COSTUME COMMITTEE REMINDERS AND FAQ’s

  • Please choose hair accessories that blend in with your hair color and style.
  • No visible watches, absolutely no devices or fitness trackers that make sounds, talk, or light up on stage.
  • Neutral nails - natural, clear, French, bare, or skin tones
  • Jewelry Guidelines
    • Piercings - If you have any additional piercings, please wear silver
    • Avoid chunky rings, 1-2 per hand is ok
    • Please no additional visible jewelry
  • Choose foundational undergarments that support a finished, professional, and stage-ready appearance. These should make your costume look good and enable you to breathe deeply and easily. Please be aware of anything that might create visible lines or cause your costume to pull, hang up, or ride up. ​
  • Please remember: there will always be exceptions for health, religious, and personal reasons. Prioritize your own needs and trust that your singing family has handled theirs appropriately.
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WHAT TO WEAR WHEN

THURSDAY, APRIL 9th
  • Welcome Reception / Club 21 Quartet Jamboree - Something you feel confident in! Business casual/professional. Many attendees opt to dress up for this event.

FRIDAY, APRIL 10th
  • Quartet Contest  - Something you feel confident in! Business casual/professional.
  • San Diego Chorus Rehearsal - Comfortable clothes that support movement and breathing. BlueChorus T-shirts ok. Consider wearing your black costume shoes.

SATURDAY, APRIL 11th
  • San Diego Chorus Rehearsal - Comfortable clothes that support movement and breathing. Consider wearing your black costume shoes.
  • Contest - Competition Costume, Black Sparkle​
  • Evening Show / Harmony Showcase - Red, Black, & White with bold, 80s accessories within approved color palette.
  • Afterglow & San Diego Chorus Party - Your own nice outfit.

2026 CONTEST MAKEUP APPLICATION:
​18 Simple Steps to Natural Beauty (LOL)
​

  1. PRIME: Apply your own face primer all over any areas to which you will be applying foundation, such as face, ears and neck.

  2. CONCEAL: Apply your own concealer under eyes and areas you need to lighten, such as deeper wrinkles near mouth or spots you need to conceal. BLEND with makeup sponge.

  3. FOUNDATION: Put small dots of your MAC foundation all over your face and blend with sponge (blend gently in areas where concealer was applied)

  4. POWDER: Apply your own powder with “dome brush.”

  5. BROWS: Fill in and darken/comb brows with your own brow pencil, powder, etc.

  6. EYE SHADOW #1 LIGHT TAN: Using light tan NYX shadow (top left color in Lingerie palette) or elf palette #1, sweep shadow under brow on brow bone.

  7. EYE SHADOW #2 PEACH: Apply NYX peach eyeshadow “all over color” (middle bottom color of Lingerie palette) or elf palette #2 all over the eye except the brow bone. See video for tips on how to use a sponge from keeping the shadow from going under your eyes.

  8. EYE SHADOW #3 DARK BROWN STEP 1: Use “crease brush” with NYX dark brown (bottom left in palette) or elf palette #3. Run along the lash line then into the crease to create a “sideways V” (< >).  Use sponge to blend. 

  9. EYE SHADOW #3 DARK BROWN STEP 2: Run dark brown underneath bottom lashes halfway from outside corner in toward the middle.

  10. ​EYE SHADOW #4 PEACH: all over: Go back in and add a bit more peach (#2) “all over color” to area of the eyelid that does not have the dark brown.

  11. EYE SHADOW #5 WHITE: Add Maybelline WHITE just under the brow bone.  Not a lot...but a thin line of white that is blended in with the light tan (shadow #1).  You should not see a distinct white line under your brow…..if you do….blend! 

  12. EYE LINER, TOP: Apply your own black eyeliner. Apply directly on the lash line, NOT above it.

  13. EYE LINER, BOTTOM: Apply NYX brown eyeliner under the bottom lashes ONLY halfway from middle to outside of eye, because you will be dragging it the rest of the way to blend it (can use stiff blending brush or makeup Q-tip).

  14. MASCARA: Mascara (waterproof black) application goes up and out.  Wiggle at the base of the lashes and pull up and out to make lashes longer on the outside edges. Also apply mascara to lower lashes. If mascara flakes when you put it on your bottom lashes, do NOT use it on lower lashes OR clean it up and reapply a bit of makeup under your eyes. If you do not do this...it makes you look like you have black eyes from a distance.
    ​
  15. BLUSH: Use blush brush, put NYX or Physician’s Formula color on brush and tap brush gently. Sweep color on the underside (just under but still on) of the cheekbone and stop at same vertical line as the arch of your eyebrow. Use sponge to BLEND edges. (We don’t want a “stripe” or “circle” of blush.)

