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

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