Paint the Town Purple (and Green and Gold)
Only in NOLA does purple, green and gold make the perfect color-match.
When it comes to Mardi Gras makeup, you’ll see plenty of these hues in wild bursts of color on the eyes and lips. New Orleans makeup artist Betsy Boone of Boone Beauty and Betsy Boone Bridal Beauty says Mardi Gras is the perfect time to take your makeup to new heights.
“I see lots and lots of glitter all over the face and body in purple, green and gold,” she says. “I see a lot of red lips and heavily made up eyes with heavy liner and false eye lashes in black, metallic and bright, vivid colors.”
And while masks are also popular, Boone says, not everyone finds them comfortable. “I suggest getting creative and researching youtube.com lessons on how to do harlequin makeup, clown makeup or French clown with skin-safe metallic and shimmer paints,” she says. “It could also be fun to do a tiger face in green, purple and gold if you’re an LSU fan.”
Mehron and Kryolan are the best professional companies to use for face paints, Boone says. Drug stores have Wet and Wild, Jordana and Prestige with bright, vivid colors and plenty of iridescence and shimmer. You may want to add fine-tip brushes and liner pencils to draw on your template, she adds.
“Mardi Gras makes New Orleans the greatest place on earth to be a makeup artist,” Boone says. “There are so many parties, events, balls and parade riders that are looking for something unique. Having experience working with Entertainment Tonight correspondents and doing a lot of red carpet makeup always gives me a chance to go outside of straight makeup and get much more daring and creative. This is the way I like to work with my Mardi Gras clients. It’s so fun to find those occasions where you can be more adventurous!”