  16. LIP LINER: Use MAC “brick” or NYX “spicy” lip pencil to line and fill in your ENTIRE lip, top and bottom. If you have a small upper lip, use lip primer and draw upper lip a bit larger.

  17. ​LIPSTICK: Apply MAC lipstick...Lip brush recommended, but that is up to you.
    ​
  18. SET: Use setting spray in the shape of a “T” then an “X”.....tada! You are finished!

MAKEUP EXAMPLES

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CONCEAL: Apply your own concealer under eyes and areas you need to lighten, such as deeper wrinkles near mouth or spots you need to conceal. BLEND with makeup sponge.
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FOUNDATION: Put small dots of your MAC foundation all over your face and blend with sponge (blend gently in areas where concealer was applied)
Picture
BROWS: Fill in and darken/comb brows with your own brow pencil, powder, etc.
Picture
CONCEAL: Apply your own concealer under eyes and areas you need to lighten, such as deeper wrinkles near mouth or spots you need to conceal. BLEND with makeup sponge.
Picture
EYE SHADOW #3 DARK BROWN STEP 1: Use “crease brush” with NYX dark brown (bottom left in palette) or elf palette #3. Run along the lash line then into the crease to create a “sideways V” (< >). Use sponge to blend.
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WHITE EYESHADOW #5: Placement
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WHITE EYESHADOW #4: Finished
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EYELINER, TOP: Apply your own black eyeliner. Apply directly on the lash line, NOT above it.
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EYE LINER, BOTTOM: Apply NYX brown eyeliner under the bottom lashes ONLY halfway from middle to outside of eye, because you will be dragging it the rest of the way to blend it (can use stiff blending brush or makeup Q-tip).
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LASHES: You may either put your own waterproof mascara on first, then lashes, or vice versa. Use of eyelash curler is optional.
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BLUSH: Use blush brush, put NYX or Physician’s Formula color on brush and tap brush gently. Sweep color on the underside (just under but still on) of the cheekbone and stop at same vertical line as the arch of your eyebrow. Use sponge to BLEND edges. (We don’t want a “stripe” or “circle” of blush.)
Picture
LIP LINER: Use MAC “brick” or NYX “spicy” lip pencil to line and fill in your ENTIRE lip, top and bottom. If you have a small upper lip, use lip primer and draw upper lip a bit larger.
Picture
LIPSTICK: Apply MAC lipstick. Lip brush recommended, but that is up to you.

CONTEST HAIR GUIDELINES

  • Long hair should be off the face, and off of the chest and shoulders. It is not necessary to pull the hair completely into an updo; however, you may certainly style your hair that way if you like. No basic ponytails. 
  • If you prefer a half-up style, keep in mind that as you move your head from side to side and perform choreography moves, the hair should not move and hit your face or come over the shoulders. 
  • If you have bangs that hit above your eyebrows, please style them nicely. If your bangs cover your eyebrows, please pin them back. 
  • All hair, whether short or long, should frame the face nicely.  We are moving towards a more modern look over all, so overly poofy hair should be avoided, as well as any severe, tightly-pulled back hairstyles.
  •  Please choose hair accessories that blend in with your hair
​
LONG HAIR  - IT’S ABOUT YOUR FACE!
​
HALF-UP, HALF-DOWN.  Remember the hair should NOT cover the costume.  So these examples are great, except the hair should be behind the shoulders. 
UPDOS: Again, this is about how it looks from the FRONT, with hair off the face:
Short and Mid-Length Hair

CONTEST COSTUME (Saturday, APRIL 11th)

Regional Contest Costume
  1. Black sparkly top
  2. Black pants/skirt
  3. Black shoes (matte black, no design, leather or faux leather, roundish toe)
  4. Black socks or leggings (if wearing shoes/skirt/dress that show leg, foot or ankle)
  5. Nice silver earrings, no gemstones.  Can be studs, dangle or hoops, not too big (don’t pull focus). If you don't have pierced ears, it's your choice whether to wear nothing or clip/magnet earrings.
  6. ​Stage Hair & Makeup
  7. Please make sure to select undergarments that help provide a finished and professional stage look. ​

Contest Quick Links

Looking for something specific? These links will help you find your way: