Blood Makeup Tutorial | 10-Step Definitive Guide

Written by Skye Rhodes Last Updated: Jan 9, 2025

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Working with blood makeup to create spooky looks is never an easy task; however, it’s a trend nowadays, especially in the month of Halloween.

To create such amazing spooky makeup looks, blood makeup tutorials are what you need.

After watching tons of videos on the Internet, there’s still a chance that you won’t succeed.

Blood Makeup Tutorial

Blood makeup is never an easy task, as it’s quite messy, sticky, and tricky.

Considering some key steps while creating such looks can make a big difference and help you a lot.

Step 1: Things You Will Need

If you create a blood makeup look, add some more effects so that you don’t just look injured or wounded, but awesome, and attractive too.

Let’s add a zombie effect.

Things you will need:

• Moisturizer/primer
• Foundation
• Whiteface paint
• Red face paint
• Fake blood (which we’ll get to know how to make later on)
• Black face paint
• Eyeliner
• Eye shadow palette (containing warm and deep shades)
• False thick, long eyelashes
• Costume (zombie costume)

Step 2: How to Apply

Before starting, you’ll have to first apply moisturizer or primer so that the paint doesn’t get into your skin pores because it will be difficult to get the stain out later.

Now is the time to use white face paint.

Mix your paint with the foundation so as not to appear pale.

Don’t just apply white face paint so you don’t turn into a ghost.

Use a brush for the application, as the beauty blender or sponge will soak most of the paint.

Starting from the face, move toward the neck, and don’t forget the neck, because otherwise, what will people say?

Pun intended!

Use the brush to apply the paint and foundation into your skin evenly.

Use some loose powder later to set everything up.

Now use red paint, or if you have any red eyeshadow though it’s hard to find, use red paint instead.

Apply around your eyes to make them look like a panda.

Now mix a little bit of black face paint into the red to make the red darker and more defining.

Add another layer of dark red paint which we just made, apply around eyes to give them a realistic and blood type look.

Step 3: Adding Colors

Now, using your beautiful eye shadow palette, make use of dark shades like brown, black, maroon, and rusty shades.

It will deepen the look and enhance the blood type effects.

Now your eyes will look blood red, horrific, and wounded.

Step 4: Adding Depths

Use black paint to deepen your eyes a bit more.

Just apply black paint around the eyes, on the upper eyelids, and the lower eyelids.

You will be already looking spooky and terrific.

You can also use black paint to add more dimensions around your ear or on your neck.

But if you are not good at makeup skills, skip this step.

Use black paint to outline your jawline.

Draw diagonal lines under your cheekbone as if contouring your face with black paint.

It will define your bony structure and enhance the zombie-like effect.

Step 5: Adding Fake Blood

Add purple and red eye shadows around the black paint, wherever you applied it.

Purple and red paint will give more dimension and deepen the look making it more realistic.

Apply purple and red eyeshadow to the eyes to make them look wounded, puffy, and enlarged.

Blending the black paint with purple and red eye shadows helps the wound look real and avoid looking like a raccoon or panda.

You can use the fake blood here, too, to add spookiness.

Just apply fake blood under the eyes and let it flow like tears, but not way too long.

Stop applying fake blood when you reach the cheekbone or to the middle of your face.

When the blood dries, add a purple, red, and black shadow around the dried blood.

The wound will look real so you can keep on adding more color until you reach the required wound effect.

The blood shouldn’t look like tears but wounds, and that’s why you need to spread it at least one inch at each side of the face.

Step 6: Drawing Veins

Use eyeliner to outline your eyelids.

You can fill your waterline with black eyeliner or pencil.

Fill in your eyebrows using brown shade because using black shade will take off the intense eye look.

Use a fine or sharp brush to draw veins, use dark red paint to draw them, and for this, as we already discussed, mix some black paint into the red.

Add veins in many directions to make them look real, and make sure to make them thinnest.

A pro tip is to draw lines to your hand first to see the thinness.

After that, draw veins around the eye area, where you applied paint, just around that paint.

Draw thin lines with red paint first, then use dark red.

After that, use fake blood, dip into the sponge, and dab the sponge lightly to your hand or some other surface to make the sponge a little dry, and add more veins using fake blood.

Now, dab the sponge onto the veins, which will affect the veins that have burst with blood is coming out of them.

Step 7: Lashes for a Dramatic Look

Add false lashes if you want a more dramatic look.

Add false lashes at the outer edges of your eyes.

For this purpose, cut them in half, now use the outer half to the outer edge of your eyes.

Your eyes will look bigger and defined and somewhat pretty.

Consider using black paint to outline your lips, but a little outside the lips.

Give your lips a curved shape, for the love of Joker’s character, just like that.

