How to Throw a Preparty Makeup Party

The Party May Be Where It’s At…But the Preparty Is Where the Fun Starts

Sometimes, getting ready to go out is almost as fun as going out – specifically when it’s with a group of friends. Pumping up the preparty tunes, enjoying the first drink of the evening, and simply laughing with friends while putting on makeup and shaking off any stress of the day is an awesome way to start the evening. A preparty makeup party is different from other party themes in that it isn’t the main event. It’s what you do before going on to another, bigger party, or establishment. It’s how you get ready before going out on the town with your crew, or before going to any other exciting event together. And while it’s easy to call up your friends and intuitively do this spur of the moment, the best way to preparty is to have a few ideas up your sleeve for maximum fun. That’s what we’ll cover here!

Four young women laugh while three of them put makeup on their friend, which is what makes a preparty makeup party so much fun — Photo by Gustavo Fring

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means I may earn commission if you click through the link and finalize a qualifying purchase. This does not affect the price in any way.

Hosting a Preparty Makeup Party

1. Create the Scene with an Array of Makeup, Lighting, Mirrors, Seating, and Décor

Get ready to create a fun ‘backstage’ preparty makeup party atmosphere! What exactly you’ll need to do/acquire depends on whether you and your guests confidently apply your own makeup, or whether you want to take turns putting makeup on each other (or have one or two designated pros put makeup on everyone else). You’ll also consider how many people are coming, and whether you’ll share all of your makeup (in which case you’ll need to have enough to share) or whether you’ll request that friends BYOM (bring your own makeup).

Mirrors:

For each guest to put on makeup at the same time, you’ll need enough large mirrors for everyone. Or, if guests take turns putting makeup on each other, you’ll only need enough mirror coverage for anyone doing their makeup solo (and, of course, for everyone to see the jobs well done!). If you’ll be putting makeup on each other, hand-held mirrors work fine and are only a few dollars from any dollar store or beauty department.

Four open tubes of lipstick stand next to a large pink makeup brush next to a makeup mirror in Iași, IS, Romania — Photo by Dids

Lighting:

Your home could be a mirror maze and it wouldn’t matter at all if your lighting is too dim! Bathroom lights are usually bright enough but check out the other spaces where people will be applying makeup, especially if people will mostly put makeup on each other and won’t necessarily be sitting in front of a hanging mirror. If your overhead lights or lamps aren’t bright enough, consider either switching out brighter lightbulbs or buying a couple of floor lamps with adjustable-neck reading lights attached. Or find an adjustable reading lamp that you can put on a table nearby.

Of course, a makeup mirror is the most ideal lighting for a preparty makeup party! Something like this wood vanity makeup mirror with Hollywood lights or this similar mirror available in white, black, rose gold or silver is also a great way to spruce up your own regular makeup routine beyond just the party.

Seating:

Most of us hastily apply makeup standing in front of a bathroom mirror. Those who are more skilled and do a more thorough job often sit at a vanity mirror. When putting makeup on someone else, that person is typically seated and the makeup artist may be also seated or standing. So have enough chairs to accommodate whichever situation applies. Cushioned folding chairs are fine, or chairs from your table. Just make sure you have ample seating for those being made up, and ideally also for those doing the makeup. If everyone plans to do their makeup solo, they’ll most likely need to stand unless you have a mirrored wall and can situate chairs in front of it.

Makeup:

First things first: unless everyone’s just arrived with a freshly washed face, guests will probably appreciate an application of micellar cleansing water as well as skin care products like toner, serum, and moisturizer before they start putting on makeup. So plan on either sharing your own products or buy extras from your local store’s beauty department for everyone to prep their skin.

Several open tubes of lipstick lay scattered over a surface in shiny colours of coral, pink, mauve, orange, and purple — Photo by Shopify Photos

Now for the fun part! If you already have a slew of makeup, you’re all set. Ideally, you’ll have enough makeup supplies for everyone to put theirs on at the same time if applying it solo, or at least enough for everyone to either be applying makeup to someone else or getting it put on by someone else at the same time. If you don’t have enough makeup to share, go ahead and stock up on some basic brands. While high-quality makeup is preferable for everyday use, it’s okay to buy budget items for an occasional preparty makeup party. Nobody’s going to complain about using bottom of the line drugstore brands. However, know of any guests’ allergies if applicable so you can have safe products for them to use.

