DIY Halloween Makeup Basics with Amy Harper

This Halloween, get professional looking fx makeup yourself! Here are some basic, inexpensive products to use and some application tips to take your makeup this Halloween to the next level.

1. Fake blood: Skip the drug store, spend the extra cash and get the good stuff.Ben Nye (available at Malabar on Queen
West) is only $3 for a .5 oz bottle (a little bit goes a long way) and is super realistic.

It’s medium-flowing velosity makes it sort of congeal and clot, so it will run for about a minute and then stop, resulting in a creepy, textured look.

2. Black eye: If you’re over using eyeshadow, get the Ben Nye bruise wheel ($15, also available at Malabar). Super
pigmented, creamy and long wearing…this is easy to use and very realistic.

Start with the dark blue in the hollow of the eye and inner corner. Apply red close to the lash line…this is where the most blood collects. Blend red into the dark blue.

Add a little yellow to the orbital bone…so anywhere your eye protrudes. This will make it look swollen. Blend the blue,
purple and red into it. use your fingers to smudge and soften the edges so you can’t really see where the colours end or begin. And voila! Black eye.

3. Cuts: The easiest way is using Ben Nye’s ‘Fresh Scab’. This gel-like dark blood creates 3-dimensional wounds and scabs. The outer layer “scabs”over so it doesn’t move. Super easy to use.

Apply a line of it, as thin or thick as you want, on skin. Looks great with a black eye too!

4.Textured skin: Alot of people use liquid latex, but white latex lash glue (Duo, available at Mac and Sephora)is easier to work with and comes off easier.

Apply a layer of Duo to clean, dry skin. Then place tissue on top of it while it’s still wet. I usually tear the tissue into little pieces to create a more textured look. Pat down edges with a little extra Duo glue.