Car­ol Quash

It’s show­time! That time when women par­tic­i­pat­ing in the Car­ni­val fes­tiv­i­ties get set to put their best faces for­ward for the glitz and glam of the Great­est Show on Earth. Over the years, make­up for the Pa­rade of the Bands has be­come part and par­cel of the cos­tumes them­selves, at a sep­a­rate cost, of course.

The air­brushed looks, the lus­cious lash­es, dra­mat­ic glit­ter eye­shad­ows, pop­ping lip colours, and bling­ing face rhine­stones all add to the pho­to-ready look that many mas­quer­aders live for as they make their way through the streets of Trinidad and To­ba­go on Car­ni­val Mon­day and Tues­day.

Make­up artist Kani­ka Beaulieu, own­er of the New York-based Face Can­dy Stu­dio, told WE mag­a­zine that most of her clients booked their spots since No­vem­ber last year, but there are still a few spots avail­able. The stu­dio com­pris­es a team of pro­fes­sion­al make­up artists who pro­vide wed­ding and car­ni­val make­up in Trinidad, Bar­ba­dos, Mi­a­mi, Toron­to, and more. The team will set up in Port-of-Spain to do make­up for clients on Car­ni­val Mon­day and Tues­day.

Over the years, Car­ni­val make­up has evolved in­to an elab­o­rate show­ing that has to be per­fect for the so­cial me­dia posts. Beaulieu said the cost of the stu­dio’s air­brush Car­ni­val make­up ex­pe­ri­ence is US$125 or $850. “We start from 6 am on Car­ni­val Mon­day and 2 am on Car­ni­val Tues­day. The full ex­pe­ri­ence lasts 90 min­utes.”

Beaulieu out­lined the fol­low­ing 12 steps she and her team use to give clients a glam­orous Car­ni­val look and of­fered a lit­tle tip for those who want­ed to do it them­selves:

Ap­ply sun­screen (bonus if in­clud­ed with oil-free mois­turis­er)

Arch the brows (su­per sharp pen­cil works best)

Prime and prep the eye­lids

Ap­ply one or two base colours and blend

Care­ful­ly ap­ply con­ceal­er or glit­ter glue for a killer crease

Ap­ply glit­ter to the eye­lids to make them pop

A bright colour eye lin­er is a must.

Add vo­lu­mi­nous and glam­orous lash­es

Use con­ceal­er to cre­ate a smooth face can­vas.

Ap­ply foun­da­tion, and don’t for­get the jaw­line (bonus if you use air­brushed foun­da­tion)

Am­ple set­ting spray is a must to keep the look in the hot sun.

Add a pop of mat­te lip colour so you main­tain your look af­ter a few drinks.

But not every­one can af­ford to pay for the pro­fes­sion­al make­up look, and Beaulieu shared some ad­vice for those mas­quer­aders.

“If they can’t af­ford to get pro­fes­sion­al make­up done, put on tint­ed mois­turis­er, lip gloss and add gems, and go have ah time!”