With the swish of a brush, some touches of blush, and a stroke of eyeliner, a face is magically transformed into a stunning work of art. At St. Paul Academy and Summit School, junior Miriam Tibbetts explores art by using faces as her canvas for self expression and working as one of the key makeup artists for the Upper School drama program.

Favorite Cosmetic Tools

Tibbetts’ favorite cosmetic material is setting powder. “You can put it on people’s faces so that the makeup stays in place and it won’t melt off,” Tibbetts said. This is especially important given all the designs and layers that may be added after putting down the first layer.

Application Technique

Drama requires a lot of different techniques and materials to make facial features stand out.
One of Tibbetts’ favorite materials to use is spirit gum, an adhesive, because with it, actor’s face’s can be molded to make their skin to look different. “I just like making them [the actors] look really silly because I know on stage it is going to look really natural and nice. It is super fun,” Tibbetts said.
Tibbetts said she also likes to use contouring, a common technique among makeup artists and students alike. Contouring is paired with highlighting because it emphasizes the natural effect of the light. Tibbetts likes this method because it makes “cheekbones look very nice,” she said.

Tibbetts’s experience

The first play for which Tibbetts did makeup was Aladdin, in the winter of 2011, which featured junior Jack Romans as the genie.
“That required making Jack Romans blue all over,” Tibbetts said. “I’ve been doing it ever since.”
Some of Tibbetts’ best experiences as a makeup artist for US productions include her work on A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Metamorphosis. “In A Midsummer Night’s Dream I was painting different designs on people, including August King’s [class of ‘13] feet,” Tibbetts said. “I really liked doing Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka because everyone had to have such dramatic makeup. There wasn’t basic makeup at all it was all exaggerated and contoured. It was just crazy. It was the most fun I ever had,” she added.

Tips for Future Artists

Aside from practicing on your siblings, Tibbetts said, “try doing makeup for a show sometime because you get a lot of credit for what you do and [it] is completely necessary for the show. Just remember to have fun.”