With Halloween just around the corner, I thought I’d give you a little heads up on how you can achieve a truly gruesome look that will make you stand out from the crowd. The method is relatively easy and won’t break the bank.

Make-up used:

● I used grease paint in white, grey, black, dark red and brown. I used a set of Kryolan ones from Charles Fox but you can buy them cheaply at most fancy dress shops. Just For Fun sell them for £1.99 each.

● I also used matte eye shadows in white, brown, black and a shimmery green. I used MAC shadows (White Frost, Concrete, Black Tied and Humid) as they were what I have in my kit but most brands will work for this look.

● Tissue/ Kleenex

● Liquid latex. You can buy this cheaply from most fancy dress shops – I bought a tube for under £3 from “Preposterous Presents” which is located in Islington.

● Dark purple lipstick. I used Cyber from MAC.

● Black mascara

● Fake Blood. You can buy fake blood from any fancy dress shop but I made my own made from the contents of my kitchen cupboard. See the end of the tutorial for the recipe!

● White contact lenses (optional). I bought mine from Body Jewellery Shop which is good value at £12.95 and they also offer next day delivery across the UK.

Tools:

● Regular art brush, eye shadow brush and cosmetic sponge, cotton wool buds.

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How to make fake blood

Apologies for providing no exact measurements but I feel that when creating fake blood it’s often better to mix and judge using sight!

● Fill a small bowl with Lyon’s Golden Syrup – the amount depending on the amount of blood you wish to make.

● Gradually add small amounts of water until you achieve the desired “blood” consistency.

● Next gradually add red food colouring to the mixture. The red will be too bright in colour so add a drop of blue food colouring. Keep adding (in VERY small amounts) until the colour is the same as real blood.

● You can also add treacle for a darker/ older fake blood. This kind of blood would be goo to use in scabs and deep wounds.