The natural-looking theatrical makeup intended to make actors look most realistic under the harsh lights of the live stage is known as "straight" makeup. This style of makeup begins by giving the actor an even skin tone using foundation in a color close to that of the actor, with the rule being to go a shade or two darker. Foundation should be applied to all exposed parts of the actor's body. Liner pencils add definition to eyebrows. Mascara and eyeliner make the eyes more noticeable from faraway parts of the theater. Lip color makes the mouth stand out and should be applied with a brush rather than a stick. Fake eyelashes work well to accentuate women's eyelashes. The goal with straight makeup is to make the actor look as realistic as possible. Avoid using too much makeup or giving the actor a garish appearance, but remember that the lights drown out facial features.
Kabuki is a Japanese theater art with its own distinct style of makeup. Even within the kabuki style, variations depend on the character portrayed. Colors hold great importance in kabuki, as they are used to display a character's emotion. Some examples of kabuki emotion color codes include gray on the chin (indicating dreariness), pale red or pink (showing that the character is light and youthful), purple (representing nobility or sublimity) and black (used to show fright and terror). Common characters in kabuki distinguished by their makeup include demons, ghosts and other non-humans.
Fantasy makeup is used to show non-human characters in Western theater. A makeup artist can have a lot of fun---playing up their creative side, uninhibited by anything other than their own imagination. Styles of makeup that point toward the fantastical include vampires, fairies and witches. Though these styles have conventions and tropes (for example, vampires with very white faces), the artist has a lot of room to experiment. In the example of fairies, the artist can experiment with designs around the eyes that include a great deal of detail, swirling and blending.
Another example of Japanese theatrical makeup is butoh. Typically, butoh performers paint their entire bodies white while naked. However, butoh performers are not always constrained by this, feeling free to paint their body any color or combination of colors that seems to go with the performance.