How to Do Modern Vampire Makeup for Halloween

Once again, the Twilight series of books and movies has made vampire Halloween costumes a very popular choice for parties and trick or treating. Goth makeup application can either make or break your costume. Dracula white face paint and dripping faux blood not longer cuts it for Halloween costume events.

The first ting to remember when creating a modern undead look is not to go too light with your foundation color choice. Vampires are the living dead, they did not fall into a vat of Clorox. Manic Panic Makeup, available at www.vampfangs.com, or your local Hot Topic store makes the perfect foundations for a vampire pallor.

Fangs are an important element of any successful vampire Halloween costume. The days of tacky plastic fangs that impaired speech are long gone. An enduring fascination with vampire culture has inspired many companies to create realistic fangs and veneers that are Hollywood special effects quality. I am a big fan of Scarecrow Petite Fangs, but many different styles including retractable fangs can be found at www.vampfangs.com.

Lining your eyes to compliment your vampire Halloween Costume presents a problem. There are two directions that you can go with this detail. You can opt for a classic, black-lined, Gothic look that is best achieved with a gel liner and plenty of black mascara, or for a modern vampire look, use red. Apply the red eye (or lip) liner close to the upper lashes and on the inside, and outside of lower lashes. Use a cosmetic brush to blend the liner into the lash line. Finish off this look with a light coat of mascara that matches your natural lashes.

I absolutely cannot stand the fake blood dribbling from the corner of the mouth of any costumed vampire. This is quite simply tacky, as well as being indicative of a messy eater. To get a "just been feeding" look, apply a red lip stain to your lips and the apples only of your cheeks. This will add a flushed tint to those areas that is impressively smudge proof so it will not transfer to your next "victim".

Stringy, black vampire hair is very dated, so is the slicked back look. I prefer Gothic, tousled curls in any color. To achieve a naturally undead look, roll hair in hot rollers or with a medium-barreled curling iron and spray with a firm hold hairspray as you style. When all of your hair has been curled and cooled, flip your head over and shake out the curls with your fingers before spraying again. You can tease the crown area for more height. If you do decide on black tresses, temper them with streaks or clip in extensions of a vivid color like blood red or electric blue. Happy Hunting!