What makeup did you wear to your prom? Or what makeup will you wear to your prom?
I didn’t go to prom, actually! But suspending that reality, even if I had, I wouldn’t have been allowed to wear makeup! (I wasn’t allowed to wear makeup until college.)
Do you have a question idea? Submit yours here.
We're here to help you make better beauty purchases that you'll enjoy and love! We recommend signing up to take advantage of personalized features like tracking products you own, viewing dupes that you already have, and more!
Here are some useful resources for you:
Curious how two shades compare to each other? Type in the shades below to get instant side-by-side swatches!
Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!
Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).
We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!
We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!
Haha same here! I didn’t go to prom either. Back then I had really, REALLY bad acne, so I doubt anything would have covered that up even if I had gone.
I went for a bold red lip since my dress was red. I did a soft, brown smokey eye with winged eyeliner, and a little bit of contouring and highlighting. It was almost a year ago, and my makeup skills have gotten a lot better, but it was still nice. It was also my first time using falsies!
I remember that for my Junior Prom, I wore Loreal nail polish & lipstick in Mica to go with my royal blue dress. I still really love that color & should buy the lipstick and I’ll just have to hope Loreal comes out with a Mica polish some time in the future.
For my Senior Ball, I remember that I wore a dark rose shade of powdered lipstick (a compact had the colored powder, a clear top coat, and tiny brush to put it all on) that I think was new from Maybelline at the time (May 1991), to go with my black lace dress.
It was CoverGirl!
Yes, Covergirl!! I had two of those compacts, in a rosy pink and a coral-pink. I would use the powder over a matching lipstick to “set” the color and it would last the entire night, which back then meant hours of dancing & drinking & sweating!! I thought they were the most ingenious products I ever saw!!!
My prom was just last year, so I completely remember.
I wore the Wet ‘n Wild trio in Silent Treatment on my eyes, Revlon Photoready 3D Volume mascara, and a thin black eyeliner look (no wing or anything too dramatic).
My blush for the night was the Wet ‘n Wild blush in Pearlescent Pink.
And on my lips was the Revlon Color Burst lipstick in Pink Sugar.
I wanted to keep the look overall subtle and stick to pinks and taupes because my dress was black lace so I wanted a delicate look.
I can’t believe I even remember this!
Face: Prescriptives Flawless Skin Foundation (the only foundation I owned in high school!)
Cheeks: Prescriptives Matte Cheek Color (a peach colored blush, maybe Pompeii?)
Eyes: Bourjois Paris single eyeshadow in the brown color (applied wet all over lid), mascara would have been either Benefit Bad Gal mascara or Prescriptives Lash Envy mascara (those were the only two I had and used back then!)
Lips: I think I just wore chapstick (so I could kiss my bf haha)
That was 22 years ago, so I’m not 100% sure about *everything*… My lips were definitely a deep red, as that was part of my “signature” look back then, as was a defined contour, so I probably went with a Maybelline trio which included blush, contour, and highlighter, which was likely in a plum/wine range. My mascara was likely Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara, but my liner was definitely L’Oreal Lineur Intense liquid in black, and the pencil was L’Oreal Le Grand Kohl in Onyx. I did a sort of smoky eye, and the only shade I can recall specifically was Max Factor Black Velvet (I wore that one *alot*), and I may have used a Maybelline trio that consisted of shimmery wines. Foundation & powder really could have been anything, as I had pretty good skin back then, and I wasn’t all that particular, and I was always rotating. It sounds like a really heavy look, but it actually came together quite nicely, and it was my “usual” look, just slightly amped-up.
That was 24 years ago! LOL. From pics, it looks like I had on dark raspberry lipstick and 4 variants of purple eye makeup. I do remember matte nails – I think it was a Revlon polish.
You’re definitely winning back those years when you weren’t allowed to sport makeup, lol! I love it! My mom did my makeup for prom – it was nice and soft, with brown shadows and pink blush. She loaned me a lipstick because I didn’t have any, all I remember was that it was by Clinique because it had that great metal packaging. 🙂
trick question: I didn’t go. Wanted to, but I didn’t have a date, and at my HS prom was a huge formal affair that you HAD to have a date for, and…yeah, anyway *g* I think I wore makeup to my homecoming dance, but heck if I can remember what it was.
