Take care of your face on a daily basis, as stage makeup is heavy and can be hard on your skin.
Do any hair removal as far ahead of the performance as possible, no less than an hour ahead of time, as hair removal such as waxing and shaving can irritate your skin.
Pull long hair back and secure it away from your face. Wash off any makeup, dirt or oil with an oil-free cleanser. Don't apply moisturizers or lotions before applying stage makeup because they relax the skin and can affect the look of the makeup you apply.
Apply a mild astringent. This will close your pores and help protect your skin from the makeup.
Choose your foundation carefully depending on the type of performance you're participating in. Water-resistant foundations are best for active performers who are likely to sweat under hot lights. Match your foundation color to your skin tone. To correct facial redness from exertion on stage and any blemishes, use a yellow-based foundation.
Spread foundation with your fingers or a sponge, applying foundation to the center of your forehead, along the sides of your nose and nostrils, on the mouth, the lips, chin, jawbone and eyelids. Blend foundation onto your throat and ears.
Apply a yellow-based concealer a few shades lighter than your foundation with a small brush on top of your foundation over any blemishes. Blend the edges with your fingers or a sponge.
Dust a powder puff or a powder brush with translucent powder. Dust off any excess powder and brush powder across your face, ears and neck to set your foundation. Do not over-apply powder under your eyes, as this can cause dryness and creasing.
Add highlights and low lights. Highlights should be between one and two shades lighter than your foundation and low lights should be between one and two shades darker. Apply low lights to receding areas of your face, such as beneath your cheekbones, and use your fingers to blend and add highlights on the parts of your face that protrude, like your cheekbones and jawline.
Apply blush with a brush across the apples of your cheeks in a teardrop shape for color and dust it lightly over your face to add warmth to the foundation. Blend the blush on your cheeks carefully; there should be no big red cheek circles.
Apply lip liner around your lips. The lip liner should be a few shades darker than the color of the lipstick. Lighter, browner colors are better for men's lips. Use lip liner outside the natural lip line to create the illusion of fuller or curvier lips
Apply lipstick over the lip liner and blend. For extra staying power, use matte lipstick, apply, blot with a tissue, powder with translucent powder and repeat.
Add a shiny, lighter highlight in the middle of the lower lip to add fullness. For shine, add clear lip gloss on top.
Apply the darkest eye shadow from across half of the eyelid and curve it up toward the outer edge of your eyebrow.
Above that curving shape, apply a slightly lighter color in a thick arched line mirroring the shape of your brows but not reaching them.
Use an eye shadow a shade lighter to fill in the remaining space between the eye and the eyebrow; draw a thin line following the center of your eyebrow.
Use a dark powder eyeliner to extend a line from the inner corner of your eye curving slightly upwards towards your brow line but not past it. Line the bottom of your eyes from halfway across to the outer corner of the eye, extending the line out past the corner of the eye.
Make sure that upper and lower lines don't meet at the corner of your eye. Fill in the space between the lines with white eyeliner to make your eyes appear wider.
Fill in your eyebrows with the eyebrow pencil. If using false eyelashes, apply the adhesive to the back section of the lashes. Place them against the base line of your lashes and press for a few seconds.
Remove your makeup as soon as the performance is over. Water-based makeups can be removed with oil-free cleanser. Take off water-resistant and oil-based makeups with makeup remover cream, Vaseline or vegetable oil and a soft cotton washcloth.
Be sure to remove all makeup from your face, neck, eyes and ears. Dry off your face and neck gently with a towel. If any traces of makeup come off, re-cleanse. Take off false eyelashes carefully.
Apply a mild astringent and moisturize your skin after you've removed all makeup and cleansed your skin.