Morticia Addams Tutorial: Happy Halloween

My favorite holiday is upon us. It's a little late, but in case you are looking for some inspiration or help, here is a tutorial on how to transform yourself into Morticia Addams.

I started by using my airbrush machine and the color Arctica to create the deathly white complexion that Morticia is famous for. You don't have to use an air brush. You can use a very light foundation or even mix a white face paint in with your regular foundation.

Arctica and Airbrush

You can see the before and after here. I thought I was white already, but I was wrong. I also noticed that the whiter my skin got the pinker my eyeballs got.

Before and after airbrushing

Next I did some contouring, light and dark. For the light I mixed white cream from my Makeup Forever Flash palette and my concealer.

Here is where I put the lights and the darks. The contoured cheek bones are are very important for this look.

After blending the contouring I started on the eyes. Morticia's eyes have a signature smokey look. I started by using a brown to sketch out the shape. I created a v-shape on the outer corners and pulled it all the way up to the inside of the brow. Then I used the gray and the black from this palette and went over the outer v-shape blending as I went. Do it in small increments and blend. I also used the white on my brow bone and the inner corner of my eyes.

You can see here that I kept darkening the shadow in the outer corner.

I also added a shimmery white to the inner corners. If you black gets to smudgy you can also use a brush with concealer to clean it up.

I then added black eyeliner to the top lid. I used a basic cat eye shape and used a cream liner lightly under the eye. I don't like the way my eyes look with black on the water line so I put it under the lashes and filled the water line with white eyeliner.

Next I drew on the eyebrows. Morticia's eyebrows are black and rounded.

The false eyelashes, mascara and red lips are the final touch. Set it with powder and put on your wig.

Here is the final look.

Vintage Pageboy Hairstyle using Pin Curls

pageboy hairstyle

A pageboy hairstyle is a haircut which is designed for medium to short length hair. In the fifties the pageboy generally stopped at shoulder-length but later renditions saw the hair cut to just below the ear, where it curls under; in a reverse pageboy, the hair is curled outwards.

Here is how to do it using pin curls.

Sculpture Pin Curler

I started with pin curls that I made using the sculpture pin curler tool. You don't need to use this tool, but it keeps the curls uniform and makes the process faster. I alternated rows between rolling up and under curls.

This is what the pin curls look like when finished. I used bobby pins to secure. They are flatter and easier to sleep on than clips. My hair was slightly damp and I used some LottaBody setting lotion that I bought at my local beauty supply store.

I put a sheer scarf over to protect the curls while I slept. Using a sheer scarf is important to allow the curls to dry completely.

This is what my curls looked like after I took all the bobby pins out. Shirley Temple.

This is what my hair looked like after I ran my fingers through it. You need to break up the curls. I like this look.

Then the real magic happens when you start to brush. I used my boar bristle Mason Pearson brush and I just brushed in sections against my hand and rolled the hair under. I used clips to hold the hair in place when I got it to look just like I wanted. Don't worry about losing your curls by brushing too much. Just keep brushing until you tame the fro.

This is the final look. A sculptured pageboy. Because the curls are so strong, I should be able to turn this curl set into another look tomorrow.