Fantasy or special effects makeup makes an amazing finishing touch to Halloween costumes or other fancy dress. It is definitely more complicated and difficult to design or apply than ordinary makeup, but with a little practice, anyone can learn some tricks that will help transform an ordinary costume into a bit of real artistry. Whether simple or elaborate, fantasy makeup is fun to create, and limited only by the boundaries of the imagination.
Fantasy Makeup for Costume Parties: Makeup Bases
The makeup base provides the canvas for the rest of the makeup; for fantasy makeup, the base can be chalk white, sky blue, or any other color. Pale ethereal blue or silver is great for a fairy costume, while sickly green or gray is practically de rigueur for scary witches. Lines can be drawn on the face with gray or light brown eye shadows, using a concealer brush to create or accentuate the illusion of age and decay.
Some brightly colored bases are liquids, but many come in cream form. If glitter or fake jewels will be part of the overall makeup design, it is best to use a cream base in order to avoid having to use any adhesive, which can irritate the skin and be difficult to remove. However, some consumers prefer products like Too Faced Glitter Glue, an eye primer formulated to keep loose pigments and glitter firmly in place.
Colored bases are available at most Halloween stores or specialty costume shops; Make Up For Ever has a line of shockingly-hued creams called Flash Color; the dark purple and burgundy can make interesting cheek and lip stains for a vampire costume. Make Up For Ever also sells liquid body paint called Aquarelle, which can be used to fill in designs sketched with eye pencil on the face or body. MAC Paints are shiny and long-lasting, and may be useful for more delicate designs.
Eye Makeup for Halloween or Other Costumes
The eyes should probably be the most striking part of the makeup design. Go wild with color; fantasy makeup is not supposed to be subtle. Bright metallic shadows and liner in contrasting shades are always effective; Jemma Kidd I-tech Liquid Liner and I-conic Eyes Liner come in various color not generally found in nature; for bargain hunters, Wet ’ n Wild makes some truly wild shades of liner, too.
Brightly colored mascaras from Urban Decay can be applied over the lashes in alternating stripes for a sorceress or space alien effect. Pixi Duo Lash Tint also comes in unusual color combinations to give the eyes some added drama. False eyelashes are another option, although they can be a pain to work with.
Don’t use any glitter around the eyes; to avoid eye irritation, settle for shiny holographic-type eye shadows instead. However, the Milani Glitter Glamour Duo provides a glittery eye liner (along with mascara) that seems a safe and inexpensive choice for Halloween and other costume events. Shadows from Make Up For Ever, be PRO, or the L’Oréal Paris H.I.P. collection will create absolutely stunning rainbow-hued eye designs. Use more than you normally would, and don’t blend or powder over the design when it is finished.
Fantasy Makeup Designs
One way to add an extra “pop” to a Halloween costume is to draw a design on the face with a gray or light brown eye pencil, then fill in the design with various cream bases or paints. Use brushes rather than sponges for better control. Geometric shapes or planets and stars for an alien costume look great, as would a butterfly for a fairy, leaves for a wood nymph, cherry blossoms for a geisha, or a black spider web for a witch, complete with captured fly dusted with gold and green glitter over its wings. Always make sure to use cosmetics grade rather than regular crafting glitter. Again, Make Up For Ever is a particularly good source for glitter; it even sells multi-colored glitter shaped like stars.
Never powder over the design with matte tinted or translucent powder to set it, as this will blur or smear the makeup. A product such as Pixi Fairy Dust, which reflects light brilliantly, might be lightly applied with a powder brush to add extra oomph to portions of the face not covered by the drawn-on design.
Warts can be built up on the skin using fake skin or nose putty. Spirit gum will help the “growths” adhere, and can also be used to attach individual hairs or false moustaches and beards. For a gaping wound effect, build up several thin layers of fake skin, gash the “skin” with an orangewood stick, and fill the gash with stage blood. A thin, bloody ring around the neck with black “stitches” painted over it might make a nice finishing touch to a Marie Antoinette costume. (These techniques take some practice, so don’t wait until Halloween night to try to get them right.)
Get a distorted face or that slanted-eyebrow Vulcan look with facelift tapes and spirit gum, as long as they can be concealed under the hair (don’t use them on thin, fragile skin, though).
A French manicure in black-and-silver works wonders for a witch or vampire costume. Check out nail polishes like Starry Night and Smoke and Mirrors from the Sonia Kashuk line.
One last tip: Even if you occasionally forget to remove street makeup before falling asleep, make sure that doesn’t happen with a fantasy makeup design. Sleeping in this type of heavier makeup is sure to clog pores and create other dermatological problems. Fragrance-free baby wipes and an oil-based cleanser followed by a water-soluble face wash should be used to remove every trace of the fantasy or special effects makeup before bed.
Sources
- Aucoin, Kevyn, The Art of Makeup, New York: HarperCollins, 1994.
- Begoun, Paula (with Barron, Bryan), Don’t Go To the Cosmetics Counter Without Me, 8th edition, Renton, WA: Beginning Press, 2010.
- Conway, Paula and Regan, Maureen, The Beauty Buyble, New York: HarperCollins, 2006.
- Jewell, Diana Lewis, Making Up By Rex, New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1986.
- Place, Stan Campbell, The Art and Science of Professional Makeup, New York: Milady Publishing Company, 1989.
Amy Sillup - I have a B.S. in Chemistry from Delaware Valley College and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania. I have worked as a ...
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