Halloween is right around the corner — and there is still so much to do!
Shopping for candy, decorations and apple cider. Picking and carving pumpkins. Deciding if the kids will trick-or-treat in the neighborhood, throw a party, or do both. Then there’s the time-consuming effort of helping the kids design their fright-night look. And let’s not forget that all of this has to be done while attending to other needs at home, work and school.
The truth is that most often, you just run out of time and have to throw together last-minute costumes — but last-minute looks don’t have to be boring. To make your kids’ Halloween looks unique, fun and exciting, all you need are simple make-up products that you likely have at home and a bit of imagination.
Cleveland Makeup Artistry Founder Karin Dodge says black liquid eyeliner, white eyeliner, neutral foundations and concealers, and red lipsticks are all great products to use to create Halloween makeup looks for kids. Her company, which is known for providing wedding and event makeup, also offers services for Halloween.
Dodge and her team provide us with four ways to use at-home makeup products to create fun and memorable Halloween looks for kids — and find tips that make the process quick and easy!
COMIC BOOK CHARACTER
Hunter, age 4, Shaker Heights
Makeup — Karin Dodge
Hair — Jess Bueno
You can get this comic book look in just a few simple steps. You’ll need two foundations, one several shades lighter and one several shades darker than natural skin tone. Contour the sides of the face, nose and eyes using the darker shade. Contour the center of the face, forehead, nose and chin with the lighter color. Then use a black eyeliner pen to draw lines on the face. Be sure to color in nostrils black, line the lips, fill in the eyebrows, draw on ears and re-create the hairline to create the illusion. Use colored hair spray to change the color of the hair.
CAT
Melora, age 4, Shaker Heights
Makeup — Karin Dodge
Hair — Jess Bueno
Ready to leap into the Halloween spirit with this cat look? Use a white eyeliner to draw around the mouth and set with powder highlighter. Then, use a black liquid eyeliner to make dots on the cheeks. Add a triangle on the nose and connect it by lining it to the top lip, which you should color black. Cover the eyelid with black eyeliner, and extend it outward to create a cat-eye. Draw eyelashes above the crease, and along the lower lash line. To accentuate the cat eye, draw triangles on the inner corners of the eyes. Lastly, draw tabby marks in between the eyebrows with a liquid eyeliner pen.
Pro tip: For the most comfortable work position, make sure you’re sitting eye-to-eye with your child while doing the makeup.
SPIDER
Penelope, age 4, Shaker Heights
Makeup — Mylinh Zagorsky
Hair — Jess Bueno
Cute creepy crawler on call. First, paint a vertical line on the face starting at the forehead and then two more vertical lines on the sides of the forehead. Then, draw curved swooped lines to connect the vertical lines. Use the liquid eyeliner pen to draw the spider. To create the body of the spider, draw a small oval and then a large oval underneath and fill it in. When drawing the legs of the spider, make sure to start from the middle of the ovals, which is where they connect. For the hair, gather a hair donut, bobby pins, googly eyes, glue, black pipe cleaner, and a craft pom pom. Slick the hair back into a tight ponytail. Create a perfect bun by using a hair donut and bobby pins. Glue googly eyes on the pom pom and pin to the center of the bun. Bend six pipe cleaners to look like spider legs, and secure into the sides of the bun.
SKELETON
Grey, age 4, Cleveland
Makeup — Mylinh Zagorsky
Hair — Jess Bueno
Dare to terrify with this fun and spooky skeletal face. First start by making a large black circle around the eyes and fill the circle in with black eyeshadow all the way over the eyelids. Paint the lines on the nose black, make a triangle on the nose and then fill it in with black. Next, paint black stitches around the lips and paint them black. Lastly, paint the face white with Halloween makeup using a brush or your fingers. Set it with a little compact makeup powder. Use gel and a fine tooth comb to slick the hair back. If desired, use colored hair spray to change the color of the hair.
Pro tip: Achieving a consistent look using white is tricky. Try dusting a shimmering highlighter or loose powder over it to make it more even.