Drag King

This look was tricky. I went in too heavy with the makeup to start with and then covered up with fake stubble (using disposable mascara wand).

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo Makeup Seminar Notes

A few notes about the excellent makeup seminar I attended with a member of Les Ballets Trockadero, Robert Carter, who kindly invited us to watch him put on his makeup in the dressing room at the Festival Theatre.

These are the steps he took but he made it clear everyone has different preferences and different face shapes, so instead of copying each other, the Trocks work out their own style and shapes to suit their own faces. The dancer we met has done his own makeup for decades and said he uses different colours and different combinations ever night, and has probably never done the exact same makeup twice!

• Block out eyebrows.

• He used a sponge for each of the base colours. Base colour - start on eyebrows and work outwards. You can build up layers or add more in places if necessary to even out skin. Primer is not necessarily needed. Lighter tone base - he put this on top of cheekbones sweeping upwards, in middle of forehead, a thin line down his nose to make it look thinner and under the nose/above top lip. Darker tone - he created a jawline above his natural jaw, a line just under cheekbones - on either side of nose and either side of forehead (basically added a darker line under or around the lighter lines for contouring). This gave an impression of a feminine shape and really changed the way his face looked. Base tones blended using a damp sponge. Then added dark powder over dark areas and light powder over light areas.

• Eyebrows: the outline was drawn just above natural brow and then filled in (remember eyebrows are sisters not twins)

• He did apply some primer onto his eyes before adding a very bright eye cream colour. He said he normally adds the bright colour first before contouring with the darker colour. A dark powder was used for contouring the eyes, working just above natural crease and under the eye sweeping out and up at the outer sides for a more cat-like look. It starts as quite a harsh line but he blends it to make it look like the natural crease of the eye. He used a liquid liner above top lashes, flicking out as well. Puts on mascara.

• Leaving the liquid liner to set, he added blusher and then a very light powder under the eyes/on cheekbones and eyebrows to highlight. For the lips he used a burgundy lip liner first, extending to the very corners of the lips. he then used a lovely bright pink colour as well as a light concealer in the centre of the lips making them look fuller and giving the colour a gradient. He says the lipstick does last the whole show so he doesn't need to prime or set with powder.

• Lastly the lashes go on - always wait 30-40 secs for glue to become tacky before you apply. It can be helpful to hold them with tweezers. He also said that during the show he just needs to blot between scenes sometimes, but hardly has to reapply.

He then put on a hairband and the wig, which he makes a pony tail (Russian style - over the ears) with and twists two strands, pinning them into a bun. He adds a hair net over the bun and then pins on his hair piece. He also got his full costume on for us - sparkly white bodice/tutu, tights and ballet shoes.

I hope I've remember everything! There is a photo gallery and more info about Mr Carter on the Trockadero website (if you'd like to see the results of the makeup!)  http://trockadero.org/dancers/robert-carter/

Drag Quain

Following on from my last post, I decided to once more subject Deebs to my make up experimentation. I also bought prittstick which worked well on the eyebrows, although you do have to be careful that it doesn't clump and that you wait for it to dry properly between coats.

I decided to us his fair skin to create a similarly gothic look to the previous post. I also used the stencil technique to help contour the cheekbones and temples.

The most challenging parts were hiding the stubble/sideburns and softening the face.

As you can see, the sideburns are prominent. However I wanted to show the stenciling of the darker contour colours. Basically I used the edge of a piece of paper across the temples and cheekbones then applied layers of darker colours and blush, creating a defined edge.

This all stems from watching a lot of RuPaul's Drag Race, and I thank Deebs for allowing me to do these things to him.

Classy Draggy Lady

My plan for this was to create an over-the-top drag look, however I quickly had to take it in a different direction after i couldn't block out my eyebrows properly.

Having watched a couple of youtube videos on this, I thought I'd have a go. In other videos people have recommended soap or pritstick glue, allowing layers to set then covering in layers of concealer and powder. I didn't have prittstick or a bar of soap, so I decided to try scarwax (pictured), which was ok but it doesn't really set it just melts further. Then I tried spirit gum which didn't flatten my brows, just made them rigid and looked messy. 

Lost a few eyebrow hairs in the process but gained experiece in return which is what really matters.

So after my attempts failed, I decided to just try out some draggy makeup, with heavy contouring and black lipstick. These photos don't show up the sheer amount that was on my face at the time. I would have done it with a white foundation Sharon Needles style but my skin had already gone through enough for one day.

Barber

My third participant, Emma, kindly offered to help me practice another look using latex. At first I had plans for her to be Mediterranean-looking strongman, but this turned into an old fashioned barber with the use of a few costume props.  

Emma (woman)

Emma (man)

The latex chin and jaw was made very quickly using cotton wool. I think it would have been better with some putty and a bit of latex on the top to hold it in place. It came out looking pretty crusty - even being able to make it in advance would have been better I think. I would love to work with gelatine prosthetics as they can just melt into the skin and blend in more easily.

I stuck on the moustache and sideburns with spirit gum and used a fairly dark foundation to cover the face and prosthetics. I also thickened the eyebrows a little and gelled her hair down.

Pictures below show a stripped back version with a smaller moustache, then just without the fake jaw.

Thanks again to Emma for her help!

Deebsella

I think this post generally speaks for itself. After having ideas of crossdressing men and ladies for an up-and-coming music video, I thought I'd try and see how feminine I could make Deebs look, Will just need to try it out the other way round sometime... as in making a lady look masculine.

The look involved a lot of contouring, particularly round the eyes and jawline, and emphasizing the eyes and lips whilst making the nose a bit more "petite".

I had to make him take the makeup off straight away as this one freaked us both out.