Happy Halloween! Tips for Drag Makeup

Makeup gurus everywhere have been doing makeup tutorials for Halloween looks for the last month, but I've really been unsure of what type of post I wanted to do for Halloween. After much thought and brainstorming, I decided to do a tips blog on one of my favorite costume-y looks: Drag Queens.

I have a deep respect for the amazing men who do drag, or female impersonation, for a living. Rupaul is a living legend and I think of her as a beauty icon like Marylin Monroe or Sophia Loren. Doing drag is NOT easy and requires a lot of time and patience, even if you're only doing it for one night (i.e. Halloween).

So, gentleman, whip out a pen and get ready to take notes. You've got a lot to learn...

1) Get the closest shave possible. You need to get rid of as much facial hair as possible. I would strongly recommend using a brand new razor and a rich, moisturizing shaving cream to make facial hair disappear. Razor burn is not cute, so make sure you do this very carefully! If you're feeling brave, you can always shave or wax your eyebrows as well (either completely off or make them thinner and more shapely). Reducing your eyebrows will make makeup application much easier later on.

2) Make sure your complexion is flawless. You need to cover any imperfections and have a very even-coverage foundation for your face. If you left your eyebrows intact, check out youtube for some direction on how to cover them up (I'd recommend Youtube Guru and professional makeup artist Kandeejohnson) and then redraw them on.

3) Do not, do not, DO NOT use regular drugstore makeup unless you are going for the manly-woman appearance. If you want to truly look like a woman for the night, you're going to need more dramatic makeup. I'd recommend NYX as an affordable alternative, but more expensive brands like MAC, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics (OCC), Urban Decay, and Nars are also good choices.

4) Do NOT have a girl help you with makeup unless she's A) a makeup artist or B) has experience with dramatic, theatrical makeup. A lot of girls and women know how to do natural makeup. That's not what you want. You're going to want heavier makeup with a glitzy, highly pigmented look. Yes, it's going to look a bit streaky! But drag means magnifying every aspect of a woman's appearance and drawing it on a man. It's meant to look a bit outrageous.

5) Think about how lighting hits a woman's face. I'd recommend looking at pictures of Beyonce, Angelina Jolie, or Megan Fox to figure out how to add highlighting. Take a blush brush with a light-colored shimmery powder or cream and lightly dust it onto upper cheek bones, down the nose, and center of the chin. This is going to make your face look dewy and young.

6) Learn how to apply and wear fake lashes. Once again, check Youtube videos by guru JuicyStar07 for fantastic directions and recommendations on false lash brands. False lashes will also make you look more feminine and soft.

7) Contour the face! Get a matte bronzer and sculpt your face by adding simple lines to the face that emphasize high cheek bones and slim your face down.

8) Pay super-close attention to your lips! I would recommend lining your lips with a color two to three shades darker than the lipstick you plan to use. Line just outside your natural lip line to make your lips fuller and plumper looking. Try to draw the line as smoothly as possible, but don't panic if your hand slips or you mess up.. you can always take a q-tip with some makeup remover on it and swipe it over the boo-boo. Pay close attention to your cupid's bow, or the indentation at the peak of your top lip. You want this to highlighted, but don't make it too pointy. After you line your lips, gently apply lipstick and stay INSIDE the lines you just drew. Then, blot your lips and reapply again. This will keep your lipstick in place for longer and look neater. Lastly, add a small amount of gloss to your bottom lip (it can be colorless or match the shade of your lips, glossy or shimmery. Your choice!) and you're good to go.

Of course, this is just an abbreviated list of what you really need to do for drag makeup. Drag queens spend several hours getting ready and look absolutely fabulous when they're done. This post was just a quick list of things that often get overlooked by amateur queens and can easily be fixed.