'You have to practice your cosmetics routine as much as your dance routine': NFL cheerleader reveals her game day beauty regimen

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As a cheerleader for the Cincinnati Bengals, Alyson Dashner goes through more bottles of foundation in one year than some people go through in a lifetime.

In addition to game days nine months of the year, the Ben-Gals, as they're called, practice two to three times a week - in full hair and make-up. 

So as well as the countless hours spent perfecting their dance routines and making sure they are in peak shape, the cheerleaders also need to devote time to looking the part.

'We always want to look put-together and professional, and wearing make-up helps with that overall image,' Alyson says.

Now in her fifth season with Ben-Gals, the Ohio-native has her beauty routine down. Below, she details her game day make-up regimen, from the products she uses to the tips and tricks she has picked up along the way.

Go Bengals! After five seasons with the Cincinnati Ben-Gals cheerleaders, Alyson Dashner has perfected her game day beauty routine

Pump it up: Alyson (left) says her make-up can look overdone up close, but it's necessary in order to be seen from the stands of the Paul Brown Stadium, which holds 65,000 people

Alyson, whose day job is in corporate marketing for an indoor cycling company, isn't a beauty junkie by nature. 'I’m not the most girly-girl type,' she says. 'I’m a rather outdoorsy, energetic person. I’m always doing things like running and participating in a lot of triathlons.'  

On a non-cheerleading day, she spends no more than 15 minutes on her hair and make-up. She washes her face in the shower, slathers on a lightweight moisturizer with SPF, applies liquid foundation and neutral-colored eyeshadow. 

The majority of her make-up, she says, comes from the drugstore. 'With cheerleading, I go through so much of it throughout the year that it gets really expensive to keep up with how much we have to purchase and wear on our face.'

Powder to soak up afternoon shine and a tinted lip balm are the only cosmetics she carries in her purse.

Game days, however, are a different story.

GAME DAY MAKE-UP 

'For a 1PM kickoff, we have to arrive at the stadium in full hair and make-up by 8AM,' she says. 'I shower the night before and wake up between 6:15 and 6:30AM.'

The first thing she does when she wakes up is check the forecast. 'You have to know what the weather is going to be before you step out onto that field and make sure you have the right products on hand. If there's a chance of rain, I’m for sure double-, triple-checking that my mascara is waterproof and same with my eyeliner. And then I’m definitely using a lot of finishing powder.' 

Regardless of the weather, Alyson designs her beauty look with the fans in mind. 'It's performance make-up, so when you’re up close, it looks a little over the top, but once you get into the stands, it looks great from that 10-foot distance or more,' she says. 'The stadium holds 65,000 people, and we don’t want to look like we’re faceless down on the field.'

The first step in her performance make-up application is perfecting her complexion. 'I am not a professional at contouring, but I try, and I think what I do looks good on me,' she admits. 'So I’ll use a lighter concealer around my eyes, and then I’ll do my foundation in my normal skin tone (or slightly darker if I have a spray tan that week).'

Ladies in red: The Ben-Gals wear a matching crimson lip color for games

The foundation she uses may not be expensive, but it is a serious workhorse. 'It hides all my blemishes and gets me photo-ready for the camera because you never know when you’re going to be on the Jumbotron or on television or even be interviewed by the news.'

She finishes her base with a pop of blush on her cheeks and applies a bronzer around the perimeter of her face and in the hollows of her cheekbones, 'which gives me the contoured look that I need.'

A smoky eye is another game day must. I won’t usually do black,' says Alyson. 'I’ve just found it doesn’t look as good on me. It looks great on others but not for myself. So I like to stick with the dark brown family and work off of that color palette.'

She fills in her eyebrows with a $3.50 brow pencil ('It matches my hair color exactly!'), and completes the eye look with fake lashes and waterproof mascara and eyeliner.

She dusts her entire face with a finishing powder - a trick she picked up this season. 'I hadn’t been doing that in years past and there was a lot of touching up of my make-up during halftime, but I found this finishing powder, and it works great. My face doesn’t sweat off at all during the game, and my foundation looks just like when I put it on - even after an hour of sweating in it.

'I feel like I can get away with the cheaper, drugstore foundations and things as long as I have a good kind of "hairspray" holding it all together.'

Hair they are! The Ben-Gals can wear their hair however they want, as long as it has enough movement to it when they dance

What's in your bag? Alyson keeps foundation, finishing powder, lipstick and make-up remover wipes in her personalized cosmetics pouch

Although all of the women are encouraged to have their own 'independent look,' there is one thing they have in common: 'We have a certain matching red lipstick color that we have to use for game day or any time that we’re in uniform,' says Alyson. 'I don’t use a lip liner. I know some girls do, and I’ve heard that helps it last longer, but I haven’t adopted it into my repertoire. I like to keep it simple. When we come in at halftime, I’ll reapply my lipstick, but it does stay on for two to three hours on its own.'

TAKING IT OFF

BATHROOM HERO 

If, like Alyson, you work your body hard on a regular basis, it is essential to keep your skin healthy-looking with a moisturizing body wash.

Try this one from Olay, which cleanses and provides long-lasting moisture, leaving skin soft and healthy-looking. Perfect for the cheerleader in all of us.

Cleansing: Olay's Ultra Moisture Body Wash with Shea Butter ($3.99 - $7.49)

'Keeping your skin in good shape is really important,' Alyson says. 'Between practices and games there is a lot of sweating in full make-up, which can do a lot of damage to your face. The first couple years of being on the team, my skin, after the first couple weeks, was breaking out like crazy. It takes a while for it to adjust to being back in season and having to sweat with that make-up in my pores.'

To avoid breakouts, the first thing Alyson does after a game is get rid of the layers of make-up she painstakingly applied. 'On my drive home, I’m using a face wipe to take off my foundation, and I’m taking off my eyelashes, and just getting it off my face pretty much as soon as possible. But those make-up wipes only do so much. They don’t take it all off, so pretty much the second I get home I have to shower anyway.'

Before bed, she applies the same lightweight moisturizer she uses in the morning and eye cream.

Twice a year, Alyson also splurges on a professional skin cleaning. 'Getting facials is one of my indulgences. I don’t do it very often, but it is a huge treat when I can.'