Easy Sugar Skull Makeup Tutorial

Learn how to create a beautiful, purple sugar skull makeup for Halloween or Day of the Dead using my Easy Sugar Skull Makeup Tutorial! This simple sugar skull is perfect for beginners and uses affordable drugstore makeup products. 

Easy Sugar Skull Makeup Tutorial

Happy Monday, lovelies and welcome to my favorite spooky month of October! Today I’m so excited to be sharing my Easy Sugar Skull Makeup Tutorial with you today as my first Halloween makeup look of the season. You can watch the full video over here.

This Easy Purple Sugar Skull Makeup look is beautiful featuring a black and purple skull that is adorned with red, purple, and pink jewels and white pearls.

This sugar skull makeup is perfect for wearing for Halloween or for Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and is very easy for makeup beginners to create. Best of all, this sugar skull makeup uses only drugstore makeup products, making it super easy and affordable to re-create.

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Easy Sugar Skull Makeup

Over the years, sugar skulls have became very popular for Halloween, but I’ve personally always loved the true meaning behind them within the Mexican culture.

I’ve always really admired the beauty of colorful and intricate sugar skulls and the purpose of wearing them for the Mexican Holiday, Dia de Los Muertos or Day of the Dead.

The History Behind Sugar Skulls/ Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

In case you are unfamiliar, Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is held every year right after Halloween on November 2nd, and wearing a beautiful sugar skull makeup creation is just one of the many ways that people can choose to honor their deceased loved ones.

Traditionally, sugar skulls are created with three primary colors including red, black, and white, which represent love and blood, mortality, and ghosts, but they can also include other bright colors such as yellow, orange, pink, purple, and blue.

In contrast to what many people assume, sugar skulls are not meant to be scary, nor is Day of the Dead supposed to be a gloomy, dark holiday.

Instead, Dia de Los Muertos is a colorful day of celebration and remembrance of loved ones who have passed, and the bright colors represent keeping their memories alive in our hearts and lives.

What Makeup Do You Use For Sugar Skulls?

You only need just a few makeup products to create an easy sugar skull makeup.

This includes black eyeliner or face paint for creating the detail for the eyes, mouth and nose, white face paint for your skin, and face paint or eyeshadow for adding colorful details.

You can also use jewel gemstones as an easy way to add more color and detail to the face. I love these gorgeous ones from wet n wild, but you can also find a ton of them at Michaels over here.

What To Wear For Your Sugar Skull Costume

Traditionally, a sugar skull makeup look also includes a beautiful flower crown like this black one that I’m wearing. If you want to add more color to your look, there are also plenty of colorful floral crowns on Amazon to choose from.

For my Sugar Skull costume, I chose a black lace bodysuit and a white pleated maxi skirt that I’ve had in my wardrobe for several years now. I love how the lace adds a feminine touch to this skull look, and the v-neck allowed me to contour my chest and neckline.

Black and white are a great, simple choice for pairing with sugar skull makeup because you really want your makeup to shine through.

Beginner Sugar Skull Makeup Tutorial (Step-by-Step)

Head over here to watch the full video tutorial for this Sugar Skull Makeup look or check it out below! Don’t forget to subscribe to my Youtube Channel while you’re there so you can see all my latest videos.

Makeup Products Used:

• wet n Wild Fantasy Makers Paint Palette in Brights (Light and Dark Purple)
• wet n Wild Fantasy Makers Paint Palette in Smokey (Deep Purple)
• Pixi Glitter-y Eye Quad in Rose Bronze (Purple)
• wet n Wild Fantasy Makers Gemstones (Treat Yoself)
• wet n Wild Fantasy Makers Skeleton Queen Set
• Essence Lash Princess Mascara
• Heated Eyelash Curler (My absolute fave!)
• Face Paint Brushes
• NYX Epic Ink Liner in Black
• wet n wild MegaLast Retractable Eyeliner in Blackest Black
• Real Techniques Makeup Brush Set
• Black Flower Crown

How to Create This Sugar Skull Makeup

1. Start by outlining the eyes using black and filling in the shape of the eyes with purple face paint. I created a gradient look using darker shades of purple on the outer circle and lighter shades toward the center, and blended it together for a seamless look.
2. Next, add some purple glitter to the eyelid and black eyeliner to the top and bottom inner rim.  If needed, you can use a makeup wipe to clean up the edges around the eyes before the next step.
3. Next, apply white face paint all over the face and neck, being careful to not get it on the eye part.
4. Next, using a small detail brush, carefully draw on the sugar skull nose with black face paint. I created two pointed v’s on my nose to give it a more authentic sugar skull look.
5. Apply a touch of purple to the inside of the lips and use gray and white to blend it out.
6. Using that same detail brush and black face paint, begin creating the skull’s mouth by drawing straight horizontal lines out from the mouth on each side and then vertical lines evenly spaced across. After that, it’s time to contour out the cheekbones by drawing a v-like shape on the outer part of the cheeks.
7. Using a blending brush, apply some black face paint to the top of the area you just defined and begin blending it in a downward motion. You don’t need to add more product, just keep blending until it looks seamless.
8. Next, add a touch of purple to the same area you applied the black and blend again until it is seamless looking. If desired, contour out the neck and chest area with the same black and purple shades.
9. Using a small detail brush, create a black heart outline at the center of the forehead and fill in with black face paint. I also used a black felt eyeliner to clean up the edges and to make the black darker. Next, blend out some purple paint around the forehead.
10. Lastly, apply colorful gemstones along the brow bone, around the heart, and on the chin. Curl your eyelashes and apply 1-2 coats of black mascara to further define the eyes.
11. Add your floral crown headband and this sugar skull makeup look is complete!

Looking For More Halloween Makeup Ideas?

• Easy Cracked Pumpkin Makeup
• DIY Zombie Makeup & Costume
• Easy Scarecrow Makeup
• Spooky Spider Makeup
• Melting Ice Cream Makeup 
• Easy Mermaid Makeup
• Easy Galaxy Makeup
• Easy Deer Makeup
• Colorful Butterfly Makeup
• Easy Raccoon Mask
• Easy Halloween Makeup Looks 

I hope you enjoyed today’s Easy Sugar Skull Makeup Tutorial for Halloween or Dia de Los Muertos/Day of the Dead! Let me know what you think of this sugar skull makeup look in the comments below and in case you’re looking for more Halloween makeup ideas, head here for all of my previous year’s creations.

Thanks for stopping by! – Cara

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