COSTUME TIP - Sweat

Those humid sweaty days and nights for a film. but what to do when its actually cool and you need to create the look of humidity?

Admittedly a lot of it will come down to the sweat Makeup Department use on the skin, but when we sweat profusely our clothes do take on a heaviness that can be hard to recreate.

If your character has been trekking through a jungle or has spent days in the heat there is a way to simulate this artificially and safely for the skin.

By creating a sludge mix of baby oil, sorbelene (aqueous cream) and water we can then add this solution to a spray bottle and water it down.

As mention, it does become a bit of trial and error to get the consistency as it will depend on your spray nozzle. Mix the solution up and try the spray nozzle onto your hand - if blended properly it will spray like water but have an oil feel to your skin and be cloudy.

For an overall light sweat - spray all over lightly without lingering to allowing patching, allow this to dry and build up. This is especially useful as you will be reapplying anyway as it dries and be able to get to a good droop.

For a heavier noticeable sweat; focus on the pits, centre back, neckline front and collar areas and anywhere that belts, bags or props are touching. Think about how someone sweats and apply accordingly. Always have a cloth with you to blur the spray marks.

You really need to get to know your spray bottle and have the nozzle set on the most misting spray. If you struggle you can spray onto the cloth and rub in - this just takes longer so is not as viable for Background and extras.

Misting sprayers do work if the mixture is fine enough (you can purchase these from makeup places or often at kitchen places or supermarkets (much cheaper) marketed as an cooking oil sprayer), but you may need to clean with hot water and dishwashing soap nightly to clean the superfine nozzle area from clogging.

I usually keep a misting one with plain water on me just to have in case the regular spray bottle’s spray was too noticeably ‘spray’ or harsh edged and needs blending off.