Dia de los muertos dress up ideas

9.15.2022

Easy, Cheap DIY Dia de los Muertos Halloween Costume

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:

1. 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.
2. Repeat until all flowers are in place, each a thumb’s length apart, to create a crown.
3. 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.
4. 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:

1. In a small bowl, mix together 2 teaspoons of cornstarch with 1 teaspoon of cold cream and one teaspoon of cold water.
2. 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.
3. 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.

1. Apply a thin coat of cold cream to your entire face.
2. 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).
3. With the flat makeup brush or paintbrush, apply a thin layer in long strokes and let dry completely.
4. 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.

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El Día de Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, originated in Mexico. It is now celebrated in Portugal, Spain, and many other Latin American countries. Many U.S. cities that are home to large numbers of Hispanic people also hold celebrations.

The purpose of the Day of the Dead is to honor, remember and celebrate loved ones who have died. It falls on November 2, coinciding with the Catholic All Saints Day (November 1) and All Souls Day (November 2). It's just chance that it comes right after Halloween, which is of Celtic origin. There is no connection between the two celebrations.   

The roots of Día de Los Muertos go back to indigenous peoples before Europeans came to Central and South America. The Maya believed that their ancestors' spirits stayed with them and wanted offerings of food from the living. The Aztecs had a festival in early autumn to honor Mictecacihuatl, their queen or goddess of the underworld or "Lady of the Dead." She is the inspiration for the Calavera Catrina, a popular Day of the Dead costume and decor theme. The Catrina is a colorfully decorated skeleton or just a skull. Then, in the 1500s, Spanish explorers and missionaries brought the Catholic faith to the region. The native traditions became absorbed into and mixed with the imported ones.   

To non-Hispanics, this may seem macabre, but modern celebrations of Día de Los Muertos are festive and fun. Families set up altars called ofrendas in their homes. They decorate them with candles, sugar skulls, and marigolds. They also display photos, possessions and favorite foods of their departed loved ones. They believe that when the souls of the dead see their altar, they take in the spiritual essence of the food. The living can and do eat the food after the celebration, but they believe that it lacks any nutritional value at that point. They wear skeleton or Calaveras Catrinas masks and costumes, like the ones we have. They gather in cemeteries to decorate the graves, pray for, and tell stories about their departed loved ones.   

Even if you're not Hispanic, you can join in a celebration of Día de Los Muertos in one of our skeleton or Day of the Dead costumes. Dress up in a Catrina costume or a sugar skull costume for the ultimate look. We have styles and sizes for the whole family, with Day of the Dead masks, makeup, and other accessories to complete any costume. 

To host a Day of the Dead party, decorate your home with marigold flowers and some of our skull or skeleton-themed items. Maybe even set up an ofrenda. Then find some sugar skulls at a Mexican market, look up a recipe for "pan de muerto" (bread of the dead), and you're ready for a fiesta!

What do you wear to a Dia de los Muertos party?

Is it OK to dress up as Day of the Dead?

What can I dress up as C?

What are the Day of the Dead dresses called?