How to Apply Joker Make-Up

Why so serious?

"The Dark Knight" has racked up record after record at the box office. What is fueling this Batman craze? The Joker, of course! This new version of the crazed psycho with the evil laugh is a hit among fans far and wide, and now you can learn how to perfect your look so you can be just like him. (Just without the psycho killing spree, that is.)

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• White face paint
• Black face paint
• Red face paint
• Grey face paint
• Makeup paintbrush
• Makeup sponge
• Old washcloth

How to Apply Joker Makeup

1. Apply the white face paint first. Dab the makeup sponge into the white cream, then apply generously to your face. Try blotting as you move around, so that it creates an uneven effect. Make sure to cover your entire face, including your eyelids and your forehead. You may have to get some in your hair to be able to reach your hairline. You don't want skin to show through.

2. Take gray face paint and use your finger to dot it on your forehead and under your bottom lip and chin. Use just a few dabs--not too much! Then smudge it in with your fingers. This creates the messy shadows you see on the Joker: His face is not completely white. Alternatively, you can use a tiny makeup paintbrush, made for face paint, and draw squiggly lines across your forehead before smudging them in.

3. Rub black face paint across your eyelids and under your eyes. Make it especially dark under your eyes. Then continue to rub above your eyes and into your eyebrows. You want your eyes to be like two black holes. If you don't apply the face paint up to your eyebrows, when your eyes are open, it won't show on your top lids, and you'll just look like a psycho football player.

4. Take the paintbrush and cover your lips with red face paint. Use your fingers to apply large lines of red from the corners of your mouth up toward your cheeks in a large grin. Then smear it around, especially on your lips downward under your chin (just not too far). You can add dots of red on top of the red that's already on your cheeks and not rub it in for a brighter effect. You're done! Now you're ready to terrorize Gotham.

Tips & Warnings

• Messy is good! The new Joker's image is disheveled, so perfection isn't important.

• Use temporary green hair dye if you want your hair to match as well.

• Clean the paintbrush if you switch colors.

• Keep a damp washcloth handy to wipe the makeup off your fingers when you change colors. You don't want it to run together so much that you can't tell which color is which.