Facecard Makeup Showdown How Facecard Rounds Work

Every Facecard: Makeup Showdown match uses the same competitive spine. Up to ten players share one theme, paint for a timed window, lock the canvas at brushes down, rate every look during a photoshoot, then see first / second / third bonuses on the results board. Understanding that loop stops you from wasting minutes on details the camera never reads and from skipping votes that quietly score as one star. New players should finish Getting Started first, then use this page as the stage-by-stage reference.

Stage 1 — Lobby

The salon lobby is the waiting room between contests. A short countdown gathers players. You can open the shop, redeem codes, browse the Lookbook, hop into Freeplay, or simply wait for JOIN ROUND. Social pressure is low here; use the time to check cash, confirm your head base preference, and decide whether you are grinding ranks or practicing a new STYLE combo.

If you arrive mid-round and enough paint time remains, you join the active theme with whatever clock is left. If the paint window is nearly over, you stay in the lobby, keep shopping or Freeplay available, and you can still participate in voting when photoshoots begin. That late-join rule matters: a partial paint can still place if the average is strong, but an empty canvas cannot place at all.

How to play Facecard Makeup Showdown — full round guide

Stage 2 — Paint

When the round starts, a title card shows the shared theme and short instructions. Everyone paints the same prompt on their own 3D bust. Typical paint length is about seven to eight minutes. The editor exposes MAKEUP brushes and layers, STYLE options (heads, eyes, hair, bangs, piercing, pose), and SCULPT if you already unlocked it. Deep tool notes live in Painting and Brushes and Style and Sculpt.

Theme readability beats clutter. Voters see a short photoshoot, not your layer stack. Block the face early: foundation and contour, then eyes and lips, then STYLE accents that support the prompt. If the theme is color-forward, commit to a palette instead of testing five conflicting shades in the last minute. Optional extra-time purchases may appear in some builds; treat them as convenience, not a requirement.

Stage 3 — Brushes down

When the timer hits zero the game locks brushes. You cannot keep painting. Each finished look is collected for the photoshoot sequence. Mentally switch from creator mode to voter mode: you are about to rate peers, and blank ratings hurt averages.

Stage 4 — Vote

Looks appear one at a time with a face card and a one-to-five star control. Tap a rating while the look is on screen; you can change it until the card leaves. You cannot rate your own look. If you tap no stars on someone else, that vote counts as one star, so skipping is not neutral. Rate every card. Reactions are separate cosmetics that play an effect and can grant the featured player a little cash; they do not change the score. VIP looks may enter with a gold showcase — vote the makeup, not the frame. Full etiquette, reports, and fair-voter habits are covered in Voting and Winning.

Stage 5 — Results

Averages decide placement. If two looks tie on average, the one with more votes ranks higher. First, second, and third receive placement bonuses. Everyone who painted earns something; players who never painted that round cannot place. Stars you received also feed lifetime rank progress tracked under ranks and cash and the Players hub. After a short break, a new theme starts and the loop repeats.

What carries over between rounds

Fairness rules are strict:

• Every contest round starts on a clean bust.
• Your head base is the main STYLE choice that can remain.
• Makeup, lashes, and piercings painted last round do not carry.
• A saved face shape returns only if you load a Sculpt preset.
• Full Lookbook outfits open in Freeplay, not as a contest paste.

That design keeps the contest about the current theme instead of who brought the most saved glam. Use Freeplay and Lookbook between rounds to rehearse; use the timed window to execute.

Strategy by stage

Lobby: Redeem codes, unlock SCULPT if you have not, and decide whether this round is a practice theme or a podium push. Paint: Spend the first minutes on silhouette and skin, mid window on eyes and lips, last minutes on STYLE accents that match the prompt. Vote: Rate every look honestly; empty votes tank peers and can affect fair-voter bonuses. Results: Note which looks won on readability, then mirror those habits in Freeplay before the next lobby.

Cross-check community tool rankings on the tier list, watch updates for timer or UI changes, and only visit scripts if you are researching executor discussions — ranked play assumes you paint and vote yourself.

Common round mistakes

• Joining with thirty seconds left and expecting a podium without a readable face.
• Spending six minutes on micro glitter while foundation and eye shape stay unfinished.
• Leaving star ratings blank and wondering why averages look weird.
• Trying to load a Lookbook contest shortcut instead of painting the live theme.
• Ignoring SCULPT unlock tasks, then fighting a default face that never matches the prompt.

Return to the Guides Hub for the full tutorial map, or jump straight into brush drills after you understand the five stages above.