simple skeleton makeup

Skeleton Makeup

A skeleton is one of the most chilling Halloween figures, but our modern makeup version has a sleek, startling beauty. This iconic look makes a bold statement about baring it all.

This Halloween, be sure to paint your way to a spooky yet beautiful costume with this skeleton makeup DIY. Create this look—which comes from makeup artist Jill Marie Peterson—with a fresh face, free of any facial products, to ensure everything goes on smoothly. Guests wore this look at a Halloween dinner party hosted by our our friend Ashley Lloyd of Let's Mingle.

What you need

How to do it

Part 1

skeleton makeup tutorial

Step 1

Cover the entire face in a light coat of white créme color.

skeleton makeup tutorial

Step 2

Trace the eye area with black liquid paint to begin creating the hollowed out eye socket area. Then cover the eyebrows completely.

skeleton makeup tutorial

Step 3

Fill in the eye sockets with shades of black, purple, and silver eye shadow to give the socket definition. Next line the top and bottom of eyes with a black eyeliner pencil.

skeleton makeup tutorial

Step 4

Decide where you'd like to place the teeth before drawing each tooth individually, using liquid paint and a small angled brush; draw the teeth out past the actual mouth. Angle the teeth down into a sharp point, as if they had roots.

skeleton makeup tutorial

Step 5

Using black eyeshadow, begin drawing in the curved "hollow" areas of the cheekbones and jawline.

skeleton makeup tutorial

Step 6

Using a small angled brush and black eyeshadow, line, layer, and highlight each individual tooth to create definition and make them look realistic. Fill in the cheekbone and jawline areas with the black liquid paint.

skeleton makeup tutorial

Step 7

Use the black liquid eyeliner to outline and fine tune the details on each painted tooth. Draw in the nose with a black eyeliner pencil and fill in with black liquid paint. Using the black liquid paint, fill in the neck area until you hit the collar bone, leaving a triangular space in the center of the neck.

skeleton makeup tutorial

Step 8

Using the white liquid paint, draw lines from the jawline down to meet in the center bottom of the neck. Add white "bone" lines across the empty area of the center of the neck and fill in the remaining spaces with the black liquid paint. Add definition to the neck and collarbone area by painting white lines on top of the black painted spaces on the neck.

skeleton makeup tutorial

Step 9

Using the white liquid paint, fill in the rest of the face. Then, go over all of the areas and set them using either a black or white eyeshadow and a shadow brush. This will help to prevent things from smearing.

skeleton makeup tutorial

Step 10

Apply dark black mascara to the lashes. Create skull cracks and lines above the eyes using black liquid eyeliner. You can add highlighting powder over the white areas of the face to give it more of a glamorous look. Then finish with a setting spray to ensure the makeup stays as long as possible.