Next, fill in your lips with red or dark red paint.

The lips’ outline should be thick.

Blend the inner side of this black paint with dark red paint, and then the most inner part, which we call the butt hole of the lips, should be blended with a red shade.

Step 8: Drawing more Veins

Just like we drew veins around eyes, draw more veins around your bottom lip.

Use red color at first to draw thin, uneven lines(remember they must be thin).

Use fake coagulated blood to add more veins.

Then add a more deep look, using black paint, even as you bear in mind that the veins must be thinnest.

Using a sponge just as you did before, dab the blood-soaked sponge on the veins we drew earlier.

You can use your fingers too for the dabbing process.

You can use rusty, warm-toned eyeshadows, too, to deepen the look.

Step 9: DIY Costume

Wear the most suitable costume with your look.

To create a spooky look, add bloodstains to your costume.

Mix food coloring into water and splatter it onto your costume, and you can use a simple white frock for that purpose.

Spray red paint to your outfit, not all over, but on a few spots, and use dark red color for the blood.

You will splatter at the area around your neck.

Using dark-colored blood on the neckline and shoulders will create the effect that the blood you smeared onto your face dripped to your costume.

Ripped clothes will go best with this blood makeup look.

Step 10: Fake Wounds

Making Fake Wounds

Adding fake wounds smeared with blood isn’t that hard, and all you need to do is create an incredible illusion.

Also, pranking your friends with these fake wounds is never a bad idea.

You can also add fake wounds to your face, and they will go best with the zombie blood makeup look we created a while ago.

Fake wounds are best for Halloween makeup looks, and there are many ways to create them.

Some are easy, so anyone with little makeup skills can understand.

Making fake wounds using Vaseline

For this purpose, you need these things; Vaseline, toothpick, red, blue, brown lipstick or lip gloss, and some fake blood.

Lipstick will appear as dried blood, and lip gloss will make the fake wound a bit glossy, shiny.

Adding fake blood later will give a more realistic effect.

Start by applying much Vaseline to look like a clot so that the wound will look swollen and thick.

Use a toothpick to draw a line in the clot of Vaseline, parting it up in two.

Blend the outer edges of the Vaseline to even it.

If you want the wound to look fresh, you need to understand the direction of the blood first, that is, the direction where it will be flowing.

Start adding color to the Vaseline using eye shadows, start with red shade at first, then make it dark red, then brown and rusty shades a little bit of black at last.

If you want your wound to look like you were stabbed, this will be the best one.

Add purple eye shadows around your wound, then blend it with yellow, green and blue, to give a bruised effect to the wound.

Blend the surroundings using your foundation that must match your skin.

Add grey inside the wound to make it look deep.

Don’t worry if it looks messy and gross during the process because a wound has to be gross.

Add red lip gloss inside the wound because lipstick might displace the Vaseline, so it’s better to use lip gloss.

Finally, add fake blood to it between the wound and let it flow downward.

The blood should look runny but not too much, so make it stop flowing at a specific length.

You can add this wound to your face, too, if you want to make that zombie look more dramatic.

Making fake wounds using Latex

Latex can be found everywhere, and it’s easy to work with.

All you need to have is Latex, brushes, plain tissue paper (without designs), fake blood, eye shadows, and newspaper to spread beneath so that you don’t create a mess all around

Start by using liquid Latex, apply a thin layer of it in a random shape, wherever you want your wound to be, stick newspaper on top.

Latex dries quickly, so you have to work quickly, but don’t rush and panic.

When the Latex dries, remove the extra tissue paper, apply more Latex on top, and another tissue paper layer.

Again remove the extra tissue paper, giving roughness, which you need for a wound.

Add more layers of tissue paper repeating the steps, make it as thick as you want your wound to be.

Now, cut the tissue paper from the center; it’ll look like scratch and stab.

Make the wound look open, and you can also use tweezers or scissors for the cutting.

Once you form a hole in the center, start adding colors just like we did before.

Blend the outer edges of tissue paper with the foundation that matches your skin tone.

Add red, dark red, brown eyeshadow in between the whole that we created.

Add purple and pink shades to enhance the effects or make an illusion.

Next, blend it with yellow and green on the outer edges and use blue to make it look like a bruise.

Time to add the fake blood, add fake blood between the wound where we created a hole.

That’s the point where you were stabbed, so add coagulated blood for realistic effects.

Make the blood flow a little bit, add drips to make it look real, and use splatter paint for this purpose.

Making fake wounds without Latex

What if you don’t have Latex?

Don’t worry, you can still create a fake wound without Latex.

All you need is white glue(Elmer’s school glue would fit best), makeup brushes, foundation, eye shadows, and last but not the least, the main thing, fake blood.

