So, you want to be a skeleton for Halloween, eh? Make no bones about it — this isn’t the type of Halloween makeup you should try on the fly. You’ll end up looking like Uncle Fester. Or a chimney sweep. If you want to avoid that woeful fate, you’re going to need to call in a pro for a skeleton makeup tutorial.
Don’t worry, though; you don’t actually have to go anywhere to get this expert insight. Since skeleton makeup is a mainstay when it comes to Halloween costumes, we enlisted professional makeup and body paint artist Allison Pynn to help navigate the world of contouring for the dead.
Everyone starts on the same skill level by planning out where the eye structure (including those distinctive eye sockets) will be. From there, sure, it gets a little more advanced. But whether you could do your makeup in your sleep or have barely ever picked up a blush brush, this tutorial should end with you looking decidedly skeleton-like.
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Turning yourself into the glam dead requires a few tools, so here’s what you’ll need for this skeleton makeup tutorial:
- Eyeliner
- Blending brushes
- An eyeshadow palette with blacks, grays, beiges, and whites
- Mascara
- White costume makeup
Basically, you need everything you would if you were going to create a really heavy smoky eye — because, in essence, that’s exactly what you’re doing. Along with a smoky cheek (if that wasn’t a thing before, it is now).
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If you make it through the entire tutorial and feel like your face makeup doesn’t exactly match Pynn’s, don’t give up on your skeleton dreams. Just keep playing with your contouring until your satisfied with its spookiness level.
It doesn’t have to be perfect. In fact, it’s probably best if it’s a little messy… you are undead, after all.
Check out the full skeleton makeup tutorial in the video below.