Make-up Information for Chorus Members

Many thanks to Melissa Tom, Principal Make-up Assistant for Die Zauberflöte, for the following tips:

Basic items you will need to provide

Brushes

A minimum of two fluffy headed brushes (one for your highlight and one for your shadow contour) intended for powder products, not creams. Generally for powder products, you want natural bristle brushes, vs. the synthetic, aka nylon or taklon, bristles, which are better with cream products. Eyeshadow brushes are great, but you can choose any size brush head that you are comfortable working with. Everyone's face is different, so a brush that's a great size for one person might be too big or too small for another person. Good, cheap brands to look for: the Perfection line at Walgreens, or the Sonia Kashuk line at Target. Eyeshadow brushes are around $4-6 a piece, they're natural bristle, are very very soft, and are great quality, especially for the price.

Make-up sponges

Latex makeup sponges work well: the wedge shape are great because you can use the edges to get in the nooks and crevices of your face, like around the nostril edge or right up under your eyelashes, but the round discs are fine, too. Try to find some that don't look too porous--they don't hold and distribute water (and therefore, makeup) very well, and most of the makeup in West Bay's kits are water-based, meaning you need to apply them with a damp sponge. Good, cheap brand: again, the Perfection line at Walgreens. Small natural sea sponges intended for makeup are also good.

Optional additional items

Blush or powder brush

These are similar to the eyeshadow brushes, but have a larger head and are generally fluffier. West Bay has very little in the way of brushes, so you'll need one (whether it's yours or you're borrowing someone else's) to apply blush with.

Make-up remover

There may be some provided by WBO for the Chorus to use, but it's likely to run out. Baby wipes are an inexpensive, convenient option that work fairly well, or you can spend a little more and buy make-up-removing towelettes. (And if you don't mind washing your face in the sink, there's always regular facial cleanser.)

Small bowl/tupperware/cup to put water in

West Bay's stock of foundation is almost exclusively water-based, so it's nice to have your own little bowl of water to dip your sponge into as you apply your makeup. Otherwise, you may have to go back and forth between your station and the sink to re-wet your sponge. Also, if you are using one of West Bay's foundations, please put a few drops of the disinfectant into your bowl of water before you swab into the cake of makeup. For obvious reasons, this is the sanitary way to use a communal supply of makeup.

Eyeliner

Again, there are some communal items that can be used as eyeliner, but for eye products, it's generally more sanitary to get your own, and you can buy some eyeliners for very very cheap. The drugstore brand Wet 'n Wild sells them for like $1-2 (I'll admit, they don't make the absolute best eyeliners out there, but they work). Get a "natural" color--if your hair is very dark, you can get black. If you've more brown in your hair, get a brown eyeliner. You may also want to get a pencil sharpener while you're at it. And no, pencil sharpeners intended for leaded writing pencils (like the classic No. 2 pencil used for Scantrons) do NOT work for cosmetic pencils. Cosmetic pencils get chewed up in regular pencil sharpeners—you turn and turn and turn and you never shave off any of the wood but somehow you keep shaving off the product inside.... I like the sharpeners with covers to catch the shavings, but that's because I don't like going to the garbage can every time I need to sharpen something. And once again, a good, cheap sharpener is made by... the Perfection line at Walgreens. It's got two sizes of sharpeners, has a tight-fitting cover, and a sharp blade. And it's like $2-3.