I find it so stupid that they should have such a rule! Did it apply to same sex couples too (whether romantic or friends)? In France there are no prom (neither is there any homecoming thingie. I’m not sure what the difference is though).
LAME! That rule no longer exists, right?!
It was never an official rule, it was one of those unofficial things, lol 🙂 We even had teachers who would try to find you a date if you couldn’t find one yourself. At least I don’t think it was an official rule, but it was a while ago.
The teachers helped? That’s sweet. 🙂
That seems sad, really! My friends were really having the best makeup artists they know. Well, I had one too, but it was a simple one. What I wanted to highlight on my makeup was the bluish effects around my eyelid, and I believe it was really one of the best features of my makeup that night.
MAC full coverage foundation (acne, man)
MAC Viva Glam Cyndi (which my date lost later -___-)
NARS Exhibit A
And I don’t exactly remember the eyes, but it involved the NYX dupe for Stars n’ Rockets and some silver.
All done subtly.
Ah prom. That was forever ago. I remember wearing a lilac pink eyeshadow from Mac but I forgot the name. Definitely Asphyxia eyeshadow by Urban Decay. Most likely I wore Mac Studio Fix on my face, but no primer or concealer due to not knowing any better.
If you’re willing to ignore the face, this: http://i.imgur.com/2LnRvKq.jpg
The most I remember is that I wore a defined neutral eye with winged liner (possibly with false lashes?), Lancome’s Mandarin Sky blush, and some combination of MAC’s Creme d’Nude and ELF’s Studio Matte in Coral.
We don’t have proms where I am from. Even if I had, I would have been quite clueless about makeup at that age (since we weren’t allowed to wear makeup to school). I did remember having an Urban Decay darkish purple lipstick which I wore blotted on my lips to a stain at a semi-formal school annual dinner when I was 16 or 17. It was circa 1997…
I didn’t go to prom either! I don’t feel quite so alone now 🙂
Wow that is testing my memory…. over *coughs* years ago.
From the UK were until recently most schools didn’t have Proms (we have imported them) But my school did have the very English named ‘Leavers Ball’ instead
Best guess:
no foundation I didn’t use it till later, a little transparent powder
Cant remember a blush but I think probably a Bourjois bronzer to add some colour and contours.
Matte Ivory eye-shadow over the whole lid as a base, with a dark gray eye-shadow used wet as eye liner and dry as a definer on the outer corner, almost certainly both No 7 from Boots and Mascara, Eyebrows were probably only tweezed.
Lipstick: again probably a No 7, I had a favourite deep plummy pink with a shimmer.
Oooh I don’t remember! I remember the dress I wore though… And I think (think…) that I wore purple eyeshadow.
I actually have no idea what I wore lol. I graduated in 2004 so it was a while ago, but, if I can remember my makeup style correctly it was probably a shimmery, cream eye shadow & some lip gloss. I hardly wore makeup until college.
Your parents sure were strict. I didn’t go to my prom either, but if I had, my makeup would have been 80s, over-the-top!
My last prom was in 1999, mind you!!!! I did my own makeup that came fresh from the drugstore. I attended prom twice. Both times I wore a smokey eye of sorts. Although my skill was limited, I’d say I did a pretty good job. Buuuut then again my date did ask what happened with my eye. He thought I got punched. Lol.
I honestly don’t remember even though it wasn’t that long ago! I just looked at a picture and it looks like I wore a sheer wash of blue eyeshadow (my dress was blue of course), mascara, probably powder and that’s it! I wish I’d gotten my makeup done or something to look extra pretty! At that point in my life, though, it was all about my hair which I get chemically straightened. At least my hair looked darn good!
I also didn’t go to prom. There was a debate tournament that night, and debate always took precedence over any other school activities. But I did sort of learn about how to do subdued makeup through debate, since we were encouraged to look very professional.
My prom is this Friday, and I am wearing a golden brown smokey eye, with glowy peachy skin. I am looking forward to it!
i didn’t go but in my senior year of high school i was really into smokey eyes so that would have been my go to
I actually just went to prom! I wore a flapper style dress(complete with beading AND feathers), so to continue the theme I wore a dark smokey eye, using Urban Decay’s Naked2 palette, Too Faced’s Sweetheart blush, and Nars’ Sex Machine lip pencil. I was super happy with the way the whole look turned out! It was just about perfect!
