Happy Halloween! Well in the humor of the season it’s the perfect time to talk make-up. What do you mean you don’t like blue eye shadow? No wait! Hear me out!
Halloween is a great time for both reflection, release and expression. A time where every adult can be a kid and the night becomes a fun place. A time where you can wear the invisible as the visible!

So I’m issuing a challenge to everyone reading to take this season and make your insides the outsides. How many times have you wished someone could see your pain? How many times do you wish you had some sort of lesion so someone would simply know how you felt? How many times would you like to shove make-up on your face, up your armpits and ooze corn syrup for a laugh??? Okay maybe I went too far.
My point is this: Many of us wait till the first of the year to reflect, but we miss a very obvious and cathartic experience right here in October. Here is one night you can be the real you inside. You can become your pain for one night in order to make it something more! For once you are no mystery you are a walking Picasso of truth!
Here are a few tips I learned in college theater make-up class to get you started:
For realism I strongly suggest getting your hands on some Ben Nye makeup.
When adding in bruises or small broken capillaries use what is called a stipple sponge.
Dip it in color, pat on a paper towel and dab at the skin to create the stippling. (Same effect is used for close range gunshot wound stippling!)
Bruises should be shiny, so don’t powder them down after, but everything else is good to go once set with translucent powder. For a sparkly effect (say to represent brain fog), skip glitter and go for mica powder. (Make sure its make-up grade. If you can’t find it use shimmer powders.
Think outside the box!!!

Clear gelatin with minimal water and then cooked on a double boiler, stirred constantly, will create fun skin effect.. Let it cool till you can spread on the skin and let set up. For more aged skin, stir in cornmeal as it cools. For other skin effects try layering on layers of toilet paper with spirit gum. Then put make-up base over it! (One note of warning is that spirit gum make take a few passes with a HIGH grade makeup remover. Also spirit gum smells odd, so anyone with real sensitivities may want to stick with plain cake make-up.)
Try ripping flesh pieces of muslin and using fusible interfacing to adhere to an old set of rumpled clothing for the appearance of pieces ripped away. It looks even better if you rip out s piece of the shirt and use it from behind to fill the opening.
Liquid latex can be applied to skin held taunt and once dry it will look wrinkly. The only issue is it pulls when you pull the layers off, because it does like the hair. (I made a bullet hole in my chest once for a make-up midterm and had it on for hours, but it pulled when it came off. Try taking it off in a hot shower, but be careful not to let pieces run down the drain. Also don’t use this or spirit gum near the eyebrows or too close to the hairline!
To block out eyebrows run over them with the hair growth with a bar of soap. It had to be bar soap and just BARELY wet it. Once well plastered down, powder and then apply a skin toned base.
Before you start, sketch a rough face shape on paper so you know what you want to look like and can think it through step, by step.
Mostly, have fun!!!! Unless you were in a class like me, no one is judging you! You are something no one else can see, so who is to tell you what is what?!?!
So this season, try something new! Use it like a living journal entry and get the emotions, the pain, the sensations or any combination of them out and into the open. We always say we wish people could see, well now here is your chance!!!
Send us in photos of your “Sick for Once on the OUTSIDE!” creations and we will find some of the best and post them up on the website. Have fun with it!
Jennifer Altherr, Butyoudontlooksick.com, © 2007