Elf Makeup

elf makeup

We have a lot of elf makeup here!


At Christmas time, clowns can put their comic movement skills to use as Santa’s Helpers. Who makes a better elf than a clown? We love kids, we can improvise in any situation, and both parents and children leave with smiles on their faces.
Creating a character face elf makeup is different than your everyday clown face. You will use your same greasepaint and tools, and you will still be emphasizing your muscle and bone structure, but your design will be more soft and less cartoony. Remember, you will be doing a lot of close-up work with your audience, so you don’t need as much exaggeration or big shapes.

How to create elf makeup:
1. If you are in a hot location and tend to perspire a lot, use a cotton ball or make-up pad to swab a little of Mehron Skin Prep Pro on your face and let dry. This is an anti-antiperspirant which will seal your pores and prevent you from sweating off your make-up.

2. Spray a thin layer of Mehron Barrier Spray on your face. Keep your eyes closed and hold your breath while it dries for a few seconds. Barrier Spray is an ENORMOUS help, and I can’t believe more performers don’t use it on a regular basis. It creates a barrier between your skin and your makeup, which has 5 benefits:
*Prevents allergic reactions to make-up
*Keeps make-up from staining skin
*Gives a smooth working space so make-up applies more evenly and blends more easily
*Speeds up make-up removal time because the grease never had a chance to soak into your skin!
*Actually, the 5th benefit comes when you are done applying your make-up and have powdered. Spray the Barrier Spray two more times onto face. This will preserve your finished look and will “refresh” any of the dull powdered look.

3. Apply your base foundation. DJ is using Mehron CreamBlend Stick in Juvenile 3B; it is a greasepaint foundation just a shade darker than his normal skin tone.

*I’ve seen a trend recently of some of performers skipping this basic step. Sure you can skip this step…but WHY?? Foundation evens out your skin tone and gives you a great professional look. It also is a “foundation” for blending other grease-based or creme make-ups like blush, eyeshadow, etc.
*It takes less than 2 minutes to apply with a sponge. Such a small investment of time for a more professional appearance. Isn’t your audience worth it?

4. For an elf makeup Character you want subtle eyebrows. Just a little black above the thickest part of your eyebrow gives your character more expression. We used the Mehron Slim Pro-Pencil in Black.

5. Put black eyeliner on the bottom outside corner of your eye. Just go half-way across. This adds accent without over doing it.
*We only did one eye in the photo so you can see the big difference this little addition makes. On the left eye DJ added the eyeliner, on the right side there is none.
*We used Mehron Slim Pro-Pencil in Black, but you could use the hard Liner Pencil or even the water-based Detailz.

6. Don’t forget your smile! Use red greasepaint for a smile that will last all day! We used a Mehron Jumbo Pro-Pencil in Red, but you could also use a Mehron Color Cup in red; anything that will give you a nice grin. Put small round pips in the corners of your mouth for a more character look.
*Outline the bottom of your lip in a thin white line. We used Mehron Slim Pro-Pencil in White.

7. Powder your face with Mehron Colorset Powder to set the greasepaint and give you a long-lasting clean look. Remove excess powder with a good Powder Brush.

8. Green eye shadow on boy and girl elves adds charm. Try Mehron INtense Pressed Pigment Powder in Electric Green and Ocean Breeze. DJ puts the darker Ocean breeze on the inside corner of his eye and then the lighter Electric Green on the eye lid. This gives a very theatrical look without making you look too “made-up.”