Hey Guys!
With Halloween just around the corner, the QC crew and I have decided to share a unique and not terribly overdone Halloween look! The technique is called “greyscale makeup”. The idea behind it is to appear as if you’re from a black and white film. You can get very creative with this look! Choose any of your favourite Old Hollywood starlets to emulate. Men can dress up as a timeless black and white hero!
Things you will need when creating the look—not many—(which is great!)
- Black and white cream makeup
- Matte black eye shadow
- Translucent setting powder
- Brushes
- Palette or petri dish to mix your colours
- Spatula or something to scoop cream products out
Next up, you’re going to have to mix your greys. You need a medium-toned grey for your skin (note: the tone of grey will depend on the skin tone it’s being applied to), a very light grey for highlighting, and a dark grey/almost black for contouring.
Throughout the process, you’ll notice that you don’t look black and white. Your black and white image won’t fully transform until all your skin is painted with the medium grey and you are wearing all black and/or white, and you have a black hat or wig on. There can be NO remaining flesh tone. If you want to bring it to the next level with color contacts, you can do that, too!
Apply the medium grey all over the skin that shows when you’re wearing your outfit. Use a white liner or white product to line your waterline so you remove any sign of flesh (this can also be done with black if you choose to make the eyes more smokey). Then, apply your highlighting colour where you would normally highlight (under your eyes, through your t-zone, down the bridge of your nose)…
Next, you want to go in with the dark grey and contour your cheekbones, eye sockets, nose and hair line. While you’re doing this, think about giving your face as much dimension as possible. You aren’t actually applying makeup as your normally would when you think about colours. This time, you must think more along the lines of “sculpting” or painting a picture. Every area you contour, follow with a highlight in the opposing area. All of this depth and dimension will really add to the look.
Then, set all your cream products with a translucent setting powder. Now you can go in with black shadow and darken any areas you contoured, fill in your brows, and so forth. Don’t forget to highlight your lips too, again adding dimension to the look. Lastly, top off the look with all black attire and your black hat or wig.
Hope you guys enjoyed this tutorial, Halloween is a great time of year to get creative with your artistry skills!
Like this look? You might want to check out our Special Effects Makeup course, launching at the end of October!
