Concealing Makeup?

Makeup-using tropers, would anyone have an idea about how a vampire would use makeup/concealer to hide her unnaturally white complexion? The first part of the story is a typical high school paranormal teenage romance and thus the character in question is trying to blend in.

I want to put some effort into showing how she tries to blend in with her surroundings instead of being clearly off while almost all the humans stroll around without noticing. (cough, Twilight, cough).

edited 12th Aug '15 9:11:26 AM by Swordofknowledge

I don't use makeup, but I know that what you're asking can be done. She could even apply makeup in such a way that it doesn't look like she's wearing any makeup at all, create a "natural look". If someone can make it appear that they're not wearing make up when in fact their entire face is made up to cover freckles, then your vampire could cover the pallor and look like she's not even wearing it.

Of course, she's going to have to wear makeup on every bit of skin that's going to be uncovered - hands, arms, maybe legs and feet depending on what she's wearing.

Generally, it all depends on how much off the person's natural colour is.

If it's just a little, then it's not hard to get it done with some skin colouring, using something akin to blush, which isn't really hard to do if you know what you are looking for.

If it's more, to the point where the above will not suffice, then the fun begins. Because by that point you'd either use a tanning solution (which might or might not be harmful to vampires in your setting, though I can't fathom why it would be considering that the weakness to sunlight they have is more symbolical than anything and even then it's only present in some vampire lores) regularly to keep the skin colour more normal, or you'd apply make-up starting with a foundation that is close to the colour that you want to get rather than to the colour of your skin and then apply the rest of the make-up in a way that makes the foundation look natural.

Of course, you could go for the foundation and all that in the first case too. But the more make-up you apply, the more time it takes and the riskier it is (because some of it may come undone due to unexpected happenings, like accidentally getting your face wet can ruin some stuff), so if possible you do want something permanent-ish like the tanning solution or anything similar.

That being said, the above is in general. Sorry but I'm too much of a tomboy to actually have in-depth knowledge about make-up; the furthest I go is using lip balm and moisturising hand cream (well, that and stuff for baths, but that's a must). So if anything, I recommend simply going to a place where they sell this kind of stuff and asking someone who works there how you could achieve something like that with what they have in stock, which will most likely give you enough information.

edited 12th Aug '15 1:42:29 PM by Kazeto

I'm not a makeup artist, but an artist in general.

She wouldn't have to cover ALL of her body with makeup. It would be too expensive and uncomfortable. Plus, most people's skin-tone varies exactly in the "covered/uncovered" way mentioned above, and some already-fair people get REALLY FREAKING WHITE on their legs/chest.

So yeah, she'd use a more natural pink/peach tone on her face and hands, make sure to blend it carefully around her wrists and neck, and then she's done.

If she took care to cover ALL of her body with the same shade of makeup, that itself would look subconsciously "off" to people.

edited 12th Aug '15 2:55:51 PM by Sharysa

Not to mention that much of it would be left on the character's clothes if it was full-body make-up, and I wager a guess that the result would be quite uncomfortable.

And, if the colour isn't all that far from any natural colour, then it might not actually be necessary to apply make-up to anything outside of the face. Because if the rest of the body is slightly paler than the face, even including the hands, that can be explained with a simple "I'm very fair-skinned, so I get burnt out in the sun quickly and cover everything I can, and I really couldn't cover my face so it's a bit tanned in comparison".

You don't have to use too much makeup. I know a few people who look like they'd burst into flames in sunlight but as far as I know no ones tried to stake them yet. you just need enough to keep them from getting sent to the nurses office. Quick side note: can your vamps use mirrors or does she use a buddy system?

Just as an alternate proposal, she could also go out of her way to apply visible touches of make-up usually meant to make one look pale so people assume her complexion is just more of the same, extremely well and thoroughly applied.

edited 12th Aug '15 3:23:00 PM by KillerClowns

Thanks for all the responses; I honestly didn't expect this question to get much attention. Some of these are incredibly detailed, I'm surprised.

@ Yewleaf: Hmmm it depends. In the vampire story I'm using for this question, the vamps can use mirrors, but their reflections are distorted and faint, as if viewed through a foggy surface no matter how flawless the mirror is. So it's an instant recipe for Glamour Failure.

There's another high school paranormal romance-ish story I'm writing where vampires can use mirrors perfectly fine, but it doesn't count here since the "blatantly supernatural but mostly unnoticed except for one person" aspect is very much in play there.

edited 12th Aug '15 3:33:00 PM by Swordofknowledge

Hmm. Make up can be tricky. It might help her if she has a friend or family member give her a quick look over if possible before she heads out. Prevents any accidental clown incidents. That said, best of luck with your story! I wish I could have been more help but the others did too good of a job.

Not directly related, but Mhari Murphy from The Laundry Series actually takes the opposite route by wearing thick, theatrical face paint to avoid burning up under sunlight. If your setting offers modern makeup, then it would probably let rich people (and vampires) to do whatever the heck thet want with it without anyone batting an eye.

I suppose the Darkman option of just wearing synthetic skin is out of the question? And depending on how "out" vampires are as a group, it wouldn't be odd for there to be a (pocket?) industry supplying the means for them to fit in with ordinary humans.

How about this: a practice head sculpted to the owner's, upon which you layer a paper-thin coating of soy-based "latex" (tinted to your favorite racial appearance, I suppose). You then make up that face, and put the result on as a mask. This gets around the issue of mirrors and coordination entirely, and I suspect the means of doing so already exist as costume makeup.

edited 13th Aug '15 12:46:40 PM by DeusDenuo