Mortuary makeup artist reveals the tricks of the trade

The dead have a beauty routine, too. Photo / Getty Images

There are many decisions that need to be made when a loved one dies.

Aside from all the family and financial affairs that need to be organised, there is the visit to the funeral home, which can be a confronting experience, involving difficult yet necessary choices: cremation v burial or closed casket v open casket, for example.

Having an open casket requires a sensitive and skilled makeup artist, so the lasting impression is a positive one.

Funeral directors say the most important part of preparing someone for a viewing is the "setting of the features", creating a peaceful facial expression.

There are several tricks of the trade they use:

FIRST THINGS FIRST

All good makeup starts with a clean base, this is no different for the deceased.

"The very first thing we do is wash the body from head to toe," Amber Carvaly, co-founder of funeral home Undertaking LA, tells Refinery 29. "Then we embalm, then wash again, and then shampoo and condition the hair."

PICTURE PERFECT

The first rule of business as a mortuary makeup artist is knowing your subject and making sure you don't do anything that's going to upset them more than they already are. It's an emotional time, after all, so it's probably not a good idea to style Aunty Irene's bob into cornrows.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. Other things known to upset people include parting hair the wrong way, clean-shaving someone known for their facial hair, removing glasses (always best to check), even cutting someone's nails.

Several pictures from the loved one's family can help avoid such mistakes.

INSIDE THE MAKEUP KIT

Nobody wants nan all dolled up like a contestant in Rupaul's Drag Race, so it's important to keep things simple. Less really is more, as Coco Chanel once said.

Maybelline Buff Beige is a popular base with many makeup artists. And when it comes to blush and lipstick, it's best to keep things pale pink or dusty.

"We paint almost everyone's nails a shade of mocha, like a sandy cappuccino," says Carvaly. "We always ask the families first, but nail polish makes them look so much better because the hands are getting crossed on the chest, so aesthetically, it completes the painting."

COLOUR CORRECTION

There are many ways to improve a dead person's glow and when it comes to simple colour correction, the rules are exactly the same if you were getting made up for a night out: if you're a little red, put green over it etc.

A trick of the trade is to also mix tints into the formaldehyde (which replaces blood during the embalming process) to add a rosy shine to the skin.

Mortuary schools in the US teach colour theory and stage lighting. For example, coloured gels over ceiling lights (or rose-coloured bulbs) work best when bodies are laid out for viewing.

SUPERGLUE AND HAIR TIES

In her book Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, mortician Caitlin Doughty says: "If the usual methods of setting the features aren't sufficient to keep the eyes closed or the mouth shut, superglue is a secret weapon." And that's not the only hack cosmetologists-in-the-know hold in their makeup bag of tricks.

"If you need to keep a deceased person's hands folded neatly on their abdomen, but their arms keep falling down into the sides of the casket, you can gently bind their thumbs with a ponytail tie," says Brooklyn funeral director Amy Cunningham.