Want to know more about pageant make-up and beauty?

Check out our new book "High Performance Beauty". This full color beauty and make-up book offers professional step by step advice to help you ace the interview and win the crown! Pre-sale starts in March and kicks off with amazing discounts!!! Don't forget to place your order!

Pageant Stage Beauty (Note: Interview make-up will be different. See our book for more info.)

Many performers enjoy competing in beauty pageants.  With so many pageants, from Miss USA to local town events, the best way to know what make-up look is expected, is to follow the guidelines provided by credible organizations.  How much make-up is applied truly varies, from polished soft looks, to full stage make-up, depending on the company holding the event. The director of the pageant will tell the judges what to look for when it comes to the make-up.  Most prefer a look that shows up well on stage, is age appropriate, and compliments the beauty of the contestant.  When in doubt research past contestant winners and check out their style of make-up.

After my many interviews with pageant professionals including Carl Dunn, CEO of pageantry magazine (the oldest in the business), and Blair Griffith winner of Miss Congeniality at the Miss Teen USA pageant, I got the scoop on the polished pageantry face:

All ages on stage: will need to enhance brows, eyes, facial features, lashes (false lashes in natural for teen/adult), cheek color and lipstick.  Shimmer is popular on cheekbones, key light catching areas of the eyes, and on exposed areas of the body, but glitter is to be avoided.  Make-up should not be a distraction.  Make-up and hair changes are encouraged per look (if there is time) and should compliment your features as well as dress style.  If there is time for a make-up change, sporty or swimsuit looks should be more natural and evening/gown make-up should be more glamorous.  Use hairpieces for quick-change looks.  Make sure nails are properly groomed and in a soft neutral color.

Youth: ages six to nine years of age should have soft make-up.  For the interview, a no make-up look is the norm.  This means clear lip-gloss, brows shaped, and blemishes covered, (see No Make-Up Rule this chapter). For the talent and formal category, more make-up can be applied, as in the Stage Face for Junior.  Some pageants prefer a slightly lighter eyeliner, cheek color, and lipstick application but remember to be careful your make-up look doesn't’t fade under stage lights.  Instead of a sheer red lipstick you might want to try a soft peach or pink lip color with a complimenting cheek shade. Be sure to use a lip liner to insure softer lip colors won’t fade.  Lip gloss in peach or pink, applied over a red toned lipstick, can tone down the intensity of red lip colors, still keeping lips showing up on stage. A natural colored lip liner paired with red lipstick can soften the look too. Casual looks should have a soft, sheer, glossy lip, soft flush to the cheeks, and light shadow without noticeable eyeliner.

Teen to adult: When it comes to the interview follow the steps covered in  Audition/Interview Make-Up chapter 3.  For stage/formal, follow the steps covered in this chapter Stage Performance Face.  For pageants like Miss Teen USA, which prefer a softer stage face, change up the colors a bit.  When it comes to the eye shadow, instead of using the red/brown or peachy color to balance eyes to lips, try a beige/brown so the eyes are more neutral.  Instead of a red toned lipstick try a sheer lipstick in rose, pink, or red/burgundy. Adult contestants can always get away with a more dramatic make-up look and often need a stronger lipstick shade to add life to the face.  Make sure your eye-liner does not meet at the corners, and avoid long eye liner extensions, used in the performance face look.  A white pencil on the lower lid, above the lower lashes, will help open eyes. Remember the make-up rule: the darker the eyes, the lighter the lips. Radiance is important in pageantry so be sure to add a gloss for shine and shimmer.  Shimmer is beautiful on the cheekbones and eyes as well as exposed skin for a more glamorous look.  Blending is vital as the judges sit close to the stage.  For casual/swimsuit presentations (when there is time) go soft on the lips opting for glossy beige/pinks or peach with a pink/brown lip liner.  Eyeliner should be natural looking in brown or plum, not black. 

Beauty Tip:  Don’t be afraid to layer colors.  Try a peach lipstick with a pink gloss, or a red lipstick with a gold gloss.  Even nail polish can look beautiful layered.  It’s fun to create your own colors and play with what looks good against your skin, eyes and hair color. 

Back Stage with Blair: winner of “Miss Congeniality’ for Miss Teen USA 2006 and former Miss Teen Colorado, suggests for the interview look, keep make-up soft as shown above.  Since many of the Miss USA contestants interviewed in everything from professional suits and dresses to casual trendy clothing, make-up looks should compliment the style of what you’re wearing. When wearing a banner, remember to keep hair off your shoulders, even when worn down. Many contestants like to wear their hair in a side ponytail or up for this reason. For the USA pageants, contestants are expected to do their own hair and make-up, a professional make-up artist does a quick touch up before going on stage. On stage at MISS Teen USA, glossy lips in soft pink or a beige, with a natural lip liner, as shown in our interview look, fit well with the teens.  The lighter lip look is paired with stronger eyes as shown in our stage look. Many pop stars like this combination as well.  Remember the rule; stronger eyes lighter lips, except for the theme performance looks, shown in chapter 7. This does vary from pageant to pageant.  A red toned lipstick with a red/brown lip liner shows up better under stage lights, and is still a standard with many pageants.  Blair’s make-up artist touched up her look with nay eyeliner.  She loved the way her eyes stood out with a little more color but still looked natural. This is an easy way to add color to eyes without using a bright eye-shadow.  She only lined the top lid and kept the under eyeliner natural using a brown color.  Of course, the most versatile eyeliner colors are the neutrals shown in the Stage Performance Face above.  Blair learned two beauty secrets: drink lots of water to stay hydrated and should a pimple pop up, put a little mouth-wash on it. Clean breath and a clear face, what more could a pageant beauty ask for.