{easyhow to } Halloween Special Effects Make-Up

Please don't be scared of my beautiful little pickles, they just start to look like this if we let them play the Wii for too long. I call it "Nintendo rage"

If you've read my blog before, you may know that besides being a Mum, I'm also a make-up artist. I used to do plenty of gory make-up and casualty simulation stuff and A LOT of scary vampire movies (sorry not with Edward & Bella). 

Anyhow, if you're looking for an easy, peasy effect for Halloween, then you've come to the right place. The make-up is called Gel-Skin and is quite "old school"(used on shows like The X Files). This stuff is a snap to make, easy to apply and a breeze to remove )your skin feels really nice afterwards too.....bonus!)

 The items you need are listed above. Now, you'll notice in the picture that the "face paints" I have used are a professional, water based, make-up/body paint by Kryolan. You don't need to get these, it's just what I had. Most discount stores and costume supplies will have little face paint kits especially for Halloween (usually only a couple of bucks), just pick the colours for he effect you want. For pickle #1 (vampire/thingy), I used white, black, maroon (Kryolan altrot). For pickle#2 I used the same colours and some green and yellow. Ok....here's how you do it................

 (Protect your clothes with an old shirt or towel) With a bit of sponge (I tore bits from a new car washing sponge), but you could use a dish sponge (make sure it's new). If your using water based face paint, then dampen your sponge and apply colours to the face using a stippling motion until you get the desired effect. Do the same if your using an oil based make-up, but don't wet the sponge. This is now your underbase. Next take the COOLED Gel Skin (recipe to follow) and with a sponge, apply it to the face, covering the face paint (it will be clear and the colours will show through). While still wet, I applied bits of 1ply tissue to some areas (it will stick to the gel skin) to create lumpy skin. Then apply more layers of gel skin until you get the look you're after. Don't worry if it gets in your hair, it just washes out (and it can look cool, if you play around with it)!!

 To make the Gel Skin:

Ingredients - 5 parts water, 5 parts powdered gelatine, 4 parts glycerine (which I got from the supermarket near the band-aids and first aid stuff).
(I used tablespoon amounts as my "parts" and it made more that I needed for 2 faces)
Method
Get a saucepan and dissolve the gelatine in the water.
Add the glycerine and stir well.
Gently heat on the stovetop, but do not boil.
(At this stage you could colour it intrinsically, but I kept mine clear as I was doing different looks).
IMPORTANT: You must allow the mixture to cool before applying to the skin or it will burn you!!!!!!!
Gel skin can be reheated (stovetop or microwave...use common sense) if it sets too quickly, or if you want to make ahead of time.

 You can see in the above pictures where I have made the gel skin thicker on the red painted cheekbone. I let it set and then "cut" through the gel to create a scar...DON"T USE A KNIFE,  I used a palette knife, but a toothpick of orangewood stick would be good too...JUST BE GENTLE.
I then added depth to the wound with black face paint. Uggh...I need a mani STAT!

 I hope this doesn't sound too complicated. It's very simple once you have all of your stuff and you can practice on the back of your hand before using willing "victims".

 If you have any questions or comments, I love to hear them. So, please don't be afraid to ask.

Wishing you a Happy Halloween.

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