am.

little hand-painted skeleton with an untied shoe. I hope Jeff Mangum won’t mind if I come to his show dressed like this tonight.

The Spooky Scary Daily Face - October 20, 2011 - The Vintage Zombie

face: Ben Nye Creme Color in White

face details: Ben Nye Creme Color in Black

veins: teal pencil

eyeliner: MAC Blacktrack

eyes: Purple from Master Bruise FX Wheel, Ben Nye Creme Color in Black

eye lashes: Lancome Hypnose Drama

lips: NARS Pure Matte Lipstick in Volga, Ben Nye Stage Blood

This is what I’m going as for Halloween, I call it the The Vintage Zombie.  Why?  Because before the days of insane realistic prosthetics, a la The Walking Dead, zombie faces were created with only with regular flat makeup and drawing/shading skills.  While today’s zombies and grosser and more realistic, I think the old zombies were scarier  in a painterly way.  I guess what I’m saying is the artistry made them more beautiful. 

So to become a vintage zombie begin by covering the entire face and neck in a thin layer of White Ben Nye Creme Color. 

Next paint the entire lid black from lash line to crease.  Extend the black all around the eye, up to the inner corner of the brows, diffusing lightly over the brow bone, under the lower lashes.  It doesn’t have to be super neat, but make sure you get those dark circles under the eyes, by shading lightly with the black.

Next is the face details/shading; all of this is done with a light application of Black Ben Nye Creme Color mix with Purple from Master Bruise FX Wheel .  First, shade in the hollows of the cheekbones.  Make a line from the ear to the center of the cheek under the cheekbone and then shade by making downward strokes under the line so the hard line remains on top and the color is diffused below it.  Next shade around the nostrils, on the nose and in the space between the nose and the bow of the lip.  Also shade around the chin, following the natural contours of the face.  Now make the wrinkles in the forehead by drawing light lines up from the brows and between the brows.  Smudge them slightly to soften the lines.  Also, lightly smudge black in other areas of the face, it should look dirty and decaying, like it’s been in the ground.

To make the veins you can use any matte teal colored pencil.  Press very lightly and make lines like you would if you were drawing tree branches.  Tap the lines with your finger to soften them, especially the edges.

Last, I applied some purple red lipstick messily to my lips and added some fake blood come from my mouth.  I definitely just ate someone. 

The Spooky Scary Daily Face - October 18, 2011 - The Roy Lichtenstein Painting

face: Ben Nye Creme Color in White

dots: Ben Nye Creme Color in Red

tears: Ben Nye Creme Color in Blue, Cosmic Blue, and White

eyeliner: MAC Blacktrack

eye lashes: Lancome Hypnose Drama

eyes: Blue Colored Contacts

lips: NARS Lipstick in Heat Wave

I’ll start by thanking Amanda for giving me the idea for this look.  Thanks Amanda, you’re really good at Halloween! Next I will warn anyone who tries this out that pulling this one off if a lot like cleaning your bedroom: it looks worse before it looks good.  Half way through this I had an “uh oh, what did I do moment,” but once all the elements were completed it totally came together and cools pretty cool.  So…

Begin by cover the entire face with Ben Nye Creme Color in White using a sponge applicator. 

Next I applied Blacktrack liner around the entire eye and the upper and lower inner rims.  You want to have clean lines and go heavy on the liner because you’re trying to recreate the comic strip-like outlines characteristic of pop art.  The lashes are actually part of the eyeliner wing that have been drawn on.  From the eyeliner wing you will want to make feathered strokes which when the eye is open, will look like very dramatic lashes.  Next apply a line with Black track along the eye socket bone, this will intersect the lashes.  You want to see this line when the eyes are open so make sure it is applied above the fold of the eyelid.

Next, I drew in the brows over my natural brows and exaggerated the edges.  Look at a Lichtenstein print, most of the women look pretty exasperated and the emotion is in the shape of the brows and eyes.  Then I drew a black line from one of the brows, all the way down one side of the nose, to the top of the lip. Make a black line around the side of the nostril and one or two small lines on the side of the nose opposite to the continuous line near the eye.  This lines are the contour lines Lichtenstein uses to show dimension in the face.

