Zombie Makeup

Zombie Makeup tutorial

DIY Zombie Makeup tutorial and ideas

So Halloween is coming up and you need to come up with a costume that will be better than anyone else's.  That, or at least better than your crappy $5 mask you bought for last year's Halloween party.  I don't know how much time you have, but it is never to early to start costume planning.

All right, you've decided on an awesome costume, but it requires some serious makeup work.  No problem.  We have a few tutorials for you to check out that will help you do your makeup the right way.  It will help if you have experience working with makeup, so ladies, this might be easier for you than the guys out there that have probably never picked up a makeup brush or a vile of lipstick.

Zombie Makeup

Zombies seem to be more popular than ever.  With so many zombie movies being made over the last few years, it has become as popular a costume as it ever was.  If you want to be the perfect zombie, then you need the right makeup and know how to apply it.  So let's figure out how to make you look like a real dead zombie.

Before you get started, you will need to do a few things.  First, you need to find out what kind of makeup and supplies you are going to need for your desired look.  Not all zombies are created equal, so you must determine how detailed you want the zombie you to be.  Whatever you end up buying, make sure to get some extra just in case you need it.  You don't want to find out that you didn't get enough makeup before the job has been completed.  After you have all the supplies you need, try practicing with the makeup a few times.  You don't want to put on the makeup the first time right before your big appearance.  The night before you want to look your best, do a little practice with the makeup to make sure you figure out what you are doing with it.  Once you have the makeup applied, put on the rest of your costume so you can see if there are any spots you may have missed that aren't covered by the rest of your attire.  Make adjustments accordingly.

Now it's time to actually put the makeup on so you know exactly what you're getting into.  There are ways to apply zombie makeup without having to put a bunch of other items on your face that can be annoying.  The color you are going for will determine the color and shade of makeup you use.  You can mess around with the colors of the makeup to get the results you want.  You are probably going to need a lot of makeup in different colors, so be sure to have some on hand.  You can even combine the makeup with a cheap zombie kit you can pick up at any costume shop.  And, of course, be sure to have some fake blood. 

Now let's get started.  You will want to begin by using some light cream makeup.  If you use Halloween makeup that is grey or white, you will not get a very authentic look.  In fact, your costume will look really bad and Halloween will be ruined for you and anyone within a 20 mile radius.  All right, that might not be the case, but it won't look great.  If you have very light skin, then you can use a light amount of white powder makeup. 

Now it's time to actually apply the makeup.  You'll need to take a sponge or a brush and make sure you cover your whole face with the light makeup.  To really get an idea of what things will look like, have your costume on while you do the makeup.  If you don't want to cover up the entire face with makeup, you can just do the features like your nose, chin and cheeks.  It's probably just easier to do your whole face, though.  This is Halloween.  We can't be all lazy and cheap.  This also makes sure everything is even. 

Being a zombie means that you are dead.  If there is any redness on your skin showing after you apply the makeup, you want to cover that up.  You also want to cover your lips with a pale color of makeup.  Redness means you are still alive.  You want to be dead for this costume, metaphorically speaking.  After you're done putting on all the makeup, take a look at yourself in the mirror and make sure you have covered up all your skin above the collar.  See if there are any spots that you need to touch up.  After this is done, put some baby powder over your face so the makeup doesn't smear if you touch it. 

Now that you have a nice and pasty head, you can start doing some shading.  To do this you will need some kind of brown makeup or powder.  Brown eyeshadow will work too.  Don't get a color from a Halloween kit as it is better to use a color that you can get at the cosmetics counter of your local store.  An eyebrow shader will work best, so ask for one of those.

Next, take a sponge and make outlines on your face where you want to add some effects.  You'll want to blend the edges of yor outlines so it doesn't look as fake.  This is where you will apply the darker shades of makeup.  Darker shades will give you a more hollow look, that of a zombie that needs to eat a sandwich.  Next you have to do more with the lips.  You'll want to add some pale blue.  You know, to make it look like there is no oxygen or blood getting around in there.  You don't want to make them look too blue, though.  Zombies don't eat blue Popsicles. 

Now it's time for the best part; the blood!  You can mix colors of makeup to get a red concoction, but it's probably easier to just buy some fake blood.  You want to add blood in layers to make it look darker and more realistic.  Using alcohol (no, not beer) you can apply several wash layers of the blood to your face for a more authentic look.  You can even smudge the fake blood a little bit to add more effect to it. 

Well I hope this helped you a little with how to get some good zombie makeup going.  There are many things you can do with a zombie costume to make it your own.  The more creative you can be, the better your costume will look.  Heck, it could be so good that people might actually believe that you are a zombie and try to shoot you in the fear that you will want to eat their brains.  If this is a fear of yours, be sure to clearly identify yourself to others as a faux zombie to prevent any confusion or unnecessary fear.  So get your makeup kit and start working on your zombie or any other Halloween costume you want to have this year.