Throwback… I had a red dress and did a smokey eye with a black and grey Mary Kate and Ashley eye shadow duo I loved. I also used their mascara that was black with little silver sparkles and a berry double ended lipstick/gloss. I remember my foundation was a powder in a blue cover girl compact. No idea what blush I used, possibly a Victoria’s Secret bronzer.
I didn’t go to my prom-I was not popular, in the least, in high school
I was a bit of a tomboy back then, I didn’t wear much. I had 2 shade of blue (baby and navy) to match my dress (dear god) and a neutra lips. This was done by a make up artist… back in 2001!
I got my make up done at inglot, my dress was purple so the MUA did a purple and gold eyeshadow look. The foundation she used was a dewy full coverage. I cant really remember the lips though.
I didn’t go to prom in high school, but I did just go to my college’s ‘equality prom.’ On my lips I wore mac Diva. On my eyes I wore winged black liner, Maybelline color tattoo in Fierce & Tangy, and MUFE 75 in the crease. For blush I wore Nars Dolce Vita. Lots of bright/dark, and I really loved it.
Okay, so I went to 5 proms….I went with a friend sophomore year and wore a red dress. I can’t find any pics right now, but I remember wearing red lipstick, red nails and neutral eye makeup. My junior year, I wore a formal black outfit with pants (oh so rebellious!) I’m looking at the picture and I seem to be wearing a deep rose lip and nail color. My senior year, I went to my prom, prom at my boyfriend’s school and prom with a friend of mine. I wore the same royal blue dress for all three. I remember not wanting to wear red with the dress because I thought it would look strangely patriotic. I’m looking at pics and my skin is very matte (it was the 90’s) and I have light grayish-purple eye makeup that looks pretty subtle. It looks like I did switch it up and wore lighter mauve nails for 1 of the proms and a darker berry color for the other 2.
Man, that’s been over 15 years ago! 🙂
I saved one of those certificates for makeup application at Sephora from a Christmas present. I remember the girl having a tough time finding a match for my skin, but she settled on a dior foundation mixed with a moisturizer. That honestly has scared me off dior skin products for a while because there was some slight oxidization, nothing serious, but I had never had that problem before. Thankfully didn’t show up in too many photos. Just like every other time I’ve had my makeup done, a purple smokey eye to bring out the green. Personally I’m a neutral eye kind of person so it’s kind of nice to have that change, and it certainly went with my dress (but so does everything, it was a vibrant multi-coloured floral print) Then no bronzer, I’m pale all over so no point in wasting time on that, and a gorgeous fuchsia lip pencil by Sephora which I bought the second she showed it to me.
I was not allowed to use makeup until 18 ! And by the way, what’s a prom ? LOL there was no prom in fact !
Prom is a formal dance that usually takes place during the junior and senior years of high school 🙂
I also didn’t go to prom! Glad I’m not the only one out there :). I probably would have worn red lipstick though.
I wasn’t allowed to go to my prom.
We don´t really have prom here, at least not in my high school. We were abot 6000 people in three shifts, I was lucky to have been in the morning shift for the whole time lol. The way I graduated was simply to go and collect my diploma once it was ready lol, no party, no pictures no nothing 🙂 . If I had gone to prom I would have used the only high end lipstick I had at the time, Estee lauder Crystal Pink and Estee lauder Turbolash black mascara, and my Zan zusi concelear. That was all I had back then 😛 .
*about 6000 people.
I will have my college graduation this next Saturday though, and this time we are way less people, we will have the graduation ceremony and then a formal banquet in a fancy location with gourmet food 😛 . So different from me simply going to collect my diploma from an office in simple jeans and shirt like I did in High School. Now I have to figure out what to wear and what makeup to use 😀 the whole experience is alien to me lol.
I never went to prom! I’m homeschooled. Hoping to go to prom with a guy friend eventually, though. (: I have lots of nice dresses, mainly this aqua and green one that I would love to wear to prom just for the makeup options. =P
I didn’t go to my prom….my friends and I opted for a trip to Disneyland instead. I did go to my senior winter formal. I think I wore Stila make-up (illuminating foundation, eyeshadow), but I wasn’t at all interested in or knowledgable of beauty products back then.
purple lipstick and gold winged eyeliner!! it was the first time i’d ever word lipstick in public, and the positive feedback really helped spur my obsession along 😛
I have no idea! I wasn’t super into makeup at the time, and I let my best friend doll me up. She did a great job. 🙂
I was way more focused on my hair, the shoes, the dress, the horribly uncooperative strapless bra, and my date, hahaha.
