Easy Sugar Skull Makeup Look Inspired by Mexico’s Day of the Dead

Easy Sugar Skull Makeup Look Inspired by Mexico’s Day of the Dead

Sugar skulls originate from the Mexican traditional holiday called Day of the Dead which is celebrated in Central and Southern Mexico on the 1st and 2nd of November. Even though this coincides with the Catholic holiday “All Saints Day” when Western Christians celebrate their dead – the day after Halloween night – the indigenous people have combined this with their ancient beliefs of honoring their deceased loved ones. Mexicans learnt how to make clay-molded sugar figures for their religious festivals. We fully respect that the Day of the Dead is a religious event and we certainly have no wish to cause offense as, with Halloween also connected with a celebration of the dead, we consider that the Sugar Skull look might be appropriate for Halloween as well. All you need is generic white face paint to color your whole face and red and black face paints or cream eye shadows to have everything you need so you’re ready to go. We found this wonderful video posted at the beginning of the month by Shonagh Scott that explains how to create the perfect Mexican Sugar Skull look, step by step.




Using the right brushes and the correct amount of product is crucial; however you may want to test your skin for any allergy first by applying the products on a discrete area. We know that Shonagh makes it seem super-easy but drawing dots and dividing the face into two halves will help you to get this look right. Cream products are better because they will stick to your skin but you will have to set them with powder products to help accentuate the makeup look. Adding the flowers to the hair will emphasize the Mexican look you are going for. Again, this is a simple guide to what you can do with only 3 colors. You can go wild with your color palette, choose different patterns to add adhesive crystals, let your makeup look like a fashion statement. The sky is the limit.