Texas dirt

[derekleffew]

A type of full-body makeup used for darkening the skin to give the pale caucasian actor who never sees the sun the appearance of ethnicity. Other or less conventional uses may include creating the "illusion" of uncleanliness or distressing clothing.


From a web forum on cooking:

When I was in a little theater group, Texas Dirt was dark-toned stage makeup. A blond-haired, blue-eyed boy played a Polynesian kid in South Pacific, and we covered the poor kid in Texas Dirt. Thanks for the memory . . .