For the tear, out line the shape you want in black first, then fill it in by layering various shades of blue and small touches of white for dimension.

Outline the lips in black and then fill in with red.

I made all the face dots last.  I dipped Q-tips in Red Ben Nye Creme Color and then applied it to my skin with a pressing and twirling motion.  So, press to skin, slight twirl, lift from skin.  I applied the dots linearly across the face until my entire face was covered.  This part took the longest and is the most tedious, but try not to get sloppy with the dots, this is the lynchpin of the entire look.  I highly recommend setting everything with loose setting powder so you don’t end up with red smears all over your face.

The Spooky Scary Daily Face - October 13, 2011 - Ziggy Stardust

face: Ben Nye Creme Color in White

eyes/chin: MAC Blacktrack, Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in shade 10 (orange)

forehead detail: Ben Nye Creme Color in Black, Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in shade 11 (gold), Ben Nye Fireworks in Bronze

lips: Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in shade 11 (gold)

David Bowie has a myriad great looks to choose from, which is what makes him such a formidable Halloween Costume.  A while ago I did a post on the Aladdin Sane look, so here is how you become to alien rockstar himself, Ziggy Stardust.

First, using a sponge applicator I applied a thin layer of Ben Nye Creme Color in White over the entire face.  Next I lined the the inner rims and the lower lid only with Blacktrack.  Then, using my fingers, I applied Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in shade 11 (gold) around the entire eyes, from lash line to brows, extending back to the temples and onto the cheekbones.  You want to blend all the edges of the orange color so it diffuses evenly into the white.  I did the same thing to the jaw bone and chin, using less product to achieve a lighter look.

On the forehead, I began by drawing the outline of the circle with Ben Nye Creme Color in Black.  Then I filled in the circle with Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in shade 11 (gold) and waited a few minutes for that to dry.  Once dry,  I went around the interior outline of the circle with Ben Nye Fireworks in Bronze.  I also added some of the bronze color to areas of the middle of the circle to create dimension.

Last I added Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in shade 11 (gold) to my lips. 

The Spooky Scary Daily Face - October 12, 2011 - The Blackbird

face, eyes, feather details: Ben Nye Creme Color in Black. Ben Nye Creme Color in White, Ben Nye Creme Color in Gray, black feathers

eyeliner: MAC Blacktrack

eye lashes: Lancome Hypnose Drama, Make Up For Ever Feather False Lashes

lips: NARS Lipstick in Heat Wave

I really have no affinity towards Blackbirds so I’m lacking something charming or even informative to write up top.  Blackbird by The Beatles is the only song I can still play on the guitar and it’s a pretty hard song because of all the finger picking, so I guess that’s something?  Yeah, I don’t know.

Here’s how to make yourself look like my interpretation of a Blackbird…

First, using a sponge I applied a very light grey makeup over my entire face using Ben Nye Creme Color in Black and White.

Next I did the detailing on my eyebrow, cheeks, and eyes with a small flat brush and Ben Nye Creme Color in Black.  On the eyebrows I applied the makeup in an upward feathering motion.  I did this loosely not worrying about it looking to perfect.  The faster you make the strokes with the brush the more authentically feathered it will look.  On my cheeks, I made a line in the hollow of my cheekbone and then made upward feathering strokes originating from that line.  For my eyes I lined them, including the inner rims with Blacktrack.  I made a line along my eye socket bone extending out past the eye into feathered lines.  This liner along the eye bone should be visible when the eyes are open.  (Think a 60’s mod eye.) I added grey to the inner corners blending onto the lid and white strokes radiating from the under eye as well as by the cheekbone. Last, I lined around the entire eye with white and applied feather lashes upside down to just below to lower lash line.

The forehead detailing is loose feathers attached to the skin with eyelash glue (you can apply feathers any way you like) and feathering with black, white, and grey makeup, again made with a small flat brush. 

Last I applied NARS Lipstick in Heatwave to my lips.

