How to Make Halloween Face Painting Look Like Fake Cuts & Bruises

Directions

1. Use a makeup sponge to apply a thin layer of dark purple cream makeup onto clean skin where you want a bruise. Avoid neat shapes like circles or triangles—real bruises are irregular.
2. Blend the edges of the purple with your fingers so it fades into your skin. The center should be dark purple, gradually lightening to the edges.
3. With a sponge, apply red cream makeup to the center of the bruise and gently blend the edges. Don't completely cover the purple.
4. Repeat the same process with dark blue or black cream makeup, using just a little so the purple and red still show through. This adds depth and realism.
5. Apply yellow cream makeup to areas where the other colors lighten and blend into skin, giving the appearance of a healing bruise.
6. Shape a piece of mortician's wax or putty into a half-inch diameter ball. This can be found at special effects makeup stores. For best results, choose a wax that matches your skin tone.
7. Press the wax ball onto clean skin to form a fake cut. Flatten and spread it until it's about a quarter-inch thick in the center and the edges blend into your skin. You might need extra wax.
8. Use a plastic knife to carve a cut into the wax—be careful to cut only the wax, not your skin.
9. Pat red cream makeup over the entire wax piece and surrounding skin with a sponge. Then repeat with yellow cream makeup to make the area look raw and irritated.
10. Dust baby powder over the cream makeup using a large makeup brush to soften colors and set the makeup.
11. Pour fake blood directly into the cut from step 8. Don't worry if it spills onto surrounding skin—a real cut would do that too.