Sugar skull makeup is a time-honored tradition for celebrating the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos). This seasonal cosmetic look allows you to try something new when going out on the town. These sugar skull makeup tutorials will allow you to get creative with your Day of the Dead makeup and design a face to remember.

Flowers
Add bright, colorful flowers with lots of petals across your forehead, cheeks, nose, and chin. Continue this look in your hair by adding fresh flowers and follow up with a lei wrapped around your neck.



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Go Punk
Add in robotic elements for a cool steampunk sugar skull makeup look. Some fun robotic elements include knobs, dials, and gears painted on your cheeks.



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Zombify Yourself
Use a bright eyeliner pencil to draw in drops of blood or face paint for bits of green flesh for a zombie Day of the Dead makeup look.



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A Pop of Color
Go with a darker sugar skull look by using only black and white. Then, choose a surprisingly bright red color for your lips that will contrast with the rest of your appearance.



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Dusty Cobwebs
Draw on some dark black cobwebs and dust them with glitter to look like a forgotten skeleton that has just been discovered in a ray of light. Be sure to add a few creepy crawlies and wear a spider ring or put a few plastic arachnids in your updo.



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Dark Eyes
Apply several thick layers of glittering deep purple and black eye shadow overlapping each other. This will give the effect of the darkened orbits of a skull.



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Get Toothy
A great skull still has all of its teeth. Add in some extra fun tooth elements, such as glitter and gold for a rap-star effect.



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Sparkle and Shine
Incorporate some bright red, purple, or blue rhinestones around your eyes or strategically place them in the center of flowers for a dimensional and sparkling effect. You can also do this to create an exotic sugar skull look.



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Go Natural
Allow some of your natural skin color to show through by skipping the white base that is traditionally used on a sugar skull. Choose one main color, like pink, to contrast with the black and white details.



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Go Simple
Make an outline of a skull by drawing a black line just under the apples of your cheeks. Highlight the vacant areas of skulls with black by painting the tip of your nose and around your eyes.



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Try a Half-faced Skull
If you do not have the time to do an entire sugar skull or worry about it not being symmetrical, try a half face. This is similar to a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde costume but with a prettier and edgier touch.



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Be Monochromatic
If you don't want to paint your face every shade of the rainbow, try using just one contrast hue, like blue, in places that would normally be filled in black. You can match your outfit to the color you choose to complement your white base makeup.



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Get Detailed
Instead of making a splash with lots of bold colors and large designs, you could opt to use a sharp eyeliner pencil or liquid eyeliner to draw intricate designs in black and fill them in with a subtle color.



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Branch Out
For an even more outrageous effect, don't limit the skull effect to just your face. Try drawing skeletal details on your arms, chest, and neck.



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