Special FX Makeup Tutorial: Bejeweled Skull [video]

Gabrielle Rivera is a QC Makeup Academy graduate and professional makeup artist. To see more of her work, visit her Instagram here.

As a professional makeup artist, one of the most common makeup requests that Gabrielle gets from her clients is a skull look. Many of her clients want a skull-inspired look without having to commit to a full-skeleton face. Or, they don’t want to stick to the tradition black and white paints of a classic skull. This inspired her to do a glamor special FX look that was easy to do and would stay put through a night of eating and drinking.

If you haven’t already decided on a costume idea, Gabrielle has just the makeup tutorial for you.

Watch the tutorial below to learn how to create an easy, bejeweled skull look!

Special FX Makeup Products Needed:

You don’t need too many makeup products to create this look. Below is a list of the specific products Gabrielle used in her tutorial. You can absolutely use products from your own makeup kit to create this look. Here’s what Gabrielle purchased:

• Silvery / pearl-colored rhinestones in various sizes (find them at Michaels or Party City!)
• Your makeup brush set
• Milani Prime Light Strobing + Pore Minimizing Face Primer
• NYX Can’t Stop Won’t Stop Full Coverage Foundation (your everyday shade)
• Elmer’s Glue (it must dry transparent!)
• Makeup Revolution Conceal & Define Full Coverage Concealers (a few shades lighter than your skin tone)
• Mehron Eye Liner & Brow Pencil for Performance
• Ben Nye Neutral Set Colorless Face Powder
• Urban Decay Naked Heat Palette (or any palette with brown eyeshadows)
• Mehron Paradise Paint in White
• Duo Eyelash Adhesive in Clear
• Maybelline Superstay Matte Ink Liquid Lipstick (any shade)
• Jeffree Star Velour Liquid Lipstick in Drug Lord
• Kat Von D Lock-it Setting Mist
• Ardell Spooky Lashes in Mesmerizing

Let’s recap!

1. Prime your face. Gabrielle chose the Prime Light primer to introduce a soft-focus glow to her look and keep her makeup in place.
2. Apply your normal foundation over the primed and prepped face.
3. Apply a layer of glue to your brows (must be a glue stick that dries transparent). This step allows you to keep your eyebrows in place. It also smooths it down so you can apply foundation and concealer over it. For a full tutorial on how to brow block for special FX makeup, click here!
4. Apply concealer under your eyes to brighten the area. Gabrielle uses two concealers that are much lighter than her actual skin tone. For reference, she mixes together shades C6 and C10 by Makeup Revolution.
5. Draw the outline of the skull using a white eyeliner.
6. Apply concealer to the rest of your face that is within the boundaries of the skull outline. The glue on your brows should be dried down enough to apply your concealer over it.
7. Use a blending sponge to blend out all the concealer.
8. Go back in with your white eyeliner to draw the eye sockets of the skull. Gabrielle points out that you can feel your eye socket when you go over it with the white liner. Use it to guide your hand. Draw out the “empty” hollow part of your nose.
9. Set your work with a translucent face powder.
10. Warm up and contour the face using brown eyeshadow. Gabrielle mixes the shades Sauced and Low Blow from the Naked Heat palette to contour her forehead. Since this look is supposed to be a more “natural” skull over a dramatic one, she apply the brown shadows using an angled brush for depth. Make sure you tap off the excess product before application!
11. Taking a smaller fluffy brush, go back into the brown shade(s) and shade around the eye, keeping within the defined eye sockets. Do not apply color to the middle of the eye (including the lid).
12. Take a flat-ended detailing brush to apply the same brown shade(s) to the nose. Shade against the white liner.
13. Use a flat brush to apply a lighter color to the center space inside the outlines of the eyes and nose. This keeps the center bright and adds dimension. Gabrielle uses shades Chaser and Ounce in Urban Decay’s Naked Heat palette.
14. Add more depth using deeper colors. Using another flat detail brush, Gabrielle applies shades En Fuego and Ashes to the inner corner and outer corners of her eye sockets. Make sure you go in lightly and draw the color in to blend it out. The white liner should still be visible. Do the same thing to the nose.
15. Add definition to the outer edges of the skull face using the same shading process in steps 10-14. Doing so makes the skull look 3D, as if it’s sitting atop the face.
16. Use a white cream paint to draw the teeth with a round-tip brush. Gabrielle uses a water-activated paint. She presses the paint down on the top lip and draws it upwards onto her philtrum to create the illusion of teeth roots. Line up all the teeth side by side, connecting to the white outline of your skull mask.
17. Define your brows with white paint to match the teeth. Apply the white paint to your brows using a spoolie, and then fill it in evenly with an angled brow brush.
18. Use a fine detailed brush to outline the skull mask (apply it right over the white eyeliner guidelines).
19. Apply the rhinestones to the forehead and cheeks using a clear eyelash glue and tweezers. Choose a pattern of your choice! Gabrielle chose to apply the gems to the teeth.
20. Apply the lipstick color of your choice to the bottom lip.
21. Use a white liquid liner to line your eyes. Gabrielle uses a white liquid lipstick that’s safe for the eyes.
22. Apply the false lashes of your choice.
23. Set your makeup with a finishing spray so it doesn’t budge all night!

Ta-da! If you recreate this look, don’t forget to snap us a picture!

Want to take your look to the next level? Check out these special effects makeup hacks that won’t break the bank!