Ben Nye Makeup

Housed in an unpretentious warehouse building in Culver City, CA, the Ben Nye Makeup Company is all about getting the work done perfectly and efficiently. If you happened into the building, you would typically see women in business suits working at desks, politely surprised to see a stranger interrupting their day. Phones are ringing with orders, faxes are humming, and computers are clicking softly.

In the back of the building, the lab, a full-time chemist and Dana Nye, CEO, may be watching as makeup is mixed, poured, sealed, contained, and shipped. The chemist may be discussing progress toward an improvement in a color or a consistency, Nye may be considering the advantages of a new shape container.

It all adds up to a makeup product that is considered one of the world’s best for theatrical use, and excellent for street use, too.

The company was founded by Ben Nye in 1967, after he retired from his position as a makeup artist and Department Head at Fox Studios. Dana, then in college, started working with his father, both at Fox and in building the fledgling business. All along, their dedication to high quality was evident.

They have continued to innovate and create, so people who follow the line wonder often, “What will they do next?” One of the favorites recently is the whole Lumiere line, which includes powder, grand colour. Check it out.

There are many tints and shades of Ben Nye Makeup, but there are three formulas for three different purposes: Crème, Matte and Cake.

Crème is an oil based foundation, the kind that you remove with makeup remover. It is probably an offspring of grease paint, the heavy makeup used 100 years ago. Crème is light and comfortable, must be set with powder and has a long lasting effect for theatrical uses.

Matte is a crème, also. But it is considered better for film and close-up work, because it gives a flat natural appearance.

Cake is water-activated. That is, you use a wet latex sponge to move it from the container to the actor’s skin. It does not require powder to set it, because it simply dries on the skin by itself. If you want a lasting set, however, which will protect against sweat from the stage lights and action in the theater, it works well to use Liqui-Set instead of water on the sponge.

For all of the above, a highly popular finish is Final Seal, which holds the makeup in place beautifully.

That’s the simple process. There are also shadows, highlights, pencils, sticks, concealers, rouges, eye makeups, lip makeup, and numerous special effects. All of these keep the makeup artist learning for years—and then Ben Nye will come out with something new!