Traditional Halloween Makeup Tips

Yes it is that time of year again when we abandon our earthly forms and step into the surreal world of the underworld. This fascinating world has lured many to its shadows and Halloween is just an excuse for us to play out our Gothic fantasies.

In the old days Halloween was indeed all about ghouls and goblins but now you can break away from all this and disguise yourself as a celebrity, a beautiful princess or a fairy. You do not have to be an ugly spirit or dead man walking to enjoy Halloween fantasies.  However many people still love the old traditional underworld characters and spirit of Halloween.  Here are some makeup tips to really look the part.

1. Where would we be without the traditional corpse look? If you are holding a Halloween party or going to one you can certainly scare a few people with this disguise. In order to really look like a dead man walking you need to know how to apply corpse paint.

• Apply base paint: This white base paint should make your complexion lighter but not become a mask like a cheerful clown. That is not the effect you want. Spooky pallor is the idea here.
• Eye shadow: This should be dark blue, purple, or even black. Apply around your eyes from brow to lash. Do not forget to add some under the eyes, to really look the part!
• Eyeliner: put a generous amount around the eyes. This will help to accentuate your eye shadow.
• Lipstick: some people use black but if you really want to be a zombie you might consider purple.

Additional strategies: to keep the white base intact you can put a dusting of white powder over before applying the rest of your makeup.

Remember do not blend this make up use translucent powder between layers of base paint.  Be careful what you are using you do not want to look like nothing on earth after the event due to allergies or eye reactions. Read directions carefully and test a small patch of skin if necessary.

2. To really look scary you can dress up as a murder victim with fake wounds and blood! Here are a few tips for this.

Making non toxic blood:

• Mix 3 parts of corn syrup to 1 part of water
• Add red food coloring drop by drop until a realistic blood color is reached
• Mix chocolate syrup as a thickener
• Let stand in a warm atmosphere for around 10 minutes
• Apply and see how scary you can be

To make this “blood” come out of your mouth:

Take a big mouthful of the non toxic blood and let it trickle out of our mouth. Let it flow down your neck and onto your costume, to really look authentic. Remember to wear old clothes as it can stain light cloth.

Make a fake wound: You can draw these with a marker or really go to town with more a more realistic look. Just make an oval with a blue pen, next circle it with a red pen, then blend it a little to look natural. Draw some lines adjacent to the wound and rub them in to look like the wound is still fresh and bleeding. You can use some of your fake blood to really get nasty.

You can make variations on these 2 disguises and shock your friends with some Halloween fun. Enjoy!
Copyright Kim Snyder 2009

Want to look totally hot instead of dead? Looking for hot tips on how to look like Marilyn Monroe? Check out this DVD instead!! Halloween Makeup Tips