2013 Color Guard Makeup Ideas

Every year I scour the internet looking for inspiration for show makeup. This year’s theme, “A Musical STATEment” has us “traveling” the US in song.

With stops in Georgia, Texas, California, New York and more – the uniforms were challenging enough. Makeup? Woah.

I wasn’t feeling a patriotic-colored uniform, so we went with something more jazzy looking that had versatility.

Black tuxedo shorts, a magenta sleeveless body suit, and a gold sequin vest are what we chose.

I’m not committed to anything yet, but here are some things I found and like.

jessieblush.tumblr.com

I love the pop and contrast of the magenta. This is also a very simple look to replicate. Add a few rhinestones and we’re in business!

BH Cosmetics

I like the simplicity of this 4th of July look by BH Cosmetics (see tutorial here). I’d definitely change the colors to some combo of gold, purple, fuchsia, white and black.

Beauty Chameleon

Who doesn’t love rhinestones? This look is more complicated, but I think it could be accomplished pretty easily with eyeliner and eye shadow pencils. Check out the tutorial here: http://beautychameleon.com/make-up-tutorials/makeup-tutorial-4th-of-july-inspired-eyes/

CCLstore on Etsy

And there are these beauties: temporary tattoos that go around the eyes. These are by CCLstore on Etsy. What I love about these is that you get an intricate look without the work. Add a little sparkle with rhinestones or glitter and the guard would be ready to go … and fabulous!

9/10 update: ordered some of these eye tattoos to test them and they are pretty darn awesome!
Check out my test eye on Instagram!

Rainbow make up inspiration

I’ve started to research some make up options for our color show and I have to say that I’m having so much fun! Ultimately I need a solution that is both effective and quick on competition days (i.e. under 30 minutes for 10-12 ladies). Not sure how many of these would work, but the photos are too good to not share. ENJOY!

Makeup follow up

As promised, here’s the follow up to “Fun with guard makeup”

The guard’s makeup for their “Shooting for the Stars theme is this:

The lines were done with a generic black eyeliner, but Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Electric (blue), Dime (silver), & Honey (gold). The rhinestones were self-adhesive and purchased from designed2bsweet.com.

Here’s how we got the look:

1. On the part of the face we were using, we put makeup primer on the skin. We used “That Gal” by benefit.
2. Next we drew on the design freehand and rhinestoned the face.
3. We set the makeup with a sealer: She-laq by benefit.

How did it work?

1. The makeup primer really made the skin smoother to work on. Not only that, it kept the oil on their faces from ruining the makeup after a couple hours.

2. Using eyeliner to literally draw on the face was quick and easy. It also helped that the Urban Decay Glide-On pencil was creamy and didn’t get blobby.

3. The rhinestones took a little longer to put on than I would’ve liked, but because we didn’t have to use glue, I’ll live.

4. The sealer also went on very easily, as the applicator is just like nail polish. Even immediately after a performance, the sealed portions of the ladies’ skin was dry to the touch.

So, how long did it take?

As you probably know, time is usually crunched for makeup application, so I really wanted to keep the application time under 30 minutes for 13 members. With an assembly line (#1 primer, #2 eyeliner, #3 rhinestones and sealer), we were able to do this on the first try in 27 minutes. NOT BAD! I’m sure we could get it to under 20-25 by the end of the season.

How did the makeup hold up?

Our band had two competitions today – meaning 1:40pm and 5:30pm performances. Here’s how everything stacked up:

10:45am: We applied the makeup
1:30pm: (Gate time): Makeup still looked fresh after bus ride and practice.
2pm: (After first performance): Makeup was still solidly in place (save a couple rhinestones).
5pm: After a mid-afternoon practice and bus ride to second performance, I had to replace a couple rhinestones and do minimal touch-ups on 2 of 13.
5:45pm: (After second performance) Makeup was still looking fresh, unsmudged, and as beautiful as it did at 10:45am.

Final thoughts

Today was really a test on the strength of the primer and sealer due to the 7+ hours we needed it to last. Because they’ll last 7 hours with minimal maintenance, the combo will easily last 3-4 hours on a normal one-competition day. For this reason, I highly recommend primer and sealer for your guard.

I hope this was somewhat helpful. I know it was a great learning experience for me!

PS- If you know of more affordable primers and sealers, please let me know. As much as I like the two products I purchased, they are a bit pricier than I’d like.

Fun with guard makeup

So last I decided that I’d put off the question of this year’s guard makeup long enough. I had ideas, but hadn’t fully looked in to them. I was looking for something that would add a little pizazz to the uniform I fell in love with. Since we have a celestial theme, I knew I wanted to use blue, gold, and silver. I also knew I wanted to use rhinestones and glitter for some extra sparkle. I also needed to be able to get 13 ladies made up in under 30 minutes.

Knowing what I had in mind, I headed to Ulta. I’m not a makeup person at all, so I thought I’d be able to get some help there instead of guessing my way through a drug store. Ulta is pricey, but boy do they know their stuff!

I wanted to use an eyeliner pencil because I figured it would be easier to handle for a somewhat elaborate design. The salesperson showed me the way to Urban Decay, and I was (as always) in love. The colors were perfect; ended up buying a pencil in Dime, Electric, and Honey. Also picked up a glitter eyeliner in Distortion.

When the salesperson found out what I planned to do with the makeup, he told me about primer. For your face? Yes. It’s apparently a great way to keep your face from oiling up and making your makeup from looking dirty. Ended up getting some “that gal” by benefit.

Also knowing that I needed the makeup to potentially last for several hours, the salesperson suggested makeup sealer. He said I could use hairspray, but it’d make the guard break out- that’s the last thing I want to do to teenage ladies! Got some She-Lac by benefit.

As for rhinestones, I messed with loose stones a couple seasons ago, and they took forever to put on and dry. I was determined to get some with adhesive on the back. I found ’em online at designed2bsweet.com. They just arrived in the mail.

Since I went shopping with my sister, Sammie, I thought it was only fitting that we try the makeup on ourselves…

I think #2 is the winner – my sister is quite the creative one!

On an ending note: It’s important to me that the guard feels lime they are in costume. Not only does a great uniform and makeup job help them feel pretty and confident, it also helps them get more into the characters I want them to play.

I will keep you posted in how the makeup goes, but in the meantime, what makeup products do you use in your guard?

Oh, and next step: Hair. Ugh.