This Pop Art Halloween Makeup Is Hauntingly Beautiful

If you just so happen to not be dressing up as Harley Quinn, a glam unicorn, or a Snapchat filter for Halloween this year, then you’re in luck, because we’ve got the perfect costume for you. Inspired by makeup artist Mykie’s stunning take on pop art, this watercolor makeup will have you looking like you belong in a comic book strip. Think: bright colors, bold graphics, and black outlines.

So with that in mind, we teamed up with Make Up For Ever Director of Education and Artistry Lijha Stewart (also known as the “Queen of Halloween”) to help you reach all your pop art dreams. Read on for the full step-by-step tutorial.

Level of difficulty: On a scale of 1 to 5, we’d rate this a 2 1/2. If you can paint crooked lines, you’ll be able to do this no problem.

Amount of time required: 45 minutes

What you’ll need:
-Your foundation of choice
-Bronzer
-Loose setting powder
-Colored face paint (turquoise, fuchsia, green, blue, and purple)
-Matching colored glitter (optional)
-Black gel eyeliner
-False eyelashes (optional)

Let’s get started!

PHOTO: Photos: Katie Friedman, Design: Emily Kemp

In order to really make this look pop, a clean canvas is a must. Even out your skin tone with a medium-coverage foundation, then set it with a loose, matte powder. Add bronzer for warmth.

Our favorite perfecting foundations: Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation, $43; Urban Decay All Nighter Liquid Foundation, $40.

Before placing any color on your face, decide on which colors you’ll be using. We used five colors (turquoise, fuchsia, acid green, blue, and purple) from the Make Up For Ever Flash Color Palette, $99.

To apply color drips, take a long, angled eye brush (score the one we used here) and start with the lightest color first. With a light hand, draw random, crooked lines down your face starting from your eyelids down to your cheeks. Alternate and layer colors on top of one another as desired (hint: there’s really no method to this—the more random, the better). Next, add color to the sides of your nose and lips.

Face paint options that won’t break the bank: Party City Cream Makeup, $1.99 each; NYX Primal Colors, $5 each.

This step is completely optional, but if you’re as obsessed with glitter as we are (especially on Halloween), then go all out by patting matching-colored glitter on top of the drips with a wet, flat eyeshadow brush.

Glitters we love: BH Cosmetics Glitter Eyeliner, $5.50 each; Urban Decay Heavy Metal Loose Glitter, $6 each.

Time to outline! Using an inky black gel liner, outline your eyebrows, the sides of your nose, your nostrils, eyes, and lips. A gel liner works best here because the creamy texture won’t drag against any existing color or glitter already on your face.

The best gel liners: Tarte Clay Pot Waterproof Liner, $21; L’Oréal Paris Infallible Lacquer Liner 24H Eyeliner, $7.79

Another optional (but worth it) step: False lashes definitely add to the comic book-inspired effect. Choose a pair that have long, tapered hairs, like Make Up For Ever Lash Show Faux Lashes in #C-703, $18.