HALLOWEEN: DAY OF THE DEAD TUTORIAL

With Halloween around the corner we, as makeup artists and makeup lovers, get really into the spirit of the holiday.

Some may choose to go for gore and scary but I have chosen to keep it simple with a 'Calavara' look!

Calavara, or 'sugar skulls' are created for the Mexican celebration of the 'Day of the Dead' (El Dia de Los Muertos).

To keep things simple, I’ve used the Ben Nye creme colours in white and black.

You’ll also need a loose translucent powder, blue and black eyeshadow and your brush kit, complete with powder puff, sponge and spatula.

Step 1: Start off with a clean base that is moisturised well. 

Step 2: Mark out the design of your sugar skull with a white pencil.  To ensure you create a well balanced design always use a reference picture to help guide you.  I have chosen to create more of a skeleton look. Using triangles, love hearts and circles, I’ve accentuated the sunken eyes, nose and chin.

Step 3: Block out the brows with glue (non-toxic, obviously!). Using an eyebrow brush and a spatula, simply comb the eyebrows up and apply the glue in an upwards motion to create a flat canvas for your makeup.

Step 4: Apply the white base colour first. Using a flat brush and a sponge, cover the entire face including the lips. Avoid the marked out areas you have created with the white pencil to ensure the crème colour doesn’t mix later when you fill in those areas. Always set your cremes with powder. Use a powder puff to apply in a press and roll motion.

Step 5: Apply shading to add depth to your design. Using a contour brush, the cheek bone, temporal bone and the jaw line should be your main focus. Keep in mind of how a real skull looks!

Step 6: Finally, create the sunken eyes, a sunken nose and boney teeth. Using a small precision brush, fill in your design, such as the love hearts and circles, with your black creme.  Set the areas of black creme with a matching black eye shadow.

Step 7: Add more dimension to your design by adding a blue eyeshadow over the black.

As my model is male I kept it there, but any of you lovely ladies should definitely finish this look off with colossal lashes and perhaps a flower petal pattern around the eye in a blue crème. (You would mark out this out with your white pencil at the beginning.)

With sugar skulls, you can really play around and add more colours and shapes. But for those looking for a simple easy look this Halloween – this is the look for you!

Xx