Make-up gets theatrical

Shiseido has signed a three-year deal with Milan's famous Opera, La Scala; which means the troupe will wear the brand's make-up for every performance over the next few years. It's an interesting pairing; Shiseido's products are high on quality and pigment and this gives the brand a foray into the more creative theatrical world.

But it's not just Shiseido linking up with the Performance arts to showcase its showstopping products. Illamasqua provides all the brushes to artists working on the West End musical Love Never Dies.

Not to mention MAC, who took me to see the new Cirque du Soleil show, Totem, at the Royal Albert Hall last night. The brand is providing the performers with all the make-up for the show (and even some exclusively designed products just for them). The make-up is out-of-this-world, the opaque vibrant colours, expert contouring, glitter and gems really put the performers into character, whether as an alien being, wild animal or caveman. What's even more impressive is that the performers don't have artists working on them backstage, they do all the make-up themselves. It just goes to show that when it comes to make-up a little bit of confidence and theatricality can go a long way.