‘DWTS’ Makeup Artist Reveals Secrets To Staying Gorgeous All Day

Dancing With The Stars 2013 — Courtesy of Instagram

The contestants and pros on ‘Dancing With The Stars’ really have to rely on their makeup to last. Through rehearsals and performances, the show’s head makeup artist is spilling to HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY what measures up for the cameras!

Zena Shteysel is the head makeup artist for Dancing With The Stars and in the photo, here she is touching up Cheryl Burke. After winning two Emmy Awards for her work, she knows which products really work and last! See what she told HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY about how real women can look and feel beautiful for hours on end!

Dancing With The Stars 2013 — Makeup Artist Spills Her Top Tips

“I’ve been on the show since season one,” Zena told HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY. “The past five seasons I’ve been department head and it’s amazing to be here for so long — it’s become my baby! I feel blessed to be a part of it. So far everyone is really good this season, so it’s going to be fun to watch. I think Amber Riley is a front runner and Corbin Bleu is going to be here for a long time.”

The magic to makeup on the show is staying power!

We love Stila Stay All Day Foundation — we’re looking for those products that can maintain through rehearsal and the live show, without a lot of maintenance and touching up. Stila also has long wearing lip colors that we love. We also use the Z Palette to organize our makeup and make it easy to so quick touches.

We also asked Zena how real women can avoid caking on makeup with frequent touch ups to combat shine.

It’s different for everyone. Start with a primer to create a base for makeup to last longer. It depends on your skin — if it’s oily, finding something that fits to your skin. There are always going to be touch ups. It’s hard to find a product that doesn’t require anything but you can use blotting papers instead of powder. Some anti-shine compacts are great so you aren’t constantly taking on more and more powder.

And of course we had to ask about that ballroom bronze!

Tanning is part of the ballroom grooming process. The dancers are wearing barely-there costumes so they really love to be tan. It also hides imperfections and gives you a glow, a nice looking tan. We don’t like them to look orange! We try to keep it very natural. South Seas Skin Care is really amazing, and we can layer it. They do spray tanning and we have products the cast uses to extend their tan.

Zena also spilled the behind-the-scenes process of creating a look!

During the week we usually get an idea of the color the cast will be wearing — a cheat sheet — the color of the wardrobe. A few days later, I get the music, but I never see the wardrobe until the day of the show, so that morning, we take photos and create a look based on the wardrobe and the dance and music. We create a look and talk to the pro and celeb and take the story behind the dance to work out a collaboration.

Do you love the makeup looks on Dancing With The Stars, HollywoodLifers?