Halloween Makeup FX

Our makeup master reveals the mysteries behind creating spooky Halloween special effects!

Oct 30, 2007

by Kathy Krakora
Scosh Makeup & Skincare Studio

Black eyes, bruises and scabs are staples of any creepy Halloween costume. Using key makeup products such as eye liner pencil, lipstick, eyelash glue and concealer along with common household items like instant coffee and raw sugar can help you create hauntingly horrific cuts, scabs and zits. Here are the goods on how to create the perfect ghoulish effects for you or your kids.

Scabs

What you need:
Instant coffee
Raw sugar
Eyelash glue
Red lipstick

Layer a pea size amount of eyelash glue to the area of the face where you want your scab, e.g., the lip area. Let sit for 15 seconds to get tacky. Mix raw sugar and coffee together and press into the top of the eyelash glue. If you use more sugar, the fresher or more infected the scab will look. If you use more coffee, the older or drier the scab (note from the editor: GROSS!). Let dry. Lift an edge, dab a bit of red lipstick under the edge of the scab to peek out and look like blood.

Zits

What you need:
Eyelash glue, white/clear
Raw sugar
Red lipstick
Tweezers

Dab a bit of white eyelash glue on the face where you want your desired effect. Let sit 15 seconds to get tacky. Use tweezers to place a granule of raw sugar on top. Cover with more eyelash glue, let dry. Dab a little red lipstick around the perimeter of the zit to make it look infected.

Cuts

What you need:
Black eye liner pencil
Cream concealer, lighter than your skin tone
Red lipstick

Draw line on face where you want your desired effect. Layer red lipstick on top of line, no wider than the black line, but definitely thicker. The thicker the lipstick on top of your cut, the fresher the effect. Apply concealer close to the cut on each side of the cut to show swelling.

You can add a scab anywhere along your cut to give even more dimension.

Have a howlingly good time this Halloween!

Photo: Kathy and her brood of ghouls!