In an earlier Mommy Fearist article I shared a story about my venture in horror makeup with my young niece. I am incredibly lucky in that I live close to several stores that sell professional special effects makeup. I also have a few friends who are sfx makeup artists by trade who are more than happy to answer any questions that I may have. I’ve come to the realization that not everyone has the same perks as me so I decided to ask someone who is learning the trade of makeup for some tips to using what most people already have in their makeup drawer at home.

Caitlin Kreditor is a 17 year old student who is going into her senior year in the Integrated Conservatory at the Orange County School of the Arts. Her passion for beauty makeup started at age 5. She has grown up in the world of competitive dance and spent countless early Saturday mornings sitting still in a chair while her mother applied copious amounts of stage makeup. Ever curious and with an inherent need to learn, she began to experiment with makeup using what she could pilfer from her mom’s makeup drawer. Earlier this year she took a makeup class at her school and it sparked a whole new form of inspiration for her.

“With special effects makeup, it does not matter if you look ‘pretty’ once you are done. Through this type of makeup application, you are becoming a different character, whether it be a fairy or zombie. The transformation that one sees through the use of special effects makeup is that of utter disbelief as it is sometimes hard to recognize someone once they are “done up” in special effects makeup. The overall ability to express and change yourself through artistry drew me to both beauty and special effects makeup.”-Caitlin

I asked Caitlin what types of makeup she really enjoys doing:
“My favorite kind of horror or special effects makeup to do is anything gory. I love using both dermawax (as seen in both the bullet wounds and scary clown makeup) and latex. It is unlikely for one to see such gory occurrences day to day. Therefore, making them up on the body just allows for a fun twist to any costume or performance look. The latex can also be used to depict peeling or rotting skin, another aspect of a certain character that is a great addition for costumes.”
Seriously, who doesn’t love rotting skin? I know I do!

Putting makeup on someone whether it’s the first time or the 100th can be frustrating. I asked Miss Kreditor what she found to be the most common struggles of doing horror makeup:

“The most common difficulties or struggles that I have in doing horror makeup are making the wax and cream colors completely blend into my skin in order to look as real as possible. It is important, when using dermawax, that you spread the ball of wax evenly onto the skin in order for it to stick on for long periods of time and look as realistic as possible up close. Using creamy colors such as dark reds, purples, and mustard yellows also allows for many bullet wounds, cuts, and bruises to look much more real. It is also important, when doing horror or gory makeup, to think about the nature of certain accidents. Are you a zombie that has been dead for 10 months or 100 years? Thinking about certain questions as such allows for the makeup to look the best in regard to your character.”

Great news, you don’t need to run out and spend a million dollars on tools to do makeup! Just use what you have at home and if you don’t have makeup at home then you can easily get the brushes, Qtips and sponges at your local drug store. Caitlin also has a great suggestion that everyone has and it’s totally free- YOUR HANDS!!!!

What can I use straight out of my makeup drawer at home to create a fun  and scary look for Halloween?

“From your makeup drawer, you can use black and brown eyeliner in order to create darker frown or age lines for old age makeup. Also, white powders and pencils are used in old age makeup to highlight above dark lines drawn on. Different colored eyeliner (blue, purple, etc) can be used in order to create pretty fairy wings or other fantasy looks. Red lipstick or red crèmes can be used in bruises, along with brown and black eyeshadows / cremes. Black eye shadows can also be used in order to carve out the hollows of your face for a darker skeleton look. Always set your makeup with some sort of powder (preferably translucent) to preserve your creation!”

Do you not have a makeup drawer at home? That’s ok, there’s plenty of things that you can purchase from your local drugstore or dollar store. Caitlin suggests buying cotton and non toxic liquid glue to make a web on your skin. This also works well for a zombie mouth.-

“Brown and white eyeliner is always a great buy for old age makeup looks as well. Mixing a bit of brown, black, and red shadows or pigments together in order to create a bruise is an easy and affordable look as well. Putting a drop of baby oil to the center of a bruise created makes it look extra realistic! Also the use of glitter in fantasy looks really adds to the overall piece. Adding in rhinestones or glitter eyeliners makes the look pop.”

Are you ready to kick up your undead game up a notch? Eager to step outside your comfort zone and do something more than pale makeup and dark eyes? Caitlyn has ideas to help-

“If you are able to access liquid latex, the use of liquid latex and paper towels allows for you to make an intricate nose peeling affect. Also, if you take liquid latex (or non-toxic glue) and place it around the mouth, place pieces of cotton over top the adhesive and stretch them so that they touch the area right above the top lip and right below the bottom lip. Continue this process across the entire mouth and add in some dark red powder or lipstick to the center. This creates the effect of peeling and rotted skin. The use of fake blood, also, is always an interesting way to spice up the normal zombie look. Remember, zombies are coming from the dead and therefore have no pigment in the skin. It is important for the base of any zombie look to be white or grey.”

*side note from Mommy Fearist-if you plan on using the zombie mouth method then make sure you have a straw handy to drink out of. I’ve made this mistake a few times and ended up having to perform an emergency touch up of my makeup.*

Any time you are applying makeup, make sure that your model is not allergic to latex. Caitlin has one final and most important piece of advice,
“It is crucial for children wearing any sort of special effect makeup including liquid latex, dermawax, or any other to take it off before bed!”

Don’t wait until Halloween day to try out these makeup tips. It’s a good idea to have a couple of practice “dress rehearsals” before the big day.