The Idea

I’m the type of person where if I have a creative idea pop into my head, it is really hard to ignore it.  I love the surge of energy it gives me.  I was at a friend’s house playing board games and the topic of Halloween came up.  A friend asked me if I was going to do one of my annual Halloween Makeups (they don’t call me the Queen of Halloween for nothing).  I said I hadn’t actually thought about it yet (true story).  She said her favorite makeup that I have done was my crystal skull that I created back in 2013.

That statement sparked the idea!  I thought…wouldn’t it be cool to recreate the look with a different twist.   I thought it would be fun to do the makeup with tons of crystals!  And that’s what I did.  But before we get there let me tell you about the prep that went into the look….

First I needed crystals and I knew I wanted to use Aurora Borealis coloured crystals.  They look like the colours you’d find in an oil slick.  I was only able to find smaller sized crystals but not large ones.   The smaller flat back crystals I was able to order from Amazon:

Tear drop AB Crystals

Round AB Crystals

I remembered that I had ordered a necklace back in February when I was doing a glitter photoshoot for my new headshots.  The necklace had large AB crystals in it.  I didn’t end up using that necklace and realistically I probably would never wear it anywhere.

Popping out the crystals from the necklace proved to be very hard as they were glued in there pretty well!  I put my oven to 350 Degrees and put the necklace on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  I kept it in the oven for about 5 minutes and that was all it needed to heat up the glue and pop out all the crystals.  RIP pretty necklace.

Now that was done I was ready to create my Crystal Skull Halloween Makeup 2.0.

Products I Used:

• Blacktrack Fluidline from MAC for most of the black details
• Squid Pencil Liner from MAC for lining the waterline and adding in sharp details/straight lines
• Blush in Full_Fuchsia from MAC as the main pink colour
• Pigment from MAC in Bright Fuchsia
• Kat Von D Tattoo Pen Liner for a winged liner and to define the brows
• Lashes Model 21 in style 170
• Kat Von D Alchemist Palette-Pink Opal Eyeshadow as a highlight
• Foundation was Face Atelier blended with 0- to make a lighter complexion
• MAC Chromocake in Black to black out the neck area
• Pros Aide for gluing on the crystals
• Use cotton swabs for applying the glue (so you don’t ruin any of your brushes)

I decided I would attempt to put together a time lapse of my transformation.  I realized I got so in the zone and I was covering my face with my mirror for a good portion of the time so sorry for that!  But I think it turned out pretty well.  Take a look and let me know what you think.

Here are some tips that I recommend:

• Do all the details first….eyes, skull shape etc. before you start gluing on crystals
• I did the teeth crystals pretty early on and I wish I didn’t…I recommend doing them later so you can still drink or eat
• For symmetry try to do the same pattern/crystals on each side of your cheeks then add on from there
• Use the larger crystals in the center and use smaller ones along the edges and around the nose
• Use cotton swabs to apply the glue so you don’t ruin any of your brushes
• Make tweaks/changes to the shape of everything as you go….if you watch closely at one point I add more shading on the sides of my cheeks to add a more hollow effect

And finally now I present the pics for my Crystal Skull Halloween Makeup 2.0.  ENJOY & HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

XO Janine

The post CRYSTAL SKULL HALLOWEEN MAKEUP appeared first on Janine Holmes - Makeup Artist & Hairstylist.

Let’s start with a quick look at what we’re working with:

This photo was posted by Phaneuf on his Instagram, Tuesday evening at the annual Toronto Maple Leafs‘ Halloween Party.  BarDown wrote about his ‘incredible makeup’ on their website and speculated that Phaneuf might have had the help of a professional makeup artist to achieve the look.  You can check out that post here———>BarDown Post

Well I’m here to confirm BarDown’s ‘strange feeling’ and to let them know that I’m the makeup artist behind Phaneuf’s Spiderman and Skeleton makeup!!!!

Here is a shot of Dion and I last year adding in the details of his Spiderman makeup and the final look:

And here is a quick video to show Phaneuf’s transformation into this year’s Skeleton makeup:

Hope you enjoy!  Happy Halloween!

XO J9 (Sherlock) Holmes

The post Dion Phaneuf’s Halloween Makeup appeared first on Janine Holmes - Makeup Artist & Hairstylist.

My whole family has always been into the Halloween spirit, we would be that house on the street with scary music, fake tombstones and strobe lights that everyone wanted to go to for trick or treating.

And most of the girls in middle school would choose to be a cute animal or their favorite cartoon character while I would come to school dressed as Freddy Krueger complete with his trademark metal-clawed glove on the right hand.

Maybe that is part of the reason why I became a makeup artist.  I have always loved to dress up and create different characters through costumes and makeup.

Every year Halloween ends up being a bit of a right off for me because I am always booked solid to do everyone else’s makeup.  By the time I am done I end up just going home to bed because I am so wiped.  But that doesn’t mean I can’t have a little fun…so I always set aside some time before the craziness of Toronto Fashion Week and Halloween to do a fun makeup on myself.  Last year I created a scary makeup that included an illusion of hallowed out eyes and a large demon mouth.  I didn’t have a lot of time to create this look because my son was about 10 months old and I had to quickly do this makeup while he slept.  I also had to so a photoshoot and take it all off before he woke so that I didn’t scare the crap out of him!

