It’s my favorite time of year, the leaves are turning, the air is crisp, apple cider donuts are aplenty, and the best holiday in existence marks the calendar. DSP is celebrating in style with the event Night of the Living Shred on Sunday, October 23 at the The Note. You’re encouraged to dress up, and what better costume for a skateboardcentric event than a zombie skateboarder. Of course there are plenty of other options to choose from. Some suggestions for other undead costumes include the skater variety of a Dia de Los Muertos skeleton , a mummy, a vampire, a skeleton, or better yet a Zombie hunter; skateboards make for a great zombie killing weapon!

Zombies are super popular right now and although zombie makeup application can seem like an intimidating task, especially for an important event like Night of the Living Shred, I’m here to break it down for you and teach you the basics.

The Basic Zombie

Anyone can easily assemble a basic zombie costume on a small budget. Cheap makeup, homemade fake blood and thrift store clothing tea-stained and ripped for an aged effect won’t break the bank, but with proper time and care you will get amazing results. Achieving an undead hue with regular or low cost theatrical makeup is possible. Drugstores, grocery stores, and Halloween stores sell white cream makeup that you can use as a base to achieve the undead look. Start by coating your face with the white makeup, then add some shades of purple, blue, red, black, or green eyeshadow, or other cream makeups. Multiple shades blended together will create an undead skin color effect. An important tool in this application process is a foundation sponge, or a foundation brush. Both can be purchased at your local drug store for under $10.

Blending is your best friend. Add dark circles under the eyes and blend in a circle around the eyes for a hollowed out eye expression. Don’t worry about looking bad, you’re supposed to look bad. You can also add streaks of darker makeup to your cheekbones and on your lips to create the undead illusion. Adding fake blood will seal the deal. You can use an old paintbush, a stipple sponge, or even your fingers to apply blood to your face wherever you prefer. Either homemade blood, or store bought will work for this task. Many Halloween stores sell tubes of fake blood, but beware the cheaper brands, as they are quite runny and don’t stick as well. To make your own homemade blood you will need corn syrup, flour and food coloring in red and blue.

Combine and mix well:

• 1/2 tsp. of Red food colouring
• 1-2 drops of Blue food colouring
• 1 tsp. Flour
• 4 tsps. Corn Syrup (like Karo)

The Advanced Zombie

If cream makeup and homemade blood just aren’t enough for you, you can take it to the next level of zombie and outshine them all. There are an amazing amount of monster and zombie makeup products on the market. The best brand I’ve found for zombie makeup is Ben Nye, which can be purchased at traditional costume shops, or online. They offer undead color palettes, blood and scab products, liquid latex, and even tooth coloring.

You will also need sponges, foundation and eyeshadow or blush brushes, a hair dryer, toilet paper (optional), patience and various shades of powder eyeshadow. First, apply a thin layer of liquid latex all over your face with a sponge or foundation brush. This will create an aged, decayed skin appearance. I am actually allergic to latex, but use the sensitive skin version of Ben Nye’s liquid latex with little irritation. This layer will dry rather quickly. Add another small amount to an area where you’d like to create a wound. You can now add one ply of toilet paper to your face, or more depending on how large you want your wound to appear. Paint more latex over the toilet paper and let dry. It’s important to cover the paper or it will flake away when you apply the skin color. This will take some time, and I like to use a hair dryer on a cool setting to speed this along. I also like to paint larger amounts of latex on certain areas of my skin to create a more textured dead look. You can also nix the toilet paper and simply layer the latex until a desired wound effect appears. Another option is to paint some latex on your hand and peel it off like you used to do with Elmer’s glue in school. Elmer’s glue will also work if you can’t get ahold of liquid latex. It will take more of it to achieve the wrinkly dead skin and wound appearance, but it will work.

After your base has dried you start adding your new zombie skin color. This is where you can have fun and blend your little heart out. For this demonstration I have used Ben Nye’s “Bruise Wheel” and “Death Wheel” applied with both brushes and sponges. You’ll need to color the latex and toilet paper as well, which is why dry time is so very important. I jumped ahead a little and added some blood because I’m impatient. Try to hold out, or your blood will smear into your skin color. You can also tear away some of the toilet paper to create a gaping wound effect. Don’t forget to repaint it with latex, or it will shed all over your sponges and brushes.

After I get a base of skin color I like to use eyeshadows to achieve a hollowed out, bruised, or dead looking eye area. I used blacks, greys, yellows and greens and blended. I then applied “fresh scab” on the toilet paper/latex wounds and in various other areas. After that has begun to dry I stippled some eyeshadow colors (greens, yellows, blacks, purples, blues, silvers) around the wounds and the entire face. I used yellow near the blood for a plasma colored effect. Since I’m girly and like sparkles I also dabbed sparkly silver shadow around my face. The last photo is an example of a look achieved with liquid latex, eyeshadows, and Halloween Adventure store bought blood. It’s also important that you remember to apply makeup to your ears, neck and hands if they’ll be showing to ensure a complete Zombie experience. You can add wounds to your hands and neck as well using the same techniques as the face. The final step is to seal the look with Ben Nye’s Final Seal to keep your dead look fresh all night, even during the dizzy bat contest.

There will be a zombie makeup booth available on a first come, first serve basis should you wish to have your makeup done for you. All proceeds will benefit the Downingtown Skatepark.

Zombie Makeup Removal

Good luck with that, especially if you’re hairy.