Last week was epic! After an amazing weekend Belly Dancing in Orlando, FL at Bellydance Masters, the wonderful Rebecca Anne Waldron and I met with her crew to do the underwater photoshoot we had been planning for months.
I will be posting pictures and even the video taken from underwater once Rebecca is back home, has time to go through them, and send me our top picks, but for now I want to focus this first blog on the subject of great waterproof make up finds I recommend.
As someone who has very sensitive skin finding waterproof make up that would not give me an allergic reaction was honestly a little bit challenging and several store employees were not sure what to recommend. Thankfully I met one gentleman who was a performer by night and also had sensitive skin, and helped me with a couple finds.
Underwater Make Up 101
1. You need to get make up that is in cream form. This is going to last the longest, be able to resist the water and give the vibrancy of color that you need even though it is still gentle enough to apply on sensitive skin with specific brands.
2. Make sure it clearly states that it is waterproof on the product. Seems like a no-brainer, but you can get so overwhelmed at the store and forget to double check if it says “long lasting” instead of “waterproof”. It makes a difference!
3. Use colors that pop! The way light works underwater is different. Go for colors that are intense, rich, and fabulous! I chose a vibrant mint, but next time i’ll go for a deeper color as underwater the hue changes and it can look like you wore no make up and your skin color looks much paler under there too!
4. Wear blush! I never wear blush so didnt think differently at the shoot and boy do I regret it! All the reds appear to wash out so wear A LOT of blush!
5. It is not going to be cheap as most of my sensitive peeps know with their makeup, but hey, it will be worth it.
Eyeshadow
For my eye shadow I went with a recommendation and chose the Benefit Cosmetics Creaseless Cream Shadow. The cream was highly pigmented and the color was simply amazing and lasted the entire day. I had it on at 8am and by the time we ate lunch, drove back to Orlando, taught belly dance classes, made dinner, and then took it off at 8pm, the shadow was still on! Price $20.
Downfalls: Creaseless my butt lol! After the photoshoot I noticed the shadow looked crackled. Of course after being in water for a couple hours, it would seem like not a big deal, but if a company says creaseless then darn it, I expect creaseless lol!
Another downfall is that Benefit is currently under some fire for the following: “This product contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer and/or birth defects or other reproductive harm”. So yeah, I don’t think I will be using this anymore.
Eyeliner
1. The eyeliner I went with for the top lid was the best find ever! I went with Tart’s Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner for $24 which includes its very own applicator brush. I found the product extremely easy to use, it glided on like silk, it lasted the entire duration of the day with no imperfections and although it comes in a tiny jar, you only need a small amount of product so this baby will last a while!
2. The liner I used on my lower lids did not work so well. For underwater shoots I would not recommend using Urban Decay 24/7 glide on pencil. I use this liner for gigs and during the day and should have known better as it would rub off if I touched it but I can’t resist the vibrancy of the colors.
Although this claims to be waterproof, it still wore off a bit underwater. It didn’t’ completely come off, but I would say 50% of it remained at the end of the shoot. Cost for each pencil is $20.
Bronzer
Bronzer is simply something I can’t go a performance without. I do not wear foundation nor blush, so my go-to is bronzer for a sun kissed glow, and underwater was going to be no different.
I am in LOVE with Tarte’s Amazonian Clay Mineral Bronzer for $30. While there is a waterproof version of this, I went with my gut instinct and grabbed this one instead for the gorgeous warm color it had.
Thankfully, it held on the entire day! I was in shock, and now I won’t use anything else whether for water or performance. The case design is super cute too!
Lipstick
This was an epic fail! I went with an Ulta associate’s recommendation on this one and it was a mess at the shoot! I tried The Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipstick by Too Faced because at the store I loved how intense the colors were, that it was creamy, and the associate said he used this and it lasted forever.
Underwater this literally smeared all over my face as when I did poses where I naturally touched my lips and cheeks underwater the formula smeared all over instead of staying in place.
But not to worry! Rebecca had done a test shoot before our shoot and her model Leslie had great success by using Revlon Lip Stains and applying a gloss/beeswax on top to create a stronger barrier against the water, so if you plan to use something, try this and let me know how it works for you as well.
Nail Polish
I have my own professional gel manicure set that I use to do my nails and boy was this the best decision! My gel manicure was perfection as usual. My toe nails on the other hand (which I use normal nail polish on) did not last. The French white tip of polish came off as like with most normal nail polishes, so if you have a gel mani kit, use it for both your hands and toenails for the shoot!
Hope this blog comes in handy for you dancers/models out there looking to venture into underwater modeling. Make up is so important in photoshoots so I hope you avoid my mistakes by reading this, and even if you are not a model, this make up is fabulous for belly dancing gigs as it is waterproof and safe for sensitive skin. Let me know your thought below and hugs!
1 Comment
Blume Bauer
on August 15, 2014 at 1:17 am
Wonderful blog and recommendations! Thanks for sharing!
Last week was epic! After an amazing weekend Belly Dancing in Orlando, FL at Bellydance Masters, the wonderful Rebecca Anne Waldron and I met with her crew to do the underwater photoshoot we had been planning for months.
Eyeshadow
Eyeliner 
Bronzer
Nail Polish
Wonderful blog and recommendations! Thanks for sharing!