I made this feathered headpiece a few years ago.  Finally putting it to good use.

The Spooky Scary Daily Face - October 10, 2011 - The Mermaid

face: Make Up For Ever Diamond Cream in Shade 2, Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in Shade 18 (lavender)

scales: Ben Nye Creme Color in Cosmic Blue, Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in Shade 21 (teal), Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in Shade 11 (gold), MAC Paint Pot in Delft

eyeliner: MAC Blacktrack

eyes: Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in Shade 21 (teal)

eye lashes: Lancome Hypnose Drama, Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in Shade 11 (gold)

lips: NARS Lipstick in Dolce Vita

I saw The Little Mermaid in theaters when I was four years old.  It pretty much set the tone for the rest of my life.  I wanted to have long red hair, a voice like an angel, and fins that I could swim around with but also that turned into legs when I was on dry land, you know, like in Splash.  Those things didn’t really pan out for me.  I did have really long hair, but I cut it all off.  Anyway, here is my attempt at becoming the mermaid I always wanted to be.

First I started by applying Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in Shade 18 (lavender) with a sponge applicator over my entire face and neck.  Next I applied a thin layer of Make Up For Ever Diamond Cream in Shade 2 over the entire face, but adding slightly more product to the cheekbones, forehead, and chin.  I’m really pale so I was able to achieve the luminescent effect without looking grey.  If you have dark skin you will want to mix the products with foundation that matches your skin color to avoid looking grey. 

For the eyes I lined them with Blacktrack, creating a dramatic swooped eye.  Cat eyes are kind of my thing, so I always do them, but you can apply your liner however you think a mermaid would.  I think mermaids are really fancy but also into the 60s so…

Next I applied Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in Shade 21 (teal) as shadow to the entire lid, extending around the eyes and beneath the lower lash line.  I then painted over the eyebrows with Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in Shade 11 (gold).

Now, on to the scales and I promise you’re going to laugh when I tell you how I did this.  I took a pair of black fishnet stockings that I never wear and pulled them over my head.  Yeah, that’s right, keep reading.  I held them over my face so the stockings were taught and pretty flat against my skin.  Yes, it was hard to breathe, thank you for asking.  Then, using a sponge applicator and Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in Shade 21 (teal) I stippled (small, strong pressing motion (not wiping motion)) over areas of my face where I wanted the scales to be.  It can be anywhere, I just chose the cheek, forehead, and chin because that’s where the stockings would lay the flattest.  I waited a second for it to dry and then went over certain areas with Ben Nye Creme Color in Cosmic Blue and Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in Shade 11 (gold) to add dimension. 

I waited a few minutes for the makeup to dry before removing the fishnet stockings from my head.  If anyone saw in my window they probably thought I was a robber, but a fancy one.  I quickly realized I could have just cut the stockings and taped small piece on my face instead of sitting around with fishnets on my head like an asshole, so that’s what I did on my chest and shoulder.  I like to think I made the mistake so you don’t have to and in that sense I’m really a hero.  Good luck becoming a mermaid!

The Spooky Scary Daily Face - October 6, 2011 - The Tiger

face: Mehron Color Cup in Orange, Ben Nye Creme Color in White

tiger strips: Ben Nye Creme Color in Black

eyeliner: MAC Blacktrack

eye lashes: Lancome Hypnose Drama

lips: Ben Nye Creme Color in Black

Oh man, you guys, I really wish I was a tiger.  If you know me at all you know that tigers are my favorite animal and that I am generally obsessed with large cats.  I’ve been saying this for years, if modern science could give me the option of giving birth to baby tigers instead of baby humans I would have had ten children by now.  I know this makes me sound insanely creepy/crazy, but that is how much I love tigers.

For this look begin by applying Mehron Color Cup in Orange over the entire face and neck.  Set the color by applying a translucent powder over it, this will ensure that the orange doesn’t mix with the black and white makeup that will go over it.