All the makeup I wore to prom came from my grandma – she used to buy a ton of makeup from Estee Lauder and give me the “free gift with purchase” that she didn’t want. I think it was probably Maple Sugar (brownish reddish, slightly shimmery) on lips, black eyeliner and mascara, and a little bit of bronzer, all from one of those free things. I had my nails done, almost certainly a classic red OPI creme shade like Quarter of a Cent-Cherry (pretty much all I wore until grad school).
Silver eyeshadow, black eyeliner and mascara, to go with my ice-blue dress with a white crochet & silver sequin overlay. Had a white crochet choker to match, with silver platform heals and vintage silver bag (my moms). Can’t remember the lipstick, but it was probably some neutral pinky shade. Oh, the late 90’s. LOL
I had my make up done for me by a make up artist from the Faces counter that used to be at my local mall (the counter has since closed and I can’t remember the last time I saw that brand for sale). I wore a dark blue and black smokey eye with peach lipstick, to go with my midnight and royal blue dress. It was also the first time EVER for me wearing foundation, powder and concealer.
More recently (as in a couple of weeks ago), I attended a formal dinner and dance at university, wearing an emerald green dress. I can actually break this look down:
Face: MAC Select SPF 15 Foundation in NW15
MUFE Translucent Powder
Cargo Blush in Catalina
MAC Skinsheen Bronzer Stick in Billionaire Bronze (from Surf Baby)
Eyes: Urban Decay Primer Potion
Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Vanilla (highlight), Flow (lid, inner half), Chase (lid, outer half and crease) and Blackout (adding to crease) (all 15th Anniversary Pallette)
Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Zero (waterline)
Sephora + Pantone Universe Color Cube Lid Liner Stain in Emerald (lining upper lash line and smudged on the lower lash line)
Benefit BadGal black mascara
Faces eyeshadow in a matte black to define my eyebrows (it’s not particularly pigmented and my brows are black to begin with, so if I use a light hand, it works very nice)
Lips: MAC Lipstick in O
I didn’t go to prom, either! I was actually working. 😛
I never went to prom. I went to Homecoming though… I think I wore a dark smokey eye. I wonder how good it looked… considering I went to homecoming when I was 14 LOL
If I ever did go I think I would skip the deep smokey eye for a lot of dewy, glowing highlight everywhere. Glowing highlighted skin, shimmering gold eyes and soft, nude lips. Beautiful!
I went for doll eyes, but everything else was pretty minimal. I tightlined my eyes, piled on Maybelline the Colossal mascara (waterproof, of course), and put on false eyelashes. I don’t think I wore anything else except Neutrogena powder and generic lip balm.
My proms were in 2003 and 2004, but I didn’t go to any. I went to the post-prom event during junior year, but that’s about it. I think I went to one dance in HS, and it was awful, lol; I went with a group of girls to homecoming…half the girls spent the night pouting and crying because they didn’t have dates, and the other girls just stood around. None of them would dance! I was so bored the whole night.
My prom was in 1985! (I’m oooooold 🙂 ) I can’t really remember what I wore, I wasn’t very good at eye make-up then and I never wore blush ’cause I was a quasi-punk/goth type and wanted to look ultra pale. I’m guessing Coty Airspun powder in the lightest shade (I never wore foundation, just powder back then), black pencil eye liner and black mascara and dark red lipstick. At the time, my trademark lipstick was a blue/purple/black bruise color but I think I classed it up for prom.
I also didn’t go! If I did, though, my makeup wouldn’t have been anything special — I didn’t do particularly interesting looks in high school. Probably a single shade of purple eyeshadow, a touch of liner and mascara, foundation, pinkish nude blush, and mlbb lipgloss.