You can encourage guests to bring their own makeup products if they choose or if you think you won’t have enough to spare. Most friends are happy to pack a makeup bag full of their own products and may even happily share them with others. Just make sure you clarify this up front so that they know and so that you know what and how much you’ll need to provide.

Makeup party tools: an upright bunch of several purple-tipped makeup brushes of various sizes — Photo by Laura Chouette

Makeup products to have for your preparty makeup party include but aren’t limited to:

Makeup Party Decorations:

Red lips decoration propped up on the end of a stick — Photo by DS stories

This is one party where decorations aren’t a big deal because your makeup party isn’t the final destination. That’s why it’s called a preparty. But it’s fun to decorate regardless! Here are a few playful ideas to set a fabulous preparty scene:

2. Prepare Preparty Snacks and Drinks

Party refreshments are not the center stage here. Being a preparty, your makeup party isn’t the time to indulge in a luxurious meal. However, and especially if you and your guests plan to drink, it’s important both to hydrate well and to eat a decent amount of nutritious, filling food. Being a good host involves making sure you create the best possible environment and circumstances for your guests as reasonably within your control, and party refreshments are included within your domain of influence. So while your menu need not be anything special, it should involve substantial foods that are easy to snack on while doing makeup. But no messy finger foods. For anything other than plain produce like raw veggies, use toothpicks or utensils. Nobody wants greasy fingers on their face!

Close-up photo of a veggie platter with peas, red beans, baby carrots, celery, yellow pepper slices, mini corn, and brussels sprouts — Photo by Vanessa Loring

Here are a few ideas for yummy preparty noshing:

Veggie tray
Cheese cubes (toothpicks)
Easy baked tofu (toothpicks)
Meatballs (toothpicks)
Mexican roasted sweet potato cubes (forks)

Bevvies

Pregaming is a classic pastime that’s both fun and economically smart, especially when you’re looking at paying up to $20 per cocktail. Why not just make your own to enjoy with your friends at your preparty makeup party?! Then, after everyone’s enjoyed their drink(s) and is made up and ready to go, you won’t feel the urge to immediately wait in a long line for an overpriced libation as soon as you get to the club. However, don’t use this as license to get sloshed, especially if you’re going to somebody else’s party. That’s in bad taste! As with any party/situation, know your body and what you can comfortably handle. This is also why ample food is important. Make sure there’s plenty of fresh/filtered water, and maybe other drinks like sparkling waters, juices, or teas/tisanes.

A pretty pink cocktail filled with hibiscus petals, a fun drink to sip on while prepping to go out at a preparty makeup party — Photo by Charlotte May

If you cannot drink at least eight ounces of water per alcohol unit, one preparty hydration hack is to make mixed drinks that provide at least eight ounces of hydrating mixer per alcohol unit. So for example if you make a screwdriver, mix in eight ounces of orange juice per 1.5 ounces of vodka. For a mimosa, mix eight ounces of orange juice per five ounces of champagne. But remember, that isn’t hydrating – it’s only keeping you neutral because it’s merely cancelling out the dehydrating alcohol. So trick yourself into actually being healthier by adding a little more than eight ounces of hydrating fluid per alcohol unit. For other standard cocktails, improvise and play around with ingredients. You could add extra ice to create the same effect (but it only counts if you also consume all the ice).

3. Play Preparty Makeup Party Jams

Besides having plenty of makeup and mirrors to share, your preparty tunes are the next most important part of your makeup party. Time to get amped up! If you don’t have one already, take some time to plan a fun playlist that will get everyone ready to party. Play whatever music you and your friends love that pumps up the energy and puts everyone in a good mood!

