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As Halloween quickly approaches, you either fall into one of three categories: 1) You’ve had your costume planned out for months, have tried it out a few times, and have it perfected. 2) You’ve dragged your heels, yet again, and will have to scramble to put something together as fast as possible, yet again. Sigh. 3) You’re not dressing up at all, in which case you’re a loser. Get lost, we don’t want to talk to you.
The purpose of this article on Halloween makeup tips is to help the second group out. Here we’ll teach you how to make some gruesomely realistic FX that’ll help you look like a more accomplished Hallweener (does that sound right?). Maybe, ghoul of the night is better. Oh, wait… Macabre master. No? Servant of Satan? Too much?
Whatever you want to call yourself, if you find yourself in need of some almost last-minute help, Yell! Magazine is here to help you out with some Halloween makeup tips. We’re not saying you’ll end up being like Rick Baker (An American Werewolf in London) or Rob Bottin (The Thing), but you’ll hopefully look better than you would in a Wal-Mart costume.
Halloween Makeup Tips
Realistic Fake Blood Recipe
First up is the ever-popular fake blood. Why does everybody want realistic fake blood? Because it’s so versatile and can be used with almost any costume out there. In fact, fake blood can make for a costume all on it’s own — just put on a light-colored shirt and splatter it with a fine spray and claim you were standing behind a shooting vitim; or have some friends dip their hands in the fake blood and grab and claw at you, leaving hand prints and such on your shirt, then claim you escaped a zombie horde. Whatever works for you. More popular fake blood uses include vampires, being an actual zombie, and a victim of your favorite slasher villain.
OK, why would you make your own fake blood if you can just buy it at a Wal-Mart? (Seriously, I’m not trying to bash on Wal-Mart — hey, if they want to through some ad dollars our way, we’re willing to paint them in a more positive light, i.e., the Number 1 costume to wear on Halloween 2011 is a Wal-Mart blue smock.) You’ll get more realistic looking fake blood if you make it yourself: darker, richer, stickier, etc.
Ingredients:
2/3 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup warm water
5 tbsp corn starch
4 tsp red food coloring
1 tbsp powdered cocoa
2 drops of green or yellow food coloring
“Double, double, toil and bubble”
Get a large mixing bowl and mix together the corn starch with the water. Add the corn syrup, stirring as you do. Slowly add the food coloring. Check for color as you add the coloring and stop when you have it.
Fake Wounds Recipe
Another popular item for Halloween makeup tricks is the fake wound. However, most of what you buy on a budget falls off within minutes of being outside or when you start sweating when you see the hottest looking hooker you’ve ever seen at the party you’re attending — no self-respecting hooker likes a guy with scabs falling off his face.
OK, so to help you look like a kick-ass slasher victim, a zombie from hell, or the victim of a jacked-up cat, here’s a homemade concoction for creating some intense fake wounds.
Ingredients:
Petroleum jelly (i.e., Vaseline, but just a bit)
Single-ply toilet paper (separate two-ply if you have to, you fancy bastard)
Cocoa powder
Red food coloring
“Double, double, toil and bubble”
In a small bowl, combine a small amount of petroleum jelly and a couple drops of food coloring; mix together with a toothpick. If you want a darker shade of blood, add a little cocoa powder until you get the hue you desire. Select an appropriate size of toilet paper for the size of wound you want and place it over the area that you want your fake wound. Smear your wound mix onto the toilet paper and form a jagged, horrific wound on your face. Pat in some cocoa around the edges and in the middle of the wound to help darken it and make it even more realistic looking.
Now, walk confidently to that hooker in the corner of the… oh, wait, that’s some ironic hipster dressed like a slut.
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