I’ll be the first to admit that Halloween makeup tutorials have always intimidated me on an extreme level, mostly because the idea of having to essentially create “art” on myself sounded impossible.
I watch in awe at how talented these YouTubers are at creating beautiful work, using their own face as the canvas. So, I decided to face my fears and attempt a fairly easy Halloween costume idea this year: a deer costume. The best part is that it looks intricate and complicated, but I promise it's very easy. Anyone can try it (with a little patience)!
I teamed up with the ever-so-talented Caroline Hernandez, senior artist for MAC Cosmetics, for a step-by-step Halloween tutorial on how to turn myself into a deer. Here goes nothing!
1. Fill in your brows so that they’re thick, defined and drawn toward your nose.
Make sure to choose a shade similar to your natural brow.
2. Apply mascara only on the top lashes and try an exaggerated cat eye with black liquid liner.
Draw the liner so that it comes outward and really opens up your eyes.
3. You want your eyes to look as big and open as possible, so also draw a black line underneath your natural eye.
If you’re afraid of messing up the line, draw a tester line first with a lighter shade and then go over it with the black cream liner.
4. For the perfectly sweet deer nose, start by using brown eye shadow and a brush to draw a line down your nose, starting at your eyebrows.
Then draw a brown line underneath your cheekbones for added definition. It's sort of like an exaggerated contour that you won't fully blend in.
5. For deer cheeks (so cute), you want a strong peach blush.
Don't be afraid to cover the apples of your cheeks and sweep it upward toward your ears.
6. Next step, add faux lashes — even on the bottom!
Once the bottom lashes were added on, I felt instantly more like a deer.
7. Finish off the nose.
Use a black eyeliner pencil to draw around the nasal tip and down the center line to the lips.
8. My deer freckles were next, perhaps one of the cutest components of this look.
A pale beige pencil liner is the perfect color for the freckles, followed by white eye shadow directly on top of each dot, applied with a cotton swab.
9. Then, with the black eyeliner, line your top lip only and fill it in.
Then fill in your nose with any black face paint or makeup.
10. Lightly dab the cream-colored liner on the bottom lip so it becomes more of a gray color. And add some antlers!
Oh, deer! You nailed it.
This story was originally published Oct. 5, 2015.