Next apply Ben Nye Creme Color in White to the chin and eye brow area.  You can use your finger or a small flat brush, whichever you find easiest to blend with.  Blend or feather the edges of the white into the orange to there is definition between the colors, but no hard lines.  Don’t apply the white under the eyes yet, save this for later.  Set the white with translucent powder.

Now it’s time to do the black stripe detailing.  This part is a little difficult to explain since it’s more a matter of interpreting what you see.  It will actually help you immensely to look at a photo of a tiger while you’re doing this.  Try to copy the stripe patterns. Use a small pointed brush to make the stripes and be painterly with your strokes.  The lines don’t have to be perfect because you are emulating fur, you want to get some feathering an slight blending of colors.

For the eyes I lined the inner rims with Blacktrack and painted the entire lid black with  Ben Nye Creme Color. The last step on the eyes should be to fill in the space between the two black strips under the eye with white.  I extended the black in two straight lines down the sides of the nose to create a wider, feline nose.  Make lines extending from the nose to the top lip and out from the corners of the lips to create a cat mouth.  Add small dots in the white area between the nose and mouth and don’t forget the whiskers and cat ears!

Now I am a real cat.  All my dreams have come true.  I’m gonna go have a drink on my roof and see if anyone notices.

The Spooky Scary Daily Face - October 3, 2011 - The Mexican Skeleton

face: Ben Nye Creme Color in White

face details: Ben Nye Creme Color in Black, Ben Nye Creme Color in Red

eyeliner: MAC Blacktrack

eye flower center: Burgundy from Master Bruise FX Wheel, Ben Nye Creme Color in Black

eye flower petals: Ben Nye Creme Color in Red, Green from Master Bruise FX Wheel

eye lashes: Lancome Hypnose Drama

lips: NARS Pure Matte Lipstick in Volga

FACT: I have wanted to attend The Day of The Dead in Mexico since I was 16.  I think it’s really awesome and creepy how everyone hangs out in cemeteries for two days and celebrates their deceased loved ones.  I love Mexican skeletons and have a small collection of them which I accumulated on numerous trips across the country.  My favorite being a small bride and groom which has somehow remained in tacted (and on my desk) through about 8 moves.

For the look: First using a sponge applicator I covered my entire face and neck in Ben Nye Creme Color in White.  The layer of white should be blended so it is not too thick on the face, that means allowing the natural pigment of the skin to remain visible. 

Next I mixed Burgundy from Master Bruise FX Wheel and Ben Nye Creme Color in Black to get an eggplant color which I applied using a brush in a large circle around the eyes.  The size of the circle will depend on the size and shape of your face, but it should extend over the eyebrows.

Next using the Green from Master Bruise FX Wheel I drew the outlines for the flower petals with a small pointed brush.  The flower petals are by far the hardest part of this look, but don’t get discouraged, they don’t have to be perfect.  Also, try experimenting with the shape and size of the petals.  For example, you’ll notice I made the petals under my eyes larger and slightly slanted, but you don’t have to do the same thing.  Use your own creative intuition here.  Once the outline is complete I filled in the petals with a small flat curved brush using Ben Nye Creme Color in Red.  After the petals are filled in you might need to go back and clean up the green outline.

Next I made an upside down heart over the nose using Ben Nye Creme Color in Black.  I also lined the inner rims of the upper and lower lids with Blacktrack to eliminate visible natural skin.

The facial detailing and flourishes are other areas where you can pretty much do anything you want.  I recommend googling photos of Mexican skeletons to get some ideas.  You might want to do a different pattern entirely, or something with color, or no flourishes at all.  This is totally your call, but whatever you do you will want to use a small pointed brush (like the one you used for the flower petals) to make these designs.  Using a small pointed brush will ensure that the designs are delicate and precise.

Last I used NARS lipstick in Volga on the lips and applied mascara.

Stay tuned for all Halloween Daily Faces for the rest of October and have a spooky day!

October is my favorite month. Why?  Because I love Halloween.  And why is October going to be especially cool this year?  Because starting next week it’s going to be ALL Halloween Daily Face posts, ALL MONTH LONG.  Get ready, my friends, it’s about to get spooky scary around here…