Black & White Movie Star Makeup Tutorial

#HallowCleanFaceOff #CollectiveBias

The links in this post may be affiliate links.  That means that if you click them and make a purchase, this site makes a commission.  It will have no impact on the price you pay or the experience of your purchase.

I actually had the idea for this Halloween costume like a dozen years ago, I've just never gotten around to executing it. Because, honesty time, makeup application is not my strongest skill, and I've always been really intimidated by it.

That said, now that I jumped in, I really kept it simple and am happy with how it turned out!

Before you get started, go ahead and put on whatever you're going to wear for the costume; you don't want to try to change your clothes once your face is all done. 🙂

Supplies needed

I purchased simple tubes of black and white makeup from the Halloween store; I figured it would be the easiest to be able to blend my own shades of grey this way, without buying a dozen packages of makeup. A couple of make up sponges and cotton swabs for application, a found a great eyeshadow palette in all shades of grey, a felt tip eyeliner, and of course, my Neutrogena makeup remover towelettes were close at hand to salvage mistakes.

I also had some fake eyelashes (which I didn't end up using) and some easy designer eyeliner stickers I had found at the Halloween store.

Using a paper plate as my palette I put some white makeup down first and added the black really slowly, so that it didn't get too dark too fast. I also wanted to err on the side of mixing up too much, rather than trying to match colors if I had to do mix up more. (For proportion, it was about a quarter-sized dollop of white, to about an eraser sized bit of black.)

Application

Starting with a clean face and a makeup sponge, I applied the first layer of grey all over.

Once I had a base coat, I switched to using my fingers to fill in spots where my skin showed through. I also felt more comfortable puting it closer to my eyes when using my fingers instead of the sponge. I put very little on my eyelids, because I knew I was going to go over it with the eyeshadow later, so I wanted good skin there for that.

I didn't cover my ears or too far into my hairline, because I had the scarf and hat combo for props. Also, because the thought of coating my ears in makeup squicks me out. 🙂

Once I had my base coat, I just needed to add the details… I applied the eyeliner stickers and eyeliner, but skipped the fake lashes because my eyelids can only multitask so much and the thought of the stickers AND lashes was just too much to deal with! LOL

I used a pure black on my brows, and a dark grey for my lips. I actually had my mom help with the eyeliner, because I couldn't rest my hand on my own face to steady myself, so it was easier to have someone else do it.

All I need now is the accessories!

Finishing Touches

I arranged the scarf and hat to cover up the non-painted skin, and I'm ready to go! Black and white clothes are easy, so this is actually a pretty simple costume, and it's limitless how far you can take it.

After the Party

I think one of the most intimidating parts of taking on a full-face makeup effect like this is what happens after the party… getting all of that stuff OFF your face and getting back to your normal self.

Thankfully, Neutrogena Makeup Remover Towelettes are the perfect solution. Even with my sensitive skin, they're one of my most favorite products. They smell nice, they work incredibly well, and they do such a good job that I don't still feel like I need to scrub my face after using them. They are clinically proven to remove 99.3% of your most stubborn makeup, even waterproof mascara, leaving your face fresh, clean, and in full color. 😉

The towelettes are great for on-the-go, but I also really like the Ultra-Light Cleansing Oil, when I have more time for a more comprehensive skin routine. Both products are readily available at Walmart, so you can pick them next time you're there.

When all was said and done, I ended up using four towelettes to get my face back to normal. But a normal day's makeup would easily be taken care of with a single towelette.

Have you ever done a full-face Halloween makeup before? What are you doing this year for Halloween?