Pippin's Makeup Broken Down by Kristine Reese

I LOVED the makeup in the Broadway production of Pippin (which was designed by Dominique Lemieux of Cirque du Soleil who also did the wigs and costumes and was assisted by Hagan Lines and Joe Dulude) and have the good fortune of being friends with Kristine Reese, who played one of the leads, Catherine, in the National Tour.  I asked her if she would write up some info on the makeup in the show and take some pics so below is what she sent -  it's so fun!

"The look for Catherine in our touring production was slightly different than the Broadway look, as we played larger houses and my face and features are much different than the actress who originated the role in the revival (I have much smaller eyes, so the eyes really needed to pop with this makeup). We went through various stages to arrive on the final look, down to the size and type of eyelashes.

The idea behind the Act 1 look is a “clown” on top of a beauty look. I only had about 5 minutes to change from the clown look into the Catherine look, so the eyes remain the same for both acts. Act 2, “Catherine” is natural beauty look, with a bit of a wide doe eye. The makeup looks severe up close, but on stage it reads as if you are hardly wearing makeup, so tone down for “real life.”

Working with the circus artists in Wicked taught me a lot about stage make-up and application. Most circus artists have extensive make-up training either at circus school or by instructors at their first gig, and it shows. They really know how to play up their features for the stage and use highlight and shadow to their advantage. The makeup in Pippin is rather specific to circus, but by watching their technique and attention to detail these circus artists put into their makeup I was able to improve my own look and also apply it to my “real life” looks.

Kristine with Buster

Eyes:

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion

Makeup Forever Kohn Pencil White MAC Vanilla

MAC Sushi Flower

MAC Espresso

NYX Eye Shadow in Matte White

Stila Liquid Eyeliner Pen – White

Benefit “They’re Real” Push Up Eye-Liner

Hourglass Brow Sculpting Pencil – Soft Brunette

Mascara – I love Loreal Voluminous!

Face:

Laura Mercier Foundation primer – Radience

Laura Mercier Foundation

NYX Conceal/Correct/Contour Kit (For concealer and contour)

Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder

Bare Minerals Powder (for quick changes)

MAC Powder Blush Frankly Scarlet

MAC Powder Blush Harmony

Sephora Full Pro Coverage Airbrush #53 (I used this at top of the show and for quick changes to re-apply foundation evenly and quickly)

Lips:

MAC Cherry Lip Pencil (For Act 1)

Sephora Luster Matte Long-Wear Lip Color in Electra Pink Lustre (to stain), MAC Cherry Lip Pencil to line, Marc Jacobs Beauty Kiss Kiss Bang Bang 2016  baked rose on top), with a touch pink gloss on top (Any brand will do, mostly just for blending and final look)

Clown specialty products:

Makeup Forever Aqua Eyes Pencil Turquoise 7L  or Kohl in turquoise 3K

NYX Roll on Shimmer – Pink

Crystals (Provided by Inglot)

Kristine with Henry Gottfried

Fun Facts:

*The sushi flower – espresso combo shown here is also the same colors used for the Glinda plot in Wicked, as are the Laura Mercier products on my face.

*Pippin uses a LOT of NYX products. They are inexpensive, and have excellent pigments with real staying power.

*I found that all of this makeup – reapplying my face sometimes 6 times a day on a two-show day – really stripped my skin. I was dry all over with some breakouts. My skin literally freaked out. I am sure Erin has wonderful organic solutions for this should you find yourself suffering similarly, but I found that cleansing oil and facial oil helped me find my balance."

Kristine Reese is an actress and singer who recently completed a year-long run as Catherine on the National Tour of the Tony Award-winning revival of Pippin. She has also appeared on the National Tours of Wicked (Nessarose), Mamma Mia (Sophie u/s), and on Broadway in the revival of Les Miserables at the Broadhurst Theatre. Other favorite credits include Brigadoon (Fiona), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Rosa Bud), Footloose (Ariel) and Grease (Frenchie). Kristine has appeared as a vocal soloist with over a dozen international symphonic and pops orchestras, most notably the Cleveland Symphony and the National Symphony Orchestra. She currently lives in NYC with her husband, actor Billy Harrigan Tighe, and her Boston Terrier, Buster. Follow on Twitter/Instagram @kristinereese.