Going into Miss California USA, I was worried that I wouldn’t know how to do stage makeup. Stage makeup for a beauty pageant is very different than everyday makeup or going out makeup. To make sure I looked good on stage, I scouted out the very best makeup artist for the job…

Makeup Artist Tips From Lou Flores

I worked with the now instafamous Lou Flores, Latino male beauty influencer, who knows everything about beauty pageant makeup. I needed to know what type of makeup to do for evening gown, swimsuit, and interview with the judges.

UPDATE: See how I did my makeup and what I wore in my LIVEBLOG at Miss California USA.

For by beauty pageant makeup tutorial, I drove up to Los Angeles from San Diego to get my own one-on-one lesson with Lou Flores. I was prepared with pen and paper and my little makeup bag.  For several hours, we went over the process of applying makeup to enhance the eyes, eyebrows, and cheekbones. I was a beginner, to say the least.

How To Do Stage Makeup For A Beauty Pageant

During my sesh, I learned how to apply foundation and blend concealer with a beauty blender. Lou showed me how to apply bronzer for depth and blush for brightness (see how to get high cheekbones here).

He accentuated my eyebrows with an eyebrow pencil and white highlighter (see how to get bold eyebrows here and how to shape brows here).

Having a larger eye is super important when on stage. Through eyeshadows, fake eyelashes, and black liner, we achieved this effect. We created a natural lip with nude liner and pink lipstick (see how to get perfect pink lips here).

Wait until you see the difference in my face!  My key takeaways for beauty pageant stage makeup are listed below. Scroll down to see my before and after photo!

How To Do Stage Makeup At Miss California USA

1. Apply foundation to face, making sure to add concealer below the eyes, on the top of the nose, chin, and forehead, as you want these areas to appear lighter so that they pop on stage.  TIP: Use a “Beauty Blender” to blend product!

2. Add bronzer below cheekbones and around hair line with bronzer brush to create depth.

3. Apply blush above bronzer line in an apple shape with large blush brush for a pop of color.

4. Accentuate brows (something I never do) by penciling them in and then lining underneath with a white shadow.

5. Apply eyeshadow to eyes, making sure to darken the crease of the eyes so to create a larger eye.

6. Apply fake eyelashes!!!

7. Line eyelashes with black pencil.

8. Line lips with pencil and apply a nude lipstick or color of your choice (not shown, but you get the point).