Zombie Makeup Tutorial at Boston Costume

Zombie Makeup Tutorial

Zombies are among our most popular makeup characters! We chose to create a pretty classic zombie. Here are step-by-step instructions on how you can recreate this look on your own. Have fun!

Before you Start:
Gather your Supplies
We used:
-Mehron CreamBlend™ Stick in Black, Light Gray, Monster Gray, Alabaster, Ebony, and Natural Beige Blush (you'll want to tailor the colors to your specific skin tone)
-Mehron 3-D Gel in Fleshtone Light Beige
-Mehron Barrier Spray
-Mehron ProColorRing™ Bruise Wheel
-Mehron Stage Blood
-Chocolate Syrup (optional - we used the syrup to mix in with the stage blood)
-Mehron Tooth FX Paint in Nicotine/Decay
-Assorted makeup brushes
-Foam Wedge Sponge
-Paper plate (or similar material) to use as a palette

Step 1:
Be sure to start with clean skin. If you have long hair, tie it back away from your face.

Warm the bottle of 3-D Gel in a cup of hot water (not boiling) until it liquifies.

Step 2:
If you're going to be in character for a prolonged amount of time, spray your face with the Barrier Spray. This will prevent the 3-D Gel from re-liquifying after it has cooled and hardened on your face.

Dab the 3-D gel onto your skin wherever you would like wounds. You want a thick buildup, and a clearly defined "valley" that we will later fill in with fake blood.

Step 3:
Use a wedge sponge with the CreamBlend™ Light Gray and Monster Gray to create highlights and shadows over the forehead, temples, cheeks, jawline, and chin.

Use the CreamBlend™ stick that matches your skintone (we used Natural Beige Blush) to blend in the 3-D gel lesions with the rest of your skin. You can use a wedge sponge, makeup brush, or your fingers.

Step 4:
Using the wedge sponge, paint a mixture of the Ebony and Black makeup along the crevices of the face to enhance the shadows. Blend everything thoroughly.

We also used a thin brush to draw wrinkle lines around the eyes, and used a foam wedge sponge with the Alabaster makeup along the chin, cheeks, and jawline for extra contrast.

Step 5:
Add the Monster Gray makeup along the forehead, temples, under the eyes, along the cheekbones, and over the lips. If you want, you can mix a little green makeup in with the Monster Gray for an even more dead-like palette.

Using a thin brush, add black lines from the nose to the mouth and under the eye lines.

Mix the Monster Gray and Ebony makeup together, and lightly paint over the lesions.

Step 6:
With a thin brush, use the Bruise Wheel to create some light bruising around the lesions.

The wheel contains the colors needed to create bruises from the initial red of a fresh bruise to the yellowish-blue-green of a healing bruise. We used mostly the "Bloody Rose" and "Burnt Maroon" segments.

Step 7:
Use a thin brush to paint some spidery infection lines coming out of both wounds. We did this using some red (from the bruise wheel), some Monster Gray, and some with the two colors mixed.

Step 8:
Using a brush, paint the black makeup into the crevices of the wounds. This acts as a foundation for the blood we will add shortly, and will enhance the deep red color. Don't worry about making precise lines.

Step 9:
Set the makeup using the Barrier Spray. Mix together some of the chocolate syrup and Stage Blood. Use a thin brush to paint over the black valleys on the wounds. Use your finger or a dry brush to blend. Don't worry about precision - feel free to let some of the blood drip down from the wounds.

You can also paint some of the blood over the non-wound skin with a stipple effect - for that, you can either use your fingers or a stipple sponge.

Step 10:
Use the foam wedge sponge to add some of the Black makeup around the mouth. This will be the foundation for more blood that we will add in the next step.

You can also put dabs of the black on other parts of the face as foundation for blood spatters.

Step 11:
Wipe away any saliva over the front part of your teeth. Keep your mouth open wide, and use the brush included with the Tooth Decay paint to coat the visible teeth.

Use a napkin to blot for a mottled effect - don't aim for an even, opaque coat. Let it dry with your mouth open wide.

Step 12:
Use your fingers to smear some of the blood mixture over the teeth. Put some more blood around the mouth, over the black foundation makeup from Step 11. Use your fingers to stipple the blood. We also added some blood to the neck.

Add any costume elements you'd like. We used a tee-shirt from By the Pound (also located at 200 Broadway) and painted some blood and makeup on that. If you're painting blood on your clothing, know that it will likely stain!

Go back and do any touch-ups you'd like, and then you're ready to go!

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