Spread the newspaper to avoid a mess, and wear clothes which you don’t feel anxious to ruin.

Elmer’s glue is friendly, so it won’t irritate.

Use plain tissue paper (without designs) and start by applying the white glue layer, stick a little piece of tissue on top, and wait for it to dry.

Now, tear the extra tissue paper to give roughness, and add more layers in the same way.

Two layers are sufficient, but adding more layers will deepen the wound.

Apply a lot of glue to the outer edges of the wound, but you won’t be able to do this in one turn.

So let the glue dry each time, and add more because the more you add glue, the more your wound will look real.

Use a hairdryer to make the process less time-consuming. This way, you will not lose your temper.

Once you are satisfied with the edges’ thickness, start adding color to it using the foundation of your matching skin tone.

Even out the edges, the foundation will easily blend into the tissue paper to give an incredible illusion.

Use brushes for blending, and if you try to do this step using your fingers, the tissue might tear or come off.

That’s why it’s better to use brushes.

Cut the tissue layers from between, cut as long as you want your fake wound to be.

Keep pressing the tissues so that they don’t appear unreal, and press it to join all the layers you applied.

Time to add colors, use purple on the outer edges, also blend the purple with black to deepen it.

Add red, dark red shades between the cuts that you have created.

Fill in the cut to make the fake wound look as if a zombie scratched you.

Add more colors to enhance the effects, and coagulated blood to make it look real and complete.

Splatter some blood around the fake wound, add a little bit of runny fake blood to make it flow downward.

Here’s your fake wound, which is no more fake but will look too real scaring your friends in parties or pranks.

It’s all part of the illusion.

If you want to remove the fake wound, simply wash it with room temperature water.

It will easily come off, and use makeup, removing water to eliminate the stains.

How To Get the Fake Blood – With Required Consistency?

While creating blood makeup looks, of course, we need blood, but we already don’t have enough in ourselves, so the next course of action is to make fake blood.

Although there are many types of readymade blood available in markets, if you have a low budget, you can DIY so make sure to read the next step.

Blood consistency depends on the type of blood you want to work with.

If you want to create a fresh wound, you will need runny blood.

You can mix food coloring (red color) in water.

To make congealed blood for deep wounds, you can add corn starch, food coloring, and hot water.

Add cornstarch according to the required consistency or thickness.

You can also use mashed banana or mashed boiled potato to make the blood thick.

To get realistic purple blood, simply add blue and red food coloring.

For the consistency, you desire, continue to add cornstarch little by little until you are satisfied with the consistency.

Manufactured blood products

Readymade blood comes in many types.

Liquid blood

Liquid blood comes in various red colors for either artery or vein blood.

It’s used to create fresh wounds and to create flowing and running blood effects.

Powdered blood

Powdered blood is easy to use, as you just need to add water to activate it.

You can add cornstarch as we discussed before and water to do the opposite to thicken it.

To make large wounds and live wounds, this type is very effective.

Splatter blood

Splatter blood comes in spray bottles to create messy blood effects.

You need to spray the blood on the required area, so keep your eyes close when spraying on the face.

This type of blood is effective in treating bruises and scratches.

Any blood can be used to create a splatter effect.

You can use an old toothbrush, so dip it into runny blood type, and flicker off the bristles to splatter the blood.

Eye blood

Eye blood is a special type to use in the eyes while creating swollen eye looks or burst blood vessels eye looks.

Please don’t use any other blood type, as they might contain ingredients that may irritate or affect your eyes.

Scab blood

Scab blood type is dark in color and rusty, and it’s used to create old wounds.

It gives a clotted effect due to the thickness.

Capsulated blood

If you want blood in your mouth, capsulated blood will save your day.

Just place the capsule in your mouth, and bite into it at the exact time when you need blood coming out of your mouth.

The blood and the saliva mix and create a good consistency.

Coagulated blood

This type is a thick one, a jelly-like product.

It helps create realistic deep wound effects, moist and shiny wounds to attract the audience as this blood type is between fresh blood and dried one.

The wounds will look deep and somewhat fresh, but the blood will not be running or flowing and can be dried too, to save you from the mess.

Wound filler

Last but not least is this most important type, blood filler.

As the name suggests, wound filler is used to fill created wounds, with long-lasting effects.

Kryolan is the best brand to get your wound filler.

Just give the product a good shake and apply it directly into your fake wound or cuts to fill the gap.

Final Thoughts

When making fake wounds, using fake blood to create illusions is not as hard as it sounds, but it’s a thorough fun activity.

All you need to do is to enjoy the process and try different techniques.

If you have read the above steps, you are good to go to prank your friends and to attend many Halloween parties with your blood makeup look.

I hope this 10-step definitive guide will help you look classy and breathtaking rather than simply looking like a ghost.