The Makeup Steps for Vampire Costumes
The secret of professional looking vampire makeup is blending and shading in the right places. Whether you use kids' face paint or theatrical makeup, the principal colors and application technique are the same. Three 1-inch cubes of sponge or foam wedges, cotton swabs and white, black and red makeup or face paint are all you need to create impressive, basic makeup for your vampire costume. Prosthetic pieces, fangs and fake blood provide added authenticity. Does this Spark an idea?
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Face
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Apply a white base to the whole of the face using a foam wedge or makeup applicator sponge, continuing the color below the jawline. Avoid creating an obvious line where the makeup stops by using less makeup on the neck and blending it into your own skin tone using light, downward strokes.
Shading
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Reload the sponge with white makeup. Using a cotton swab, add a spot of black coloring and rub it in to create a mid to light gray color on the sponge. Apply the gray makeup evenly around the eye sockets, leaving the eyelid and surrounding area clear. Take a dry piece of sponge and blend the makeup away from the eyes. As a guide, keep the gray coloring below the natural brow line and above the cheekbones, making the sockets take on a sunken appearance.
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Eyes
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Draw a thick dark red line under each eye and cover the eyelids with black makeup. Smudge the upper and lower eye colors into the gray socket shading to eliminate all hard lines. Apply additional gray shading if necessary.
Mouth
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Lightly dab gray makeup around the outer edge of the lips and blend outward, away from the mouth. Apply black or red makeup to the lips and smudge the color into the gray shading. Dribble a fine line of fake blood from one side of the mouth to the chin.
Prosthetics
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Complete your makeover with vampire fangs, false fingernails and latex prosthetic pieces such as ears, a gnarled nose or fake wounds. Fix prosthetic pieces in place with a skin-safe makeup glue, taking care to smooth the edges for added realism. Apply makeup to the prosthetic items to match your face, and retouch the area around the glued area. Only use specialist adhesives designed for makeup purposes.
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References
- Photo Credit Hemera Technologies/Photos.com/Getty Images
