Makeup for a performance?

[Alibee]

My 8-year-old daughter recently joined our rink's ice theater team and they will be performing at a show in a couple of weeks. The costumes are taken care of, but I have a total noob question about the makeup for the performance.

What sort of makeup should we use? Theatrical makeup, drugstore brands, or ?? They are fairies, and she will be wearing a black skirt and wings with a white leotard (all the fairies have different colored skirts/wings).

(Also, please feel free to move this question to a different board if it's not the right place for it)

Thanks!

[AgnesNitt]

Theatrical makeup. Bright lights. Reflected back from white ice will overwhelm anything from the makeup counter.

I once put on enough makeup to look like a two-dollar whore and my dance coach told me I would need more.

[fsk8r]

I'd ask the coach. We don't do ice theatre but our Christmas show is a show and not a gala. The coach/director tells us what makeup to use. They may have a specific idea so all the fairies look similar.

[Doubletoe]

I'd ask the coach. We don't do ice theatre but our Christmas show is a show and not a gala. The coach/director tells us what makeup to use. They may have a specific idea so all the fairies look similar.

Agreed.  If this is a group number, the coach should be dictating the makeup look to make sure the group looks cohesive.

[pegasus99]

Agreed on the "ask the coach" advice.

But anything involving bright lights will need something a bit more than the over-the-counter makeup. I use theatrical makeup, Ben Nye, for anything where there is true stage lighting. Any basic book on Stage Makeup will provide a good primer on how to apply, and a little glitters on the eyes never hurt anyone. It usually doesn't read from forty feet away, but it's fun anyway!