Checklist of Items You Need

Close-up photo of a woman putting on lipstick with the focus on her fingernails, each painted a different colour: pastel green, white, yellow and blue — Photo by Farah

Now that we’ve covered what you’ll need to do for a preparty makeup party, here is a summary of all the tangible items you may need to acquire for it:

Makeup, as well as chairs, lighting, and mirrors for putting the makeup on
Makeup party decorations (optional)
Substantial party snacks, hydrating beverages, and drinks
Fun music/speakers

Preparation Checklist for Your Preparty Makeup Party

1. First, confirm that people can come

A preparty makeup party happens before going out somewhere else, so you’ll first need to know what that other event will be – whether it’s another party that you and friends already plan to attend, or whether it’s a club nearby. Plan your party to start at least 2-3 hours before you and your friends plan to go to the other place.
Choose guest list and establish minimum number of guests you’d like (to make it worth your effort) as well as the maximum number of guests that you can reasonably host given how much space (and makeup, etc.) that you have
5-6 weeks out, confirm guests’ interest in the preparty and availability. Of course, if the main event is a party at somebody else’s house, you may have only a couple weeks’ notice – and that’s okay because this is a preparty, not a grand gala. But if the main event is going out clubbing, for example, then you can plan it as far in advance as reasonable.
This first step is just to get people to confirm that, barring unforeseen circumstances, they are able and willing to come preparty (and then party) with you and will save the time on their calendar to do so. If your preferred minimum number of guests confirm interest and availability, have them secure the date for your awesome preparty makeup party!

A young woman holds up a makeup brush while concentrating on her subject's face in front of a round makeup mirror lined with Hollywood-style lightbulbs, which is an excellent item to have available at a makeup party — Photo by Nguyễn Thị Minh Nghi

2. Then, proceed with the fun planning

Once you have your makeup party date established, you need to get out your calendar and map out when you plan to do every step of preparation. Here’s a general overview of what you can expect to do leading up to the party:

First, sit down and schedule time on your calendar for each step of party prep as listed below
Create invitations with the details and send them 4 weeks before the party (or soon as possible)
Order any makeup, supplies, and decorations 3 weeks out (or as soon as possible)
Shop for any makeup and party supplies/decorations you don’t order online, as well as non-perishable food/drinks
Acquire perishable food/drinks early enough in advance to prepare in time
Set up decorations (optional)
Prepare food/drinks (depending on how long things keep)

Close-up photo of a person's hand with blue-painted fingernails painting red lipstick on a woman with a tiny makeup brush — Photo by Matthew Henry

3. Day of Party

It’s important to get as much party prep done far enough in advance that you have some time to yourself to relax come party day, especially if you’ve been busy. Even though your preparty makeup party isn’t a huge event, it still requires some effort, and then you’ll be going out afterwards, so be sure to plan your day-of-party preparations early enough to have that time and space to yourself as well. Here’s what you can expect to do during the day of your party:

Complete any last-minute food/drink prep that are too fresh to do any earlier
Set up any mirrors, chairs, lighting, makeup, and decorations (if not up already)
Prepare music
Get dressed with plenty of time in your favourite party outfit
Once everything’s ready, take the time to meditate or do any preferred self-care activities that get you in a good head space if you aren’t already. You want to be a relaxed, energized, and happy host – ready to have a great time getting ready with friends!

All Set to Host a Fabulous Preparty Makeup Party

Four friends wear bold and glittery makeup, a really fun look to create at a makeup party. From left: young woman wears tiny yellow dots/balls stuck to her face. Young woman in pink hair wears metallic stars and moons stuck to her face. Young woman wears gold glitter all over her face. Young man wears silver sequins all over his face. — Photo by Yan Krukau

You’re now ready to start planning your preparty makeup party! Remember – unlike your usual party, this isn’t the main event – so don’t go overboard with decorations or fancy refreshments. Your friends would probably be just as happy snacking on cheese and potatoes with wine spritzers as they would be with gourmet hors d’oeuvres and complicated cocktails. Go as fancy as you’d like but keep it easy, whatever that level is for you. Your goal here is to facilitate a fun preparty sesh for you and your friends. And regardless of how much fun you have afterwards, you’ll all appreciate and remember your fun preparty makeup party!