Makeup help?

[Snickers the Clown]

I was wondering if anyone could help me with my makeup. I had my first gig on Tuesday, and we took some pictures. We noticed I was having some trouble with smearing,(the powder didn't seem to help any) and the red dried out my lips. Any suggestions?

[Flutterby]

What type of grease paint are you using?

In the words of Jim Howle - his suggestions are to wash your face with soap and water first (no fancy soap - just a regular ol bar of plain soap) and then dry your face. DO NOT use any lotions before applying your grease paint! The oils in the lotions will cause your paint to smear and run...

Check out the type of paints you are using. Some paints (such as those by Jim Howle or Leon McBryde) are designed to prevent smearing from perspiration... Also - you only want to apply a thin enough layer to cover your skin - but not too thick! If you put it on too think, then the powder won't help either!

I have also noticed that the paint dries my lips out - but don't have any suggestion there... I use the clown white on my upper lip and red on my lower - but it looks like you use red on both - so you could probably find a regular red lipstick that is the same shade as your grease paints...

For more info on grease paint help - Jim Howle does not have his own website, but you can find some of his paints at either Wayne & Marti Scott's website or at Leon McBryde's... They are both close friends of Jim's and they both carry his paints and supplies along with their own line of clown necesseties!

Wayne & Marty Scott have Jim Howle's stuff here: New Page 1

and Leon McBryde's items can be found at Welcome to ProKNOWS.com
He does carry a few of Jim Howle's items intermingled with his stuff...

My personal favorite is Jim's b/c it goes on WAY thinner than any other I have seen! plus it lasts a long time and has great coverage! You can use about 1/3 what you would with another top brand...

Hope some of this helps!

Bump a nose! (And congrats on the first gig!!!)

[Nettie Belle]

I used to have dried out lips to the point that I couldn't stand it. I bought some RED Revlon Color Stay lipstick. It lasts for HOURS, has a glosser on one end, and you can take it with you for touchups if necessary. You probably won't need touchups, though. It stays on for a LONG time.

Another thing I do is, after I put the red on DON'T powder your lips. Instead, put a Q-tip in your teeth to keep your lips from touching, and the red Color Stay will "set" in your lips. For pictures, or for moisturizing your lips, add a tiny bit of the gloss. No more dried out lips.

[Snickers the Clown]

Originally Posted by Flutterby

What type of grease paint are you using?

I use cream paint. But thanks for the links.

[tim]

What do you mean by "cream paint?" Like Halloween type stuff? If so, then you need to get away from that or you will ALWAYS have problems. Get quality theatrical or grease paint from Mehron, Ben Nye, Pro-Face, or Jim Howle. Then powder it thoroughly. You really can't use too much. More is always better than less to make sure it sets. You just brush off the extra.

As far as the lips, I have the same problem sometimes. I'm going to try the Revlon thing, I think. Otherwise, I just try to keep my lips moisturized otherwise (when not in makeup) and refine my red to areas that are not as likely to chaff. Pat it on lightly, powder sensitively so as to set the makeup but not dry out the lips too much. Hope and pray it works!

[Jolly Well]

Like Holly Jolly said; if you're using Halloween grade make-up, you are always going to have problems. Any of the major clowning vendors can ship you make-up by the time you're gig gets here (if you don't have one local)...

check

LaRocks Fun and Magic Outlet
Bubba's Clown Supplies: clown makeup, comedy magic, Fun item

or search for a supplier in your area...

[Flutterby]

Yeah, I agree with Holly Jolly here... Cream paints or halloween grade makeup will always create problems for you! I have never used Mehron - but have heard good things about it - I swear by Jim Howle (but I am partial b/c he also designed my clown face for me!) and ProFace (by Leon McBryde) are all excellent grease paints...

If you are worried about ease of removal... Grease paints break-down with oil (which is why I mentioned NOT using lotion before applying your paint). So instead of spending even more money on some of the custom removal items (ProFace sells some good stuff, but Jim Howle just tells his customers to use the following - just put some baby oil on a baby wipe and it wipes right off! Cheap and VERY quick! The baby oil on a baby wipe works on ALL grease paints - no matter the brand...

Bump a nose!

[Bumbles]

Pattycake and I use plain old cheap vegetable oil to break down our grease paint. A small amount in the palm of your hand will do. then wipe off use more if needed then wash with soap and water.

[Flutterby]

LOL The vege oil works too (as is even cheaper!)... But I prefer the smell of the baby oil and wipes... Plus you can easily put 2-3 of the oil covered wipes in a little baggy to take with you to your gig and have a quick clean up on the spot with no messy/large bottles to carry with you...

[Mr. Dazzle]

I use Noxema makeup wipes. They cut the grease pretty well plus they come in a handy dandy little pouch that is easy to carry anywhere. They can be thrown into your makeup box, balloon/clown bag, or theatre bag (I use them for theatre aswell)...

You can get them at any walmart near the noxema.