My prom is this saturday! I’m super excited because I missed out on junior prom last year because of stupid SATs >:(
Face:
-Mac Strobe cream
-Mac mineralize concealer in NW30
-Bare Minerals Veil powder
-Mac’s Cremeblend blush in Posey
-Wet n Wild’s blush in Mellow Wine
(I’ve been blessed with relatively acne-free skin, so no foundation)
Lips:
-NYX softmatte lip creme in Antwerp (as a stain)
-Mac lipstick in See Sheer
-Mac lipglass in Nymphette
(Christine, you totally sold me on Nymphette; super gorgeous)
Eyes:
-E.L.F. Eyelid primer
-Urban Decay shadow in Sin (lid)
-Mac Carbon + Quarry (Crease)
-Tarte shadow in Martha’s Vineyard (Outer corner)
-Mac Expensive Pink (Browbone)
-Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner
-Tarte mascara in Lights, Camera, Lashes
My dress is a pale peachy pink and I’ll have silver accessories. 😀 SO EXCITED!
Prom…wow, that was a long time ago. But, I wore then the same makeup I wear now – Jane Iredale. I love the way it makes my skin feel healthy, and I believe it’s the reason why I don’t have wrinkles yet at the age of 41.
Back in the day I was what people now call a “goth”; we called each other “mod”. My first prom dress was a super-fringed number; I wanted to look like the dress Siouxsie Sioux wears in the “Peek-a-Boo” video, which came out that year (really, *REALLY* aging myself right there, LOL.) I wore opera-length satin gloves and my BF game me a specially-dyed black rose corsage, hee hee.
My makeup was very light, porcelain skin, deeply red lips, and black eyeliner–pretty much the same I wore everyday; I just added some MAJOR false eyelashes to the look.
I haven’t done my makeup like that since 1990, but I still love the music!
I’m actually going to my first prom, senior ball this year, but I already know what I’ll be doing! That is.. If I have time to do mine properly, since ill be giving about 7 girls makeovers, as well as doing their hair and nails.. Eek!!
Face: cover girl outlast foundation, maybelline dream matte powder, ELF blush & contour Kurt, benefit watts up highlighter with sephora hello kitty highlighter on top, US Buck for nose contour
Eyes: UD primer potion, neutral but smokey eye (shimmering taupe and matte browns.. Perhaps from my Too Faced or TheBalm palettes), NYC liquid liner (this stuff is amazing, even Megan fox has raves about it!), essence eyeliner, ELF brow gel, and false lashes
Lipstick: not sure yet! Probably a pink shade from the wet n wild mega last line with NYX Beige on top for pretty pink lips
My senior prom was actually last Saturday, and I wore a muted smokey eye with bold red lips (MAC Red + OCC NSFW). For my face I wore my MUFE HD foundation, MAC MSFN, NYC Sunny Bronzer, MAC Warm Soul blush, and I highlighted with YSL Touche Eclat Radiant Touch and MAC Lightscapade. My dress was like a mid thigh length black sequin cocktail type dress, and I wore red heels and everything came together so nicely. For me, prom isn’t a big deal, so I didnt go all out. I have bangs (think Taylor Swift lookalike except I’m only 5’2 hah) so I just straightened my hair and pulled it up into a ponytail with my bangs down, and everyone there was so much more formal than me, but I’m really happy with how everything turned out. (: This turned into me telling my entire ensemble instead of just my makeup, oops!
Back in my day we didn’t go to the prom. We were “too cool for school” – only the nerdy kids at my school went to the prom. Instead most of us kids ditched the prom and went to this club called Bonds in Times Square and partied hard!! The place is still there too! One of the great things about being a native New Yorker in the ’80s is that with a good (fake) id, you could hang hard with the grown people at many serious NYC clubs. Why go to the prom when you could go to a real club? Sigh, those were the days……anywoo, I wore some crazy red lipstick, black eyeliner and more mascara than my eyes could stand! I was more concerned about my outfit and my hair (lol).
My Junior prom, I remember my dress was a corset style top with an A line skirt, in a purple/pink shifting color. I LOVED it, I think we got it at Cache in the mall. Anyway, Sephora had recently opened (the first one in San Antonio) and my mom got me Urban Decay eyeshadow and lipgloss in Asphyxia, because it was the same purple/pink shift as my dress! We also found a matching nail polish from Club Monaco. Basically, it was that makeup that started my obsession with Sephora and Urban Decay!
okay my prom is on Friday and my dress is strapless black with silver designs on it with a split and my hair is going to be a long wavy curly weave but my make-up is what im not sure about.