grease paint

noun

1. an oily mixture of melted tallow or grease and a pigment, used by actors, clowns, etc., for making up their faces.
2. theatrical makeup.

Word History and Origins

Origin of grease paint¹

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

They said she had makeup that was like grease paint that was melting off her face.

From New York Times

Fitting for a portrayal pair of Broadway superstars, the series has grease paint running through its DNA.

From Seattle Times

The character he performed – a limping, shuffling old black field-hand in jet black grease paint made from burnt cork – would ossify as the archetypal blackface minstrel.

From The Guardian

It reduces identity to a pot of grease paint, to a joke.

From Washington Post

The origins of blackface date to 19th-century “minstrel” shows in which white performers covered their faces in black grease paint to caricature slaves.

From Reuters