Halloween Makeup Special Effects

General Tips

1. Research! You need to know what you'll need for your special effects display ahead of time.
2. Practice! Unless you're pretty experienced with special effects makeup already, give yourself some time to try it out prior to the night of.
3. Buy extra. Since you're going to be practicing well before Halloween, you'll need more than just enough for one mask, wound, etc. It's better to go ahead and buy it early than to perfect your skill, run out on Halloween night, and realize the product you need is all sold out all over town.
4. Try it on with your costume. Again, before the big day, try your costume on with your special effects makeup. There may be patches of skin you need to cover (in the case of necklines, for example) that you didn't think of before.

Basic Halloween Makeup Special Effects Tips

Wounds: When it comes to making special effects wounds, pictures speak louder than words. Here is a very detailed tutorial that results in a very real, very graphic laceration. Not for the faint of heart. You can find another wrist wound here.

Blood: Depending on how and where you want to use the fake blood, this could be as simple as buying some gel blood and letting it ooze down your skin. See the tutorial above for ways to paint it around actual special effects gashes or wounds. If you plan to put the blood in or around your mouth, consider making your own with this tutorial.

Teeth: In most cases, you can just go out and buy the teeth you want. If the teeth are to be drawn on your skin (skeleton makeup, for example), you can check specific makeup tutorials for tips. In most cases, you'll be painting white cream makeup onto your skin and outlining the teeth with black liner. Want to make fangs for your vampire costume? Halloween Online Magazine can tell you how. The recipe takes a surprisingly small number of materials.

Ears: Want pointy ears? No problem. First, clean the top part of your ears with alcohol to remove any dirt or oil. Let that dry and then fold the ear to form a point. Use liquid latex as glue so the fold stays where you put it. Use spirit gum to match your skin tone and fill in the fold. Voila!

Wrinkles: They're wrinkles, not zebra stripes, so don’t just draw then on with eyeliner and let them dry. You'll need to smudge them out a little on either side to create a contoured, three-dimensional effect.

Books, Websites, and Tutorials

Special Effects Makeup by Janus Vinther seems to be a good one if you have a bit of experience working with special effects makeup. If you're a beginner, this may not be the book for you.

Stage Makeup: The Actor's Complete Guide to Today's Techniques and Materials by Laura Thudium, on the other hand, seems to be perfect for beginners.

The Monster Makers Mask Makers Handbook by Arnold Goldman is great for those who want to put a lot of time and effort into their monster mask. According to the reviews, it's not the best bet for children, but adults with the motivation to learn a few special effects tricks will enjoy it.

The special effects selection on YouTube offers a wide range of faces and tips for all levels of expertise. Just type "special effects makeup" into the search box at the top of the page.

Halloween Magazine Online has an endless supply of knowledge when it comes to Halloween makeup special effects, costumes, props, and more.

Instructables.com is another website full of tutorials. Learn how to make lacerations, gunshot wounds, and more.

Not Comfortable? Alternative Routes

If you're still sitting there, shaking your head, telling yourself, "But I'm not the artsy type at all. I'll just look silly," there are other things you can do. You don't have to dive right into the special effects realm. Do a few things here and there, and use masks and props for the rest. The good thing is, if you do want to give it a go, Halloween makeup special effects errors are forgivable—if even noticeable.