Beauty secrets of Disney On Ice's Snow White and Cinderella

This week, Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore profiles Disney On Ice performers Laura Stern and Kirstie Nelson, who currently portray Snow White and Cinderella respectively on the popular skating show.

With up to three shows per day and almost a dozen shows per week, these performers spend a lot of their time in heavy stage make-up, which can be very harsh on their complexions. Get to know their beauty secrets and find out how you can improve your daily skincare and make-up regime.

1. How did you get started on skating?

Kirstie Nelson: I started skating because my parents wanted me to learn basic skating skills and then I fell in love with it and couldn’t stop!

Laura Stern: My mother was a figure skater and she always took me to the rink while she skated. One day I asked if I could try it and the rest is history. It was thrilling for me to perform in front of people.

2. How is your show make-up different from your daily make-up?

Kirstie: For the show, everything is much more dramatic because we don’t want our features to get washed out when we’re performing under bright lights on the ice.

All the cast members have two sets of make-up, one collection that is for everyday use, and another “show” set that we never bring home.

We have to purposely wear heavier foundation that is a little darker than our natural skin tones, thick false eyelashes, lots of white eyeshadow, red blush and lipstick. This is so our expressions can be seen by the audience in the first to the last rows.

Laura: Everything is just separate from what we normally wear for our everyday looks, because it needs to be dramatic and specific to our characters, make-up is the thing that helps to pop all the components of our characters together.

I love make-up and it’s so much fun to use it. But because I wear so much of it in the show, I usually wear little to no make-up at all when I’m off the stage.

3. What’s your morning beauty regime?

Laura: It starts with just washing my face with The Body Shop’s Tea Tree Skin Clearing Foaming Cleanser. I have more sensitive skin so I need things that are not harsh on my skin, especially since I put make-up on so regularly. I don’t like anything with microbeads that exfoliates too much either.

After that, I put on The Body Shop’s gel-based Glow Boosting Vitamin C. This cream is not heavy and gives a lot of moisture in my skin for the start of my day. Vitamin C is also really good for the skin and helps encourage collagen production in the skin.

I like to follow up with a light BB cream that has a light coverage, because I usually don’t like to use heavy foundations or anything like that. These are what I do every morning regardless of whether I have to go for a show or not.

4. What’s your night-time beauty regime?

Laura: We have a more elaborate routine at night than in the morning, especially after shows. I start off with removing make-up using Aveeno’s Ultra-Calming Make-up Removing Wipes, because they’re not harsh on the skin and are good for use all over the face, even the eyes.

Kirstie: Baby oil is also a good alternative.

Laura: Put some baby oil on a cloth, make-up wipe or cotton pad, and everything just comes right off. It’s really gentle and you can use it for your eyes as well. I actually like it better than eye make-up removers, which can make eyes get irritated and puffy.

Kirstie: And it’s cheap too! You can find it anywhere. When you have to take off so much make-up all the time, it can get really rough on the skin, especially if you have to scrub really hard. The baby oil kind of just slides it off.

Laura: After taking off the make-up, I wash my face again with my cleanser and then apply the Truth Advanced Moisturizing Crème and the Banana Bright Eye Crème from Ole Henriksen. Kirstie also uses this brand.

Kirstie: It’s nice to use face masks every week too. We’ve done clay masks and charcoal masks, they’re really good for deep-cleansing especially after we’ve done a week of shows.

Laura: Our skin really takes a beating from applying and removing all that show make-up, so we really have to take extra care of it.

5. What are your current favourite beauty products? Why?

Laura: Ole Henrickson, The Body Shop and MAC Cosmetics. I really like The Body Shop because the quality is really good and it’s really affordable too. I like MAC Cosmetics for both show stuff and my daily make-up, especially their Studio Fix Powder. We both really like MAC’s Prep + Prime BB Beauty Balm. It has SPF35 in it, is not too heavy and has just enough coverage.

Kirstie: Right now, I love the Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks. They are matte and they just stay on the lips. I’m in love with all of the colours. I also like NARS The Multiple for use as a stick blush. I really like the cream base.

Laura: I’ve been trying The True Cream Aqua Bomb from Belif, I really like that it’s so hydrating. It just really helps put moisture back in to my skin after I take off my make-up.

6. Is there a beauty or make-up secret that you swear by?

Kirstie: The baby oil was a big tip that we learned after we came on tour.

Laura: I didn’t know about serums and the importance of them and how good they are for the skin. Especially since we’re getting older, we want to start doing skincare to prevent wrinkles from forming faster.

Kirstie: Serums in general for both morning and night are just really good for the skin before you put on moisturiser. But before, I never even knew the importance of a skincare regimen.

7. What is the most common beauty mistakes you’ve heard or seen people making? How would you wish to correct it?

Laura: I have just learned that using too much products with powder in them can actually accentuate lines on the face more than cream-based ones. For me, it’s good to experiment and try out different things, to find out if there are any ways to improve your make-up and skincare routines.

Kirstie: People don’t realise the importance of using sunscreen or products with SPF in them. Especially as we age, we would want to avoid sun damage as much as possible. I know a lot of people who don’t use sunscreens and I used to be one of them.

Laura: Just having some sort of skincare regimen, because some people think they can wash their faces with just soap and water. It really makes a difference for your skin when you put on moisturiser.

Kirstie: Anything made from soaps can be very harsh and drying, so they might actually worsen the skin.

Laura: It’s so important to get someone to help match you to the right foundation shade. Don’t just do it on your hand because it’s so different from skin on your face. There’s nothing worse than wearing foundation that’s too light, too dark, too orange and unblended.

8. Have you tried any beauty brands in Asia yet?

Kirstie: Here in Asia, there is a much wider range of beauty products compared to North America. I just want to try all these cool products out but I don’t know where to start.

Laura: I’ve been using a sample set from Korean skincare brand, Belif. I really like their hydrating line of eye cream, serum and moisturiser. Their eye cream is really nice, it’s not too thick and heavy.

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This year, Disney On Ice celebrates its 25th tour in Singapore. Since the first show here in 1990, there have been over 250 performances held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

The popular skating show will be back in Singapore from 14 to 18 March at the Indoor Stadium, and tickets are on sale now via SportsHubTix.

Watch this video for a short behind-the-scenes look at Disney On Ice:

Related stories:

Even simple beauty routines work, says blogger Carrie Sim
Buy skincare products that actually suit your skin, says blogger Venecia Lim
Don’t skip moisturising despite our humid climate: Beauty blogger Faith Tan
Beauty tips by lifestyle blogger Amelyn Beverly

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