A Cheap Easy Way to Make Fake Wounds

 

Halloween is coming very soon! I know I'm a little late for this, but this is great for those last minute costumes, and most of these items can be found in your home!

This tutorial doesn't require prosthetics such as liquid latex, scar wax, & spirit gum. Although these are very helpful, they can be very pricey & hard to find. The main item that you will need for the "rotting skin" effect is eyelash glue.

 

NOTE: If you are allergic to latex I suggest you do NOT use this. Eyelash glue has latex labeled in the ingredients & some people have an allergic reaction to it. This means when you apply the glue to your face, if it burns & itches or irritates the skin in anyway, grab makeup remover & remove it right away along with soap and water. If you happen to be allergic to it, you might have to stick with the pricey products. It's better to be safe than sorry sometimes. 

Here are the items I will be using

 

 From left to right: Red lipstick (preferably with a glossy [not shimmery] finish!) It doesn't really matter what shade of red you use. Red lipgloss works just as great! Make sure neither has a shimmery finish. 

Next, Eyelash glue. Make sure it dries CLEAR. Ones that dry black are going to be harder to make look natural.

Now for brushes, you don't need the exact kind as me. As long as you have 1 or 2 small flat brushes that can reach crevices for the contouring & one blending brush, then you're in the clear. 

Then there's the Q-tip. This will be to pat the foundation over the eyelash glue to match skin tone. The reason why I am using this instead of a concealer brush or makeup sponge is because lots of you are most likely to find Q-tips in your home.

 

 

 Foundation

 

 Grab a foundation about the same color as your skin. If it is too dark, than that is fine too, because it will conceal the light-colored glue a little better. I'm just using Revlon ColorStay. You can use whatever brand you like. ^_^

 

 

 

 

Eyeshadows

 

I am going to be using my Coastal Scents 88 Original Palette. If you have one of these or something similar (can be BH Cosmetics or Ebay palettes), you can use these & go along with me. If you don't have these, that's okay, just as long as you have a similar color to the eyeshadows that I number and list, then you are good to go.

 

Just make sure the colors are MATTE. No shimmer. Matte will make the contouring look more natural. If you use shimmer, not only will it make it look less natural, it will also reflect light from the shimmer and take away the depth from the contouring when being taken with a flash camera.

I will number them, and by the numbers, I will list the colors & what they will be used for.

Click this link to make image larger

(Sorry for the terrible quality on the picture. My phone likes to resize pictures -_-)

Okay listing the colors by numbers:

1. Skin tone shade. You need this to set the liquid foundation with when you apply it over the dried eyelash glue. *This actually depends on the shade & tone of your skin, so choose accordingly please.* I am a fair to medium skin tone, so I am choosing the shade numbered. The purpose of this shadow is to set the liquid foundation and keep it from slipping.

2. Red shade. This will act as a base for the "blood" & will cover the skin tone inside & outside the "wound."

3. Medium Brown shade. (or 2 shades darker than your skin tone) This will help contour the inside and out of the wound.

 

4. Dark Brown shade. (Or 3-4 shades darker than your skin tone) This will help gradually darken the blood and the contouring along with shadow number 3.

5. Black shade. This will go in the crevices making the wound look more realistic & 3 dimensional as well as giving the skin a "rotting flesh" effect.

STEP 1:

Apply the lash glue in any form you want that resembles a "wound","sore", ect. Make sure the shape is enclosed. If there are any bubbles (like you can see on my hand), you can either leave them be or pop them. I left them on because it gives the skin more of a "rotting" effect.

This may be the longest step to do, which is waiting for it to dry. Try putting your hand in front of a fan or use a COOL setting on a blow dryer to speed up the process. I wouldn't recommend hot air, because it can possibly melt the glue.

 

You will know when the glue is dry when you touch it. If you can touch it without the glue sticking to your fingers, then it's ready. Also the color and texture will change too when it is dried, like in the picture. Notice the bubbles added a nasty texture as well ;) Now we are ready for step 2.

STEP 2:

Grab your Q-tip (If you have a cosmetic sponge, that will work also), dab a little bit onto the q-tip or sponge, and LIGHTLY dab the foundation onto the dried glue. If you press too hard, the glue will lose its shape and can possibly tear, ruining your progress.

As you can see, it looks really messy & some of the foundation oxidized a bit, so the color is different now, but that's okay because it will be gone over with the skin tone eyeshadow (#1) & the other shadows. Moving on to step 4.

STEP 4:

After applying with skin tone eyeshadow over glue.

Apply the red eyeshadow (#2) inside the shape and along the outside. The reason why we are putting red on the outside, is to give the "sore" an irritated look. MOST (if not all) sores have red halos around them. Use your blending brush to evenly blend the outside of the shape, and so it fades outward onto the skin.

STEP 5:

Apply the medium brown shade (#3) along the sides inside the shape. Do not go in the middle. Just the sides. This gives depth.

STEP 6:

 

 Take the dark brown shade (#4) and apply it along the sides inside the wound, and make it darker in the crevices & corners. Try not to blend too much or it will look muddy. Do the same step on the outside as you did inside.

Do not go completely over the red on the outside, you still want it to show through a little.

As you can see, I also applied some of the shadow on the glue part to darken the skin as if it is "rotting" and to get rid of the shininess.

STEP 7: ALMOST DONE!

 

 

Apply the black shade (#5) ONLY ON THE CREVICE AREAS & CORNERS. Don't apply this shade all the way around. This is just to give the wound a little more depth.

STEP 8:

 

 

Take the small flat eyeshadow brush (a Q-tip can still work for this) or lip brush and apply the red lipgloss/lipstick on the inside of the shape. 

Apply by using PATTING MOTIONS ONLY. If you swipe, you can have the possibility of smearing the contoured shades making everything look muddy and not so 3D anymore. Don't be afraid to apply a little bit of the "blood" on the glue. 

The purpose of the lipstick/lipgloss is to make the wound look like real blood is coming out. (Obviously) :P

 

 And now we're finished!

 

Without flash

 

With flash

 

Side view to show 3 dimensional effect.

 

I also used it for a "Zombie" look.

 

I hope you guys enjoyed this blog tutorial! If you have any questions, feel free to ask me!

Happy Halloween!