Watch GENE SIMMONS Apply His Stage Makeup Before KISS Concert In Paris

June 12, 2022

A video of KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons applying the makeup on his face prior to the June 7 concert at AccorHotels Arena on the band's ongoing "End Of The Road" tour can be seen below. The clip is part of a report from Sarah Abo of Australia's "60 Minutes" who was invited by Simmons and fellow KISS co-founder Paul Stanley for a taste of their jet-set lifestyle and to show her how they’ve survived and thrived in a notoriously fickle industry.

The "60 Minutes" report on KISS's farewell tour airs tonight (Sunday, June 12) on Australia's Nine.

In a 2016 interview with The Press-Enterprise, Simmons said that he spends two hours on his makeup alone every night. He creams his face with what he calls a white clown foundation. Then, he takes a black eyeliner pencil and stipples the design around one eye and connects the dots. Next, he outlines a widow’s peak. "The most difficult part is to mirror what we see on the opposite side," he said. He refines the lines with Q-tips. He uses a brush to fill in black paint around his eyes, widow's peak and mouth. He sets everything with powder patted with a shaving brush. "You can't make a mistake. You're fixing, fixing and redrawing," he said.

Last year, Gene told Australia's Triple M radio station that it takes him two hours to apply his makeup "because none of the lines on my face, and I've got a few, they're no straight lines. It's difficult to not have a straight line matching on the other side because we don't use stencils; it's all hand-drawn. All those bent lines on the makeup have to be, you know, reasonably accurate on the other side."

KISS launched its farewell trek in January 2019 but was forced to put it on hold last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"End Of The Road" was originally scheduled to conclude on July 17, 2021 in New York City but is now expected to last through early 2023.

KISS's current lineup consists of original members Simmons and Stanley (guitar, vocals),alongside later band additions, guitarist Tommy Thayer (since 2002) and drummer Eric Singer (on and off since 1991).

Formed in 1973 by Stanley, Simmons, Peter Criss (drums) and Ace Frehley (guitar),KISS staged its first "farewell" tour in 2000, the last to feature the group's original lineup.

In its 49-year career, KISS has accumulated 23 gold and platinum albums — more than any other U.S. band.

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