Beauty tips from the Raptors dancers: How they’re prepping for the NBA All-Star Game

“It is a Dance Pak tradition to wear our hair down. We might switch up the style for a special routine, but we always wear our hair down. Looks best for the hair whips,” says dancer Nina. “I try to switch up my style between straight and curly hair. I like curling my hair the best because it is easier to dance with and you get more hair movement on court.”

“Every year, I research the F/W collections for the upcoming season,” says Jasmine Duffy, the Raptors Dance Pak lead makeup artist. “As we head into the F/W16 season, I will be gathering inspiration and trends to design next year’s look. It is extremely important to fall in line with the corporate branding of the Raptors Dance Pak, which means I design looks that I would describe as on-trend yet approachable beauty. I want the fans to feel comfortable interacting with the girls and for the girls to feel like themselves.”

“I blow dry my hair with either mousse (got2b Mind Blowing Quick Shape Mousse ($6, amazon.com) or American Crew Firm Hold Styling Gel ($20, amazon.com) to give it more body. Then I go over my whole head with a wand, I then brush it out with a wide pick and voilà, game ready,” says dancer Mahta. “We wear our hair down for game days. With our dancing and hair flips, it feels a lot better to have it down. I’m a huge fan of Batiste XXL Dry Shampoo ($9, well.ca). It really helps to keep my hair in place and gives it that extra volume. I usually finish my styling with got2b Mind Blowing hairspray. ($6, walmart.ca)”

“The ladies are very accustomed to performance-based makeup, all coming from a competitive dance background, so every year I try to lead them into techniques that are more modern, fresh and beautiful. I am a stickler for bad brows, taking your makeup off at night and not picking your skin. So much of it is typical corrections of techniques. The makeup team really teaches these ladies a lot about beauty, and it is a regular occurrence for them to ask for beauty advice or mention how much they have learned,” says Duffy.

“Hip-hop is my first love, jazz-funk is my second,” says dancer Mariah. “I trained with the best hip-hop choreographers in this city (Toronto). I learned ballet and modern in high school when I majored in dance at the Etobicoke School of the Arts.”

“I train five days a week, three times for rehearsals. In between, I do weights and strength training. I love yoga and abdominal work—LOTS of abdominal work,” says Mariah.

Essential products for the Raptor’s Dance Pak are the following: Make Up For Ever Aqua Black Waterproof Cream Eye Shadow ($28, sephora.ca); M.A.C Eyeshadow in Sable. Duffy loves Maybelline Brow Drama in Soft Brown ($9, well.ca) because “it’s important that brows look multidimensional.” She shapes the brow with powder, “then works this amazing brow gel through the hairs so that the brow doesn’t look flat.”

Another favourite is M.A.C Mineralized Skin Finish in Soft & Gentle ($37, mac.ca), which “creates the best highlight for the inner eye and cheekbones.”

Duffy is a also a big fan of M.A.C Pro Paint Stick in Basic Red ($26, mac.ca). Says Duffy: “It’s the only red product I can find that works across the diversity of skin tones and matched the Raptors red uniforms.”

“Throughout the game, the dancers touch up their lips because they eat and drink. Often the ladies will go out after the game in the look I have designed,” says Duffy. “Their makeup is applied to last.”

“This year I am obsessed with the trend of a strong lower liner (waterline and a wall of darker colour along the lash line). Think of the Lanvin & Roberto Cavalli AW15 collections. There is something very modern and beautiful about a naturally defined brow with a strong lower liner that is worn in. It’s very daytime smoky,” says Duffy.

“The dancers are not given specific direction for hair on game days, but it will always be worn down. Soft and pretty. Every year there is a hair sponsor (Capucci Salon), where the ladies have their hair coloured and cut throughout the year,” says Duffy.