Sugar Skulls :)

Yesterday at Aqua Rosa, Media MakeUp School we did Sugar Skulls...It was AMAZING

This blog will give you helpful (I hope) information on how to re-create this artistic look! Sugar skulls originate from Mexico, they were created out of sugar to celebrate the deceased on a day titled 'the day of the dead' Now modern day people, artists, MakeUp Artists have got their hands on them and have turned them into a look that can be sported throughout the year (fancy dress mostly) but they are typically done around the halloween period! 

For my sugar skull, I used a variety of mediums...Paints, and shadows mostly!!

Firstly you need to create a white base, leaving space around the eyes, this ensures that the colour you put around the eyes doesn't mix in with the white base, say for example you put red over white, it will most likely turn pink! So where you are thinking of putting other colours over the white, to create interest leave blank :)

Once you have your blank white canvas, which I suggest applying with a sponge (car sponge works well, cut up) and then take a foundation brush and feather the paint, to ensure it is well blended!!

I worked from the top of the face down, forehead to chin, to ensure that I didn't smudge any of the paint I applied (similiar to painting a picture) To create the cobweb on the forehead, I used an eyeliner first and faintly drew on my design, once the design I wanted was achieved, I then took a fine eyeliner brush, with a nice point on it, and applied black facepaint over my initial lines! Make sure you have enough product on your brush to ensure continual movement of medium on the face!

I then focused on the eyes...applying a blue and green paint to the lid of the eye to create a teal colour! You can just use my design and change the colours? or you can just use the techniques I describe to create your own sugar skull :) Once the paint was applied to the eye, I added depth to the colour using a blue eyeshadow, blending with a brush! I then took a black shadow and focused on the lining of the eye smudging it out into the blue colour on the lid, so that there was no definitive edge! Keep applying the black until you are satisified with it!

Define the cheek bones of the skull like I did, joining the eyebrow detail to the mouth, which follows the line of the cheekbone! Blend the colour of choice down to create definition!

Add some interest to the nose using black eyeliner to create your shape again, and then go over with the black paint! I chose a spade for my interest on the nose! But you can choose any shape or design you want! Be creative! :) There really are no boundaries with Sugar Skulls!

For the Teeth/Lips, Using your eyeliner again, make sure your lips are closed, and draw a line from top to bottom, making sure they join in the middle, the outer lines are to be longer getting shorter towards the middle of the lip! Add depth to the lines by going over the liner with the black face paint!

Finally I added sequins around the eyes, to add more interest, and it looked quite pretty :)! It also looks very effective..you can use anything, sequins, glitter, anything! Its an opportunity to let your imagination run away with you! :)

All I will say is...take your time, do not rush this, because if you do take your time then you will really get it right, and it will look fab!! It will be worth the patience :)

Any questions please feel free to ask, for more details etc Get in touch!

Look forward to hearing from you all!

Lots of Love

Alex

xXx 

Happy Halloween :)

Creating this look was extremely fun and rewarding, this blog will take you step by step through on how to re create this look!

Things you will need, you can always improvise and take what I used as guidance.

White Facepaint

Grey Facpaint

Brown Facepaint
Black Facepaint

Red Facepaint

Black Shadow

Brown Shadow

Red Lip Liner

Fake Blood

Eye Liner

Sponge

Stippling Brush

So to begin with I prepped the face with white face paint, covering the entire even the lips and eyelids, blending the paint down onto the chest and arms and any other areas that may have been exposed. This will give you a blank canvas to work on, and with us trying to re create the dead look, then the paler the better :)

Once you have your white base, you want to start contouring, taking your brown and grey face paint, focus on the cheek bones, the eye sockets, and the jaw line. Using a stippling brush apply the brown and grey paints, to the hollow in your cheek underneath the cheek bone, into the socket area of your eye and along the jaw line, making the face look gaunt and skeletal.

The contouring can be revisited and built up as you build the rest of the face makeup. I then focused on the eye socket, taking different shades of brown shadows and really building up the depth of colour on the eye. Taking it under the eye and following the natural tired line on the face, some its more prominent on than others, but its basically the area in which you usually get bags that we want to darken!

Once the eyes were suitably dark, I took a red lip liner and lined the eye, in the water line and around, taking a small smudge brush or any eye shadow brush, I blended the liner down underneath the eye  with a brown/burgundy shadow to add extra smoulder to the look. I then took the red lip liner and lined the inside of the nostrils and taking the same smudge brush and blending the liner down and around the nostril, to create that sense of pain and soreness, that I associate with zombies and corpses.

Revisiting the contouring, darken the cheek bones and the jaw line, using the same shadows that you used to darken the eye socket. I also took the contouring into the clavicles on the chest, enhancing the gaunt skeletal look that comes with the reputation of being dead.

Using the stippling brush again, I wanted to create some bruises on the skin, you can pick any place on the skin, and all you need to do is take a red face paint, blotting it on your hand first as you dont want to much paint residue on your hand, and stipple onto the skin, then taking a brown shadow, blend over the top, using the same stippling application, and it will form a purple colour that we associate with a bruise. You can also take some powder and dust over the top, this will give the bruise a yellow tinge, all adding to the look.

For the lips, I lined with black lip liner and filled with the red lip liner, I blended the two together, and then buffed them out using a brown shadow, this looked extremely effective!

And although we are going for the zombie/dead look I still made sure my zombie had groomed eyebrows, if you want you can add some design to them, comb them up, over exaggerate the hair, etc, just make sure they are a few shades darker/black. Using a gel to set the brows in place.

Take your fake blood, and the end of your stippling brush and proceed to flick the fake blood over your face/models face, and body. Do not touch, let the blood take its natural place on the skin  where it falls! Looks very realistic!

For the hair I used olive oil and combed it through the models hair, to make it look greasy, unclean and dirty! I then ran some of the blood through it to make it look matted and DISGUSTING!

Finally if you have contacts then do put them in, but make sure you are careful when doing so!

If you are performing this look on somebody else, than remember that hygiene is important, only use clean sterilised brushes on them, and wipe and liner used before applying, deposit some on your hand and use a brush! :)

If you have any further questions then please do not hesitate to ask/comment! I hope your enjoy creating this look and I hope you have a Happy Halloween Weekend!

Lots of Love

Alex

xXx