Halloween Headquarters

Dampen the tip of a makeup sponge in water, then use the white makeup to coat the whole face, including the lips. For a whiter look, let the first coat of paint dry and reapply.

Trick: Barely wet the tip of the sponge before dipping it into the makeup. Re-wet as needed, but keep it moist, not dripping. The extra moisture makes the makeup application smoother.

Using the makeup sponge, outline the contours of the face with the black makeup. Key spots to highlight are the temples, around the eyes (the whole socket), under the cheekbones, and below the jawline. Use your child's facial bones as guides and color around them. The effect you ultimately want is one of a skull, so anything around the big bones should be in shadow.

Trick: For a deeper color, use liquid Aquacolor makeup to outline contours. Pinch the end of the makeup sponge to color the skin around and close to the eyes. To get even closer, use a small paintbrush.

Creating detailed bone cracks and teeth: With the paintbrush and black paint, make "cracks" in the bones around the eyes starting at the inner eye socket. Make quick, short strokes toward the bridge of the nose and above and below the inner eye socket, as shown.

Trick: To get used to the stroke, sketch it on paper a few times before painting it on your ghoul-to-be.

Next, blacken out the bottom and sides of the nose (around the bone). Makeup artist Elizabeth says to think of drawing two upside-down teardrops, starting at the nostrils. She also suggests making one "teardrop" a little higher than the other for a realistic skull effect.

For the mouth/teeth, start by flattening out the hairs of the small paintbrush. Have your child close his lips, then draw a black line from the outer corner of the lips straight across the middle of the lips and to the opposite outer corner. Draw straight lines up and down for the teeth, starting from the middle of the lip. As you move outward, be sure to make the lines shorter.

Finish off your ghoulish costume with a homemade or store-bought hooded cape, available at most Halloween costume stores.

To bring you these face-painting tips, professional make-up artist Elizabeth Villamarin shared her bag of tricks with writer Grace Ganssle.

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