Before starting, you ensure your hands and nails are well cleaned. File your nails if necessary, so that there are no snags. By doing this you prevent damages on the face and risk of infection.
Always work using clean materials (sponges, brushes, spatulas, water bowls) and change the water regularly.
Get the subject to put on any clothes beforehand that have to be put on over the head. Protect your models clothing with a hairdressing cape or a towel.
When you are experienced in ageing you can also choose to apply a base of Cake Make-up and shade and lighten with Eyeshadow/Rouge on this.
Apply a base with Grimas Crème Make-up Pure. The older skin has a pale colour because of the diminished blood supply. By applying a light, dull base tint (for example OA or 1007) you directly get an older effect. Work out the base on the ears and in the neck.
Depending on the desired effect and the situation (nearby, far off), you can apply stronger or less strong lines. To create a more subtle effect, you can mix the dark brown with the basic colour on the spatula or on your hand. This makes the colour that you use for shadowing less powerful.
The more subtle you work, the more natural the result.
Important areas for shading are the eye sockets, the temples, the side of the nose and below the cheekbones. The vertical frown wrinkle and the naso-labial ('nose-lip') fold are also important areas to shadow.
On an older person the skin, where there is little or no bone, is sunken. On a younger person these parts are darkened (shadowed), the skin will appear to be really sunken at that spot.
When you age somebody with a spherical, round face the bone structure is hardly visible. In this case, do not shade the cheekbone on the round cheeks below, but emphasize on the cheeks. Draw a line below the nose-lips line that goes underneath the cheeks, for a baggy effect.
To determine which side should be sharp and which side faded, you start from the centre of the face (nose). Create a fading effect towards the outside.
Please note: there is a tendency to draw in all the lines (wrinkles, crow's feet) when doing the make-up. When used for large distances (theatre, opera) it is advisable not to do this. These smaller lines will not be noticed, even from a short distance away and will appear dark smudges from a larger distance.
Between the higher parts of the brow some subtle shadowing is done to generate more depth.
By lightening below the chinline, you suggest a sagging jawline and/or a double chin.
Now you lighten the cheekbones and the outsides of the naso-labial fold, the higher part above the upper lip, the corners of the mouth and on the chin.
Take the make-up sponge between the fingertips and squeeze it together to create a round surface. With this surface the make-up can be applied.
Squeeze the Stipple Sponge, press it onto the make-up (dark red colour), test it on your hand and apply to the cheekbone, not too high or too low.
You can remove Crème Make-up Pure with Grimas Cleansing Cream, Multi Remover Pure or Make-up Remover. Cleanse the skin afterwards with cleansing lotion.
Store the make-up in a dry and cool place until the next time you use it.
The sponges are disposable so you can throw them away after use. If you do want to reuse them, first rinse them under the tap with some soap or shampoo or wash them in the washing machine (in a net bag or pillow case), set to at least 60°C.
You can clean brushes with water and soap or shampoo. Put the moist hairs of the brushes back into shape by hand after washing. Dry the brushes lying flat on a towel and do not place them upright, since that causes the moisture to run down into the shaft.