How to Do Stage Make-up for the Middle Ages

Makeup trends in the Middle Ages followed Greco-Roman trends: Once again, the wealthy wanted to show off their affluence by appearing pale, and women used white powders to make themselves paler. In addition, every part of a woman's face was accentuated by makeup, and those in the lower classes used makeup either to highlight their occupation or to make themselves appear more wealthy than they actually were. Use stage makeup to make differences of class among your characters more prominent.

Things You'll Need

  • White foundation
  • Blush
  • Pink lipstick
  • Kohl eyeliner
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Instructions

    • 1

      Cover the faces of your actors playing upper-class characters with white foundation, to make them appear as pale as possible. On the other hand, use pink makeup for lower-class characters, such as prostitutes. Spanish prostitutes actually used pinkish foundation, to contrast with the pale faces of high-class women.

    • 2

      Outline your characters' eyes with a thick layer of kohl. Europeans in the Middle Ages borrowed the tradition of kohl from the Egyptians before them.

    • 3

      Apply lipstick that will obviously look synthetic, such as bright pink, to the lips of actors playing aristocratic women. Certain women in the Middle Ages actually purchased fake-looking lipstick to make it evident that they could afford cosmetics.

    • 4

      Use an eyebrow pencil to lengthen womens' eyebrows, and, if your actors will permit it, use tweezers to make their eyebrows narrower. This will create the impression of a higher forehead, for which women in the Middle Ages strove by removing the hair at the top of their foreheads. In addition, create the impression of highly stylized eyebrows; the Middle Ages marked the advent of the tradition of eyebrow shaping.

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