Ballet Buns and Stage Makeup

Well, it’s that time of year when little girls all over the country are working hard on mastering their dances, preparing to step on stage.  And when they don their sparkly costumes and new, run-free tights, their mommies will be forced to tackle the ballet bun and stage make up!

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It can all be a little overwhelming the first few times.  And even as dancer myself with tons of stage experience, it’s still intimidating to prepare my own baby ballerinas (or hip-hopperina) for show time.

I can whip my hair into a bun no problem!  But getting the girls to sit still long enough to get it done right can be a challenge.  But it is possible, and I’m here to show you how!

What you’ll need (affiliate links):  a brush, strong ponytail holder, bobby pins (NOT hair pins!), hair gel or strong hold mousse, strong hold hairspray, invisible hair net that matches your child’s hair color (if you can find one).

I created a video tutorial of exactly how to do a proper ballet bun:

Buns are the easy part, if you ask me!  The hard part for this mommy is the make-up, for many reasons.  First, I hardly wear make-up myself and frankly have never been good at putting it on and doing on a tiny little wiggly face is even worse.

I know a lot of mommies worry about the amount of make-up we are asked to put on our darling little daughters’ faces.  And I get it, I’m the mean mommy that NEVER lets my kids play with or wear make-up.  Except on stage.  Because I know without the heavy make-up that is asked for, my little cutie pies will just be washed out blobs on stage.  The make-up really is required for your child’s face to show up well under the intense stage lights and you really DO need that much.

So what exactly is required for a proper stage face?  Here’s what’s in my kit:

(affiliate links:) Liquid foundation and sponge applicator; makeup brush set; powder; pink blush; palette of brown eye shadows; black eyeliner (I prefer the self-sharpening kind as it’s easier to make a crisp line); black mascara (I recommend waterproof); RED lipstick (some mommies also like to use lip liner and apply with a lip application brush, I prefer using the kind with a wand applicator); q-tips.

So what is the process for putting on the make-up?  It’s pretty straightforward and the way you would expect or apply it on yourself.

I start with foundation all over, including blending it down the neck. And if you have blondies like me, you’ll want to even work it up into the hairline where the hair is fine and light.  I then brush powder all over to blend and soften the color and reduce any shine.

I do the eyes next, starting with the liner.  A crisp line on the top lid is more than enough for little ones.  You can also do along the bottom lid for older kids and tweens/teens should have “wings” which are lines extending straight out from the outside point of the eye (this all helps to open up the eyes and make them appear larger on stage).

Next, I do a thick layer of dark brown shadow on the bottom half of the top eyelid and blend it at the crease with a lighter brown or gold up to the eyebrow. For extremely light colored brows, you’ll also want to use a brown pencil or brown shadow to darken the brow so they don’t get lost on stage.  Finish up with a nice coat of mascara.

For the cheeks you’ll want to start with a heavy dusting of blush on the brush which you will place at the apple of the cheek and blend to the top of the ears along the length of the cheekbone.  For blondies, also applying a little blush along the hairline helps their hair stand out from their skin on stage.

Lipstick is last and something I don’t usually do until the LAST minute on little ones since they have a tendency to spread it all over their faces, costumes and anything else they come in contact with.  Unfortunately my only advice for lipstick application is: try not to get it all over your kid’s face!  (Maybe you can offer me some tips on that one!)