Halloween costume and makeup trends change from year to year. Be it popular series like Game of Thrones or Stranger Things, to political scandals and celebrity mishaps, Halloween costumes have now come to echo much of what’s going on in popular culture—for better or for worse.
But if you’re looking for a last-minute option, chances are you’ll need to stick to some of the more tried-and-true option. Here in Austin, sugar skull makeup and Dia de los Muertos costumes have become a staple Halloween costume for women. Luckily, it’s also one of the easy DIY Dia de los Muertos costume (or Day of the Dead) Halloween costumes we can help you with!
How to Make Your DIY Dia de los Muertos Costume for Halloween
With less than $5 and about an hour of shopping at your local Goodwill, plus another hour of crafting at home, you can put together this authentic costume, including DIY flower crown AND easy sugar skull makeup from pantry staples. The best part is you can wear the flower crown, dress, and scarf again for Austin City Limits, Fun Fun Fun Fest or Eeyore’s Birthday—or just wear the dress and some fake blood to put together a Carrie costume, a classic Halloween creeper of a movie character!
What you’ll need for your Day of the Dead Halloween costume:
- White dress
- Black lace (or white lace dyed with RIT)
- Scarf or window textile
- 5 or 6 silk flowers (preferably ones with a flat base)
- Headband
- Glue gun
How to assemble your costume:
- Using a hot glue gun, apply a nickel-size amount of glue stick to your headband, starting a thumb’s length from the bottom on one side, and press the base of your silk flower firmly in place.
- Repeat until all flowers are in place, each a thumb’s length apart, to create a crown.
- If you’re using silk flowers with removable bases, separate the flowers one by one and drape your silk scarf over the tack base, then put the flower back on top.
- Repeat until your scarf is secured to your flower crown. If you don’t have silk flowers with removable bases, draw a thick line of hot glue across the back of your headband (behind the silk flowers) and press your scarf firmly in place, repeating in sections.
Easy Sugar Skull Makeup for Your Costume
Use the cheap and easy DIY recipe below to create your authentic sugar skull makeup, or to save time check out the selection of readymade face paint available for purchase in the Halloween section of each of our Goodwill stores.
What you’ll need for the makeup:
- Cold cream
- Cornstarch
- Food coloring
- Flat makeup brush or small paintbrush
How to create and apply the makeup:
- In a small bowl, mix together 2 teaspoons of cornstarch with 1 teaspoon of cold cream and one teaspoon of cold water.
- Add food coloring, then whisk immediately using a small knife or spoon, taking care not to let the cornstarch sit in the wet ingredients for more than a few seconds or it will clump.
- Once combined, add additional drops of food coloring until desired color is reached, then apply.
Be sure to wash your face and any area to which you'll be applying makeup, then dry thoroughly.
- Apply a thin coat of cold cream to your entire face.
- Using a cotton ball, gently pat cornstarch over the cold cream, taking e care not to let any pieces of cotton stick (or use your fingers).
- With the flat makeup brush or paintbrush, apply a thin layer in long strokes and let dry completely.
- Pat with cornstarch and repeat, as many times as necessary, to get the smooth, even look you desire.
For a step-by-step tutorial on how to get that authentic design, check out this 5-minute sugar skull makeup video tutorial from beauty blogger Amanda Ensing.
Get What You Need for your DIY Dia de los Muertos Halloween Costume
Goodwill’s got you covered for all of your last-minute Halloween costume needs. Visit one of our Goodwill retail locations to find budget-friendly items and makeup to craft a look that’ll be a hit this Halloween.
In this article, we will take a look at the strangest costumes of the strangest Mexican festival – the Day of the Dead. And despite of this very specific festival, we found there a couple of great ideas for your future parties, e.g. Halloween, horror party or any other outrageous and unusual holiday. Have a look at bright day of the dead costumes for men and women and chose an idea for you future costume for Halloween or a party like this.Contents
1. Meeting the ancestors with all the rules of the Day of the Dead
Dia de los muertos is a kind and very bright festival. It is a traditional day of the dead, the special time to greet the passed away ancestors.
Ideas of black dresses glowing in the dark for the day of the dead festival by ETEREshop
2. Original ideas for the Day of the dead men and women costumes
The idea of men's outfits
3. Merry deadmen and deadwomen costumes during the day of the dead
The holiday, which is celebrated on November 1 and 2, is like a family reunion—except dead ancestors are the guests of honor.
Day of the dead outfit ideas by ETEREshop
4. Best sugar skull makeups of the dia de los muertos outfit
3D masks for the Day of the dead by ETEREshop
5. Calavera or Catrin’s makeup for traditional Mexican clothing day of the dead
Accessories ideas for the Day of the Dead Festival by ETEREshop
6. New Style of Sugar Skull Makeup - rhinestones, sequins and other decorations
Liked the selection? Subscribe to our accounts, there you will find a lot of the same interesting information and a lot of selections from other events, from Oscars to rock music festivals.