Mary Rebecca: day of the dead

Hi there, I'm Danielle from Ghosts Waltz, and I'm so pleased to be guest posting on Mary's wonderful blog. I love to go all out for Halloween, but once the trick-or-treating has come to an end, I also like to dress up for los Días de los Muertos, or the Days of the Dead. This ritual began in ancient Mexico and is still celebrated in Mexico and parts of the U.S. From the night of October 31st through November 2nd, families visit the graves of loved ones, build altars, and celebrate life and death in a way that expresses both reverence and humor. One iconic image of this time is the sugar skull, a brightly colored candy skull, often decorated with icing and sequins.

Today I'll be showing you how to do sugar skull makeup. It can be as simple or as intricate as you like, so don't be intimidated! I will be doing one of the more basic looks, so you can add to it if you wish.

Once you have collected some images for inspiration from books or the internet, it's a good idea to sketch out what you want to do beforehand.

For this look, you will need sponges and a few brushes. I used a white character base, black creme liner, and a few colored creme liners (eyeshadow will work, but it won't pop as much). I would also suggest powder and puff to keep everything from running.

1. Paint the circular outline of the eye sockets, and outline the nose socket, then fill it in.

2. Sponge on the white base. Patting it on looks better than wiping it on. Leave room around the eye sockets for painting the petals.

3. Fill in the eye sockets with your choise of color. Paint small half-circles around the sockets for the petals.

4. Outline the sockets and petals with a dark color (I chose black) using a thin brush. Add lines to your mouth for teeth, and add any other facial details you like.

5. Powder! Apply powder to your face with a puff, then remove excess powder with a damp paper towel. Add paint to any parts of the makeup that have lightened.

6. If you want to add sparklies, do so with spirit gum or eyelash adhesive (I didn't have enough so I went without). Accessorize with lots of flowers, and you're good to go!