Last week the ladies from Ugly Duckling House, Young House Love, Bower Power, and Our Fifth House (just the name of that site exhausts me, since I’m only on house number three) threw down a Pinterest Challenge to cross one project you’ve pinned off your to-do list.
And I bet you guys thought if I was going to accept this challenge, I would pick a project that requires power tools, but instead I did this…
Right? Both timely and surprising.
Okay, actually I spent a lot of time this weekend giving the drywall patches in the parlor a skim coat of mud before painting and building my own version of the DIY Lindsay Adleman chandelier…
But I’ve got the wrong type of wire running through it, and I don’t want to burn my house down, so I have to wait for the right stuff to get here and then re-wire (and swap out those bulbs that look oddly purple when not lit) it before I can check that one off my pinterest list. So instead you get my fancily painted mug. I feel like you guys probably didn’t come out on the winning end of that decision, but, if you have about an hour and 3 colors of face paint, this is actually a great go-to Halloween “costume” that doesn’t require a ton of planning or props, which means more time for working in the shop. See how I can make this all circle back to tools? It’s a gift.
Here’s what I used to get the look:
The guy at the costume store was a makeup connoisseur and recommended:
- Ben Nye cream liners in black and cosmic blue (or any color)
- Ben Nye cake foundation in white
- Detailz liquid color liner in black
- Sponge (for applying cake foundation) and brush for blending
- Urban Decay All-Nighter spray, if you want it to last a while
I did my usual face routine on the left side, and then applied a thick coat of white foundation to the right side and tried to be pretty precise about the line between my skin and future skull. After that dried I went back in and used the liquid liner (it comes with it’s own brush) to get the general outline of the shapes down. The real key to this is layering.
Here’s what it looked like in progress…
You can see that it looks pretty flat, but I had the general design sketched out. On my face. It’s so weird to say that.
Anyway, I left the white foundation alone, but went back with the black and blue cream liner to add dimension and do a little shading and blending. For the detail around the eyes I used the liquid liner to do the outer edge, then filled it in with black.
After all of the “paint” was on, I went back and did my eyes, using my regular colors on the skin side, and just black on the skull side. Eye liner on the inner part of the lid made a huge difference.
It didn’t turn out bad for my first attempt, but here are a couple of things I would do differently:
- Wait for the foundation to thoroughly dry, so the black lines will be sharper
- Thicker, more defined split between skull and face. If I had a full palette of colors I’d use a brownish red to shade the crack on the skin-side of the face.
- Pay more attention to the shape of the cheek “hollow” which should define the top part of the skull and the jaw bone
- Straighter teeth, with better shading. In the pinterest image the color really defines the “gum line” (like skeletons have gums), and, you know, even the dead side of your face deserves proper dental care.
- Much bigger hair
So that’s one thing created from my Pinterest boards this weekend, and a little sneak peek at my Halloween costume. I refuse to believe you’re ever too old to play dress-up, so what are you guys being this year?
13 Responses
Love it! And now I have a go-to “I really meant to be a mermaid but ran out of energy” costume. LOL.
I believe this can also be done with leftover wall paint, in a pinch!
wow, very nice! i don’t think i’d have the patience to do something like that!
also, i answered your question about the wiring on my blog, hope that helps! good luck!
That turned out great! I went as a Pedestrian Crossing sign this year: http://lifethroughthelensblog.wordpress.com/2012/10/28/happy-halloween/
Hahahaha. That is FANtastic!
I don’t usually do costumes. I just tell the kids at school (when they asked what my costume is) that I’m wearing my usual scary mask, i.e., my face.
I feel like I’m actually more put-together and less scary on Halloween than on any given day where I basically look like a sawdust covered zombie.
ben nye the science guy does makeup? ha. i love that guy.
I’m guessing Ben Nye is actually Bill’s less-scientific brother… lol
with your eyes that is one freaky look to go for! looks awesome. I wouldn’t have the patience…
I didn’t even think of how appropriate that is! All of the sudden my two different colored eyes make total sense…
Just discovered your site. THANK YOU for everything you’ve shared! A great bonus to see the face painting info — love it. 🙂
Kit, would you tell me what paint you used for the lamp? I like it because it’s not too gold, but not too antique brassy. Thanks.
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