have LOVED Bob Kelly makeup HOWEVER he went out of the makeup business and just had his wig goods business left anymore. Sad day to be sure. BUT I've used Blasco, Ben Nye, Mehron and Steins A LOT and I like Ben Nye's line, but was a die-hard STEIN'S customer for many, many years. I just like what I've used. Their color line is limited but they're dependable.
Then I even went to good old Wal-Mart and found some inexpensive water based cake makeup and used it extensively and found it to be nearly as good as any of the others.....and it's a bit cheaper too. SO suffice it to say, whatever works is what you should use. Some makeups cause allergic reactions, cause you to break out, DRY the skin (cake makeups do that)...and other issues. It's time to test under actual conditions and develop over time the feel for what works best under a variety of conditions and a variety of people. I always disliked cream makeup, greasepaint, cream sticks (even Kellys), and liquid makeups. Their maintenance is a pain, they MUST be powdered liberally to SET the makeup, they run, they make me break out, they're too greasy for my taste. I'd rather moisturize after using a water based cake makeup to restore and rejuvinate the skin than to try to get the grease out of the pores from the other types.
There is NO hard and fast rule. Greasepaint was the standard (when there wasn't anything else). But now there is so much product out there that you can always find something that will work. YOU just need to discover OVER TIME what works for you. Everyone is a little different and to me it's not so much what you use that is important as it is WHAT and HOW you use it to accomplish whatever is necessary as makeup artist. I've seen good and bad makeup work using ALL these products and it's not about the product to me as much as it is how good the makeup job is that's done with it. I WILL tell you this. You CAN get inexpensive stuff to do just about as well as more highly priced makeup such that it's not about getting what you pay for with these products. It's a big scam. Theater makeup is just makeup with more pigment in it for less needed for the same coverage under high wattage theater lighting conditions. AND YET AGAIN I've allowed actors who keep healthy tans going, the need to NOT USE any makeup at all - save perhaps a bit of eyebrow or eye work to enhance those features as needed - or perhaps a bit of "color" into the bronzey blush BUT not just cheeks - all over the face to add some "life" to their brown tanned looks. And with good lighting design from a sensitive designer who knows color, anymore a LOT of makeup is almost not necessary - as it used to be.
It's always been my considered opinion that people use too much, thinking it's going to be needed. And they slather on so much that it masks rather than compliments the skin coloration. And if they slather it on they usually have no clue how to make it look natural (which means more than ONE COLOR of makeup required.....look at natural skin....MULTI-COLORED to be sure). So it's all about discovery for your own needs and what works best. But for my taste it has always been about ease of use, dependability, cost, ease of clean up, and lastly quality (in terms of brand recognizability or other "quality" features that make it worth it's higher cost). NO-one in my estimation can say definitively what is best for CT including me. I've tried it all and I think that's about the only way anyone can effectively KNOW for certain that what they need some product to do, will work for them when they use it. And it alters over time. I used to LOVE Maybelline's cream stick - but I THINK only because I dug the smell of the makeup - because it required powdering and maintenance. I just liked the way it looked on, but more likely because I liked the smell. NOW ain't THAT a trippy idea.
Anyway test time - I'd say. Try as much as you can find or afford to decide what works best for you under a variety of conditions on a variety of types of actors. THEN you'll know better. BUT for my dollar - it's always been mostly water based cake makeup - EVEN under super sweaty conditions it's always done pretty well for me, on me and others. LOW maintenance, ease of use and cleanup, relatively inexpensive and plenty of choice.
Good luck HOPE YOU find what works for you and your people.
Tony Di
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"Almost famous"
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