Inspiring belly dance makeup looks
One of the best parts of being a belly dance performer is the "art of belly dance makeup". I call it so because it's truly an art but most of all it's not like any other makeup style out there. Some call it "Arabic makeup" but it's not really.
Belly dance makeup has an array of looks based on the venue, the belly dance style you are performing and the costume! It leaves a lot of room for creativity more than any other stage dance makeup style out there.
So let's explore some of these fun looks and see when they are used and when they feel most appropriate to give you an idea of what to do, not to do and how far you can take your creativity and dare to try to a look you never thought possible.
Be daring and have fun!
P.S. I listed some of my favorite stage makeup products at the end of this post for you to check out if you are looking for suggestions
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The Lebanese ...
The Lebanese style: simple but highlight the eyes and keep the lipstick on the pink side.
This is great for bright colored costumes: pink, green, blue, yellow... these are common colors in Lebanese costumes
For the brave creative colorful dancer!
This look is ideal also for colorful costumes mostly Lebanese, Modern Egyptian and cabaret Turkish.
You could match the colors to your costume. Very 80s :)
Turkish Cabaret ...
Ansuya portraits the Turkish cabaret style perfectly. She has one of the most beautiful and creative makeup styles in the belly dance performance world. She made this look her signature and was copied by many but not everyone could pull this off. It is slightly between Tribal and Modern classical look
Vintage Tribal
This is a look that combines the Tribal makeup look with the Vintage 20s look. The eyes are strong but the rest of the makeup is clean, no face tattoos and the lipstick is the classical red. This look could work for some classical/modern costumes and it is very transitional and still looks clean for a Tribal style
The glow in the dark look!
Wow! This look is definitely for the daring fun dancer. This look is created using makeup that glows in the dark! This is fun for a night club performance and is very 80s!. Definitely to be used with bright colored costumes
If you are wondering where to buy this kind of makeup, Easy LifeStyles makes the best glow in the dark makeup in the market. Check it out in this link
The classical Cleopatra
This eye look could work for any belly dance and costume style from Egyptian to Tribal. Keeping the eye shadow neutral with silver colors and creating the perfect exaggerated and big cat eye look
The classical 20s
This is also a look that could be tribal like the previous Vintage tribal look above. The difference in this one is that the eyes are not as strong which makes it ideal for the classical styles as well. This would be a great makeup look to create for a performance at a themed party that celebrates this night.
The dark look
This is a fun look that celebrates the tribal look with a bit more sparkle. The eyes are definitely very strong and the lipstick matches the dark look. The rest of the face makeup is clean.
Match this with gold/silver highlighted simple black costume and let the jewelry match the gold or silver jewelry you choose.
This would create a clean classic yet very bold and strong look.
The colorful jeweled princess
This is one of my favorite looks ever! Still colorful, princess like and yet quite subtle because the eye makeup colors match the costume and jewelry.
This another way to create color in your makeup without being too matchy matchy but matching the eye makeup colors to the jewelry rather than the costume
The tattooed face
This is definitely a tribal look but could also be used very moderately in some Gypsy and Turkish cabaret styles when the tattoos are kept minimal like with the above dotted look
When the tattoos get bigger, the look becomes ideal for male belly dancers. You could exaggerated it to the point of making the eye makeup look like a mask!
Wens makes awesome and easy to use simple sticky tattoos with simple patters if you would like to not to overdo it
Wens makes awesome and easy to use simple sticky tattoos with simple patters if you would like to not to overdo it
The body spray
You can take the face tattoo look to the next level and use spray makeup to cover most of the eye area and create a mask like look and extend the spray makeup to the neck and chest area if you feel brave! This is definitely a tribal fusion look that I personally could not see working for other styles
The surprise color
This is a fun way to create the element of surprise! Use an eye shadow pop color that matches absolutely nothing in your costume! Yes! This is the Halloween look if you ask me but i think it's a great fun look for a tribal fusion performance.
Keep the costume look one color like black and the jewelry simple like silver and go bold with one bright color around the eye area
The Bollywood look
The Bollywood Indian look is beautiful beyond words and works for any belly dance style or costume. You could keep the colors very classical or create a pop color. Most Bollywood dancers create the pop colors using the jewelry colors which is not to be missed in Bollywood dancing. Jewelry is a big part of the costumes so matching it to the makeup colors does not feel overly done
The dotted sparkles
This is a fun makeup look that is strong and makes you think "Tribal" immediately but you create a sparkly element with sticky sparkles dots as beauty marks or in the corner of your eyes and by created a sparkly third eye.
Spritech makes some beautiful sticky sparkles that could be used for any costume and with any color
The Berber look
This is a typical Moroccan and Algerian Berber look that I am quite familiar with growing up in Morocco. The cat eye look is key for this look. The lipstick should be red and the jewelry strong metal and BIG!
When creating the face tattoos for this look, keep them below the lip and between the eyes and the designs are very Berber and simple.
The Valentine's Day look
This is a simple and clean look. The eye make up is strong enough for a belly dancer, the lip is bold and yet the look feels clean and simple. This is a Valentine's Day look almost.
Work this look with classical simple costumes with lots of sparkle! If you have a heavily beaded costume, keeping the makeup simple and yet elegant is key to not look overly done especially if you are doing an Egyptian classical performance
This simple look is also great for Spanish Fusion performances
The light Tribal look
We usually associate the strong and dark makeup look with the tribal style but there is a new trend in the tribal community: light and colorful costumes! Yes, keeping the costumes on the light simple side. Using colors like a simple white with gold jewelry is becoming common and for this look, the makeup should be lighter. The strong eyes should be simplified and made just a bit more classical.
Since the look is still tribal, using some face jewelry and sparkly dots is a great accent to the look
