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How to Apply Makeup That Lasts


How to Apply Makeup That Lasts

Beauty School, a series from T Magazine, answers common beauty questions with help from creative people who've become experts on the job. Sign up here to find us in your inbox once a month, and send any questions of your own to [email protected].

In this season of back-to-back parties, there's an extra premium on makeup that stays put. That need for longevity is something that stage performers -- who must contend with sweat, bright lights and hurried costume changes -- understand well. We asked three people familiar with those challenges about the products and techniques they rely on. Below, tips from Valentino Beauty's global makeup artist, Yadim; the cabaret artist Justin Vivian Bond, whose show "Flakes" opens Dec. 12 at Joe's Pub in New York; and the musician Tinashe, now on tour with her latest album, "Quantum Baby."

Yadim, makeup artist

In October, I got called to work with Charli XCX for the San Diego show of the Sweat tour. I'd done her makeup for campaigns but not onstage. In this case, her regular makeup artist, Yasmin Istanbouli, had gotten sick. Charli's a very physical performer, so durability is important. Her signature look is some version of a smoky eye with a nude-ish lip. I used Valentino Beauty's Colorgraph pencil in Rockstud Noir inside the waterline, slightly smudged. After it sets, it doesn't move. I also used the Colorgraph pencil in Brown Fondant on her eyelid, diffusing it, then setting it with a powder shadow. Putting a powder on top of an emollient product is always going to make it hold longer.

For Charli's skin, I used the Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Primer because it holds on to whatever you put on top. The Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder in Medium is great for contouring -- it's the perfect shade of greige. I put a little of the Spike Valentino lipstick in Couture in the Streets on my hand and with a blush brush swept it over the apples of her cheeks, like a stain. I pressed it into her lips, too, setting it with a loose powder by Numeric Proof.

The clear Mixing Liquid by Mehron Makeup is also vital when I need something to be very long-wearing. You can add it to basically any eye shadow, loose pigment or cream -- and once it sets, it stays.

Justin Vivian Bond, 61, cabaret performer

I want to say my stage look is classics with a twist. But as I get older, I become more classic and less twisted. The main thing is to just look good and be unbothered once I go onstage.

I'm not particularly fond of long-lasting makeup formulas. I find them to be too thick, too dry, too heavy. I've been wearing a tinted moisturizer called Iconic London Super Smoother because it doesn't collect in the creases of your skin. I use a little Chanel Les Beiges powder on top, just under my eyes and on my forehead and chin.

I'm in love with Victoria Beckham's Satin Kajal Liner. It goes on smoothly and the pigment is so rich. For shows, I also use NYX's waterproof Epic Ink Liner in black before I glue on my lashes. And I've been enjoying MAC Extended Play Gigablack Lash mascara, which doesn't smudge.

I line my lips for shows, which helps set the lipstick and the shape. I need lipstick that has a humectant quality when I sing; if my lips get dry, it's awful onstage. For "Flakes," I intend to wear Chanel Rouge Allure in deep red Pirate, to contribute to the outlaw vibe I'm feeling right now.

Tinashe, 31, musician

I typically do my own makeup for shows. Some days I want it to be more glam; some days more avant-garde. I moisturize beforehand, usually with Dr. Barbara Sturm's Darker Skin Tones face cream. It's thick but not too oily, so it doesn't compete with my foundation. Most of the time I like to let my freckles show, but when I'm going onstage, I apply a more opaque MAC liquid foundation called Studio Fix with a Beautyblender.

To add depth, I'll then use blush or bronzer. I contour along my hairline and cheekbones with MAC's Skinfinish Sunstruck Matte Bronzer, and I also like to define the inner bones of my eyes. I lean toward a powder blush, like the one by Gucci Beauty in Tender Apricot, because it gives me staying power without mattifying my face too much.

Waterproof mascara is a lot harder to get off than a regular formula. So I'll usually wear a feathery eyelash strip on my top lid to give that onstage big-eye effect, and a coat of Le Volume de Chanel mascara on the bottom lashes.

I typically go for a more matte lip for shows than I would in my day-to-day life. The pencil I've been using is Make Up For Ever Artist Color in Limitless Brown 608. It really lasts. Over the top, I'll use Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Velvet in Pure Hollywood. It's super matte and just stays. I don't powder my face, but I might powder my lipstick -- you don't want your hair to get stuck in it.

T recommends

Fenty Beauty Flyliner Longwear liquid eyeliner, $24

Dior Diorshow waterproof mascara, $33

Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place foundation, $52

These interviews have been edited and condensed.

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