Here is a visual step by step of how I created this demon-like character:

 I started by outlining the design with a light coloured eye pencil.

Next I added a white base to anywhere where my skin would be visible.

I used a pinky/red eyeshadow around my eyes, leaving the center white.  You could also use a blush or even a matte red lipstick to create this effect.

Using a deep wine colored lip pencil I created veins all around the eyes.

I used a waterproof black eyeliner all around the eye including the waterline.  Again I left the center of my top lid white to create that hollow effect.

To really ‘pop’ that center ‘hollowed’ eye I tapped a stark white eyeshadow on top.

I used a black face paint to create the extended mouth from my bottom lip down to my neck.

And lastly I went around the outline of the mouth using the same pinky/red I used around the eyes and added some veins.  I then used the same white facepaint that I used as my base to draw on the sharp scary teeth.

And of course you need to add in some accessories to finish the look…a sketchy black wig, a spider web table cloth draped across the shoulders and some dripping fake blood completed this look perfectly!

I hope this makeup inspires you to create your own ghoulish character.  I can’t wait to pull out my special FX makeup kit to get all my clients ready for this Halloween!

BOO!

XO J9

The post Halloween Countdown appeared first on Janine Holmes - Makeup Artist & Hairstylist.

Its that time of year again and I’m getting super excited about all the fun makeups I will be doing for Halloween.  If its anything like last year I will definitely be pumping out some Mexican Sugar Skulls!

My inbox has been flooded with people looking to have their faces painted like the Day of the Dead…unfortunately I have been booked solid for Halloween since about June!  That is what made me decide to do a simple ‘how-to’ that anyone could follow.

But before I walk you through the steps of an awesome looking sugar skull I wanted to share with you some of the fun makeups I did last year to help inspire you and to get you into the Halloween spirit!

Here is a Devil-complete with horns and pointed ears:

And my adorable niece Ruby that I turned into Draculaura from Monster High:

A Venom bodypaiting that looked pretty damn cool once I was done!

and lastly my Crystal Adorned Mexican Sugar Skull that I will teach you how to recreate!

Now lets get started!

Firstly here are the key products I used:

1. Pure White Chromacake from MAC-I just used water to activate it
2. Blacktrack Fluidline from MAC
3. A water-proof eyeliner, Engraved Powerpoint from MAC
4. Black Eyeliner Pen from Essence
5. Azalea Blush from MAC Pro
6. Funky lashes
7. MAC Brushes #190, #252 & #209
8. Flat-backed Crystals *I just got mine from the craft section at Dollarama
9. Fushia Pigment from MAC
10. Spirit Gum from Ben Nye 

Step 1:

Map out where you want the two eye cut-outs to be.  I just used a nude pencil but you can use white or black too.  You can also map out where you would want your nose cut-outs to be.

Step 2:

Fill your entire face in minus the cut-outs using Pure White Chromacake.  I just used water to activate the product.  If you have more of an oily skin type you can add some invisible set powder on top.

Step 3:

Contour your cheeks, forehead, under your nose and chin using a fun bright colour-I used Azalea Pro Blush from MAC.  Any medium sized contour brush would work fine.

Step 4:

To create the scalloped effect around the eye cut outs I used the #252 brush from MAC that was the exact size I wanted the scallops to be.  I then put a good amount of Blacktrack Fluidline on the flat side of the brush and dragged it towards the center of my eye.  Continue this action until the entire eye cut-out is framed with scallops.

Step 5:

To create a more 3-dimensional look I added Fushia Pigment on top of the black.  I rimmed around my eyes then eventually faded it out before the scalloped edges.

Step 6:

To define the eyes even more I lined the inner rim using Engraved Powerpoint Liner.  And then I used the black pen liner from Essence to rim the outside of my eyes-both top and bottom.

Step 7:

I added some funky lashes on top.  Have fun with this and opt for fuller, more dramatic lashes for a really ‘wow’ effect.

Step 8:

To complete the eyes I strategically placed flat-back crystals (with a dollip of spirit gum on the back) inside each of the scallops.

Step 9.

Now the nose cut outs.  I used Blacktrack again and I traced out 2 triangle shapes on the side of my nose and filled them in so they were solid black.

Step 10:

To define the lips I traced around the outer edge of my lips using the same colour I used to contour my face.

Step 11:

And lastly I placed stiches on my lips using Blacktrack and the #209 brush.  I also used the black to shade in the center of my lips.

And Voila!!!  There you have 11 simple steps to create a sparkly, pretty, yet spooky looking Mexican Sugar Skull!

Happy Halloween!
XO J9

The post ‘MEXICAN SUGAR SKULL’ A Halloween How-to appeared first on Janine Holmes - Makeup Artist & Hairstylist.