If you’re looking for an easy Halloween look, skull makeup always works. It’s easy enough to do and there’s lots of room to make it your own. For this sketched skull, you don’t even need a steady hand as a few misplaced strokes only make it cooler. The idea is to play with brush strokes and make it look like a sketch. I ended up adding some gold glitter as a finishing touch, but you could also leave it without glitter. Or you could add rhinestones or some other detail to really make it your own.
Check out my tutorial and step by step photos for this easy Halloween skull!
Easy sketched skull Halloween makeup
It’s definitely personal preference, but I really feel like tanned skin suited this look. It also really makes the white pop! So for your base you can use self-tan, a slightly deeper foundation shade or lots of bronzer. But more importantly, make sure to have a clean even base. So a medium or full-coverage foundation. That leaves room for the face paints to shine.
Easy skull makeup step by step
Start with the basics: Draw eye sockets and the nose. Then go through the perimeter of your face & carve out the cheekbones.
Then draw the teeth. Use your real teeth as guidelines as to where to draw them. They don’t have to look perfect in order to work. (Says me who’s drawn them haphazardly for all these years. One could argue I could take the time to really perfect them, but yeah, nope.)
Add lines and brush strokes along the lines you’ve already drawn. And a bit all over the face. The more the merrier! I also ended up painting the eye sockets white, yet still leaving some strokes visible there. See what looks good and what doesn’t. White paint is easy enough to erase and fix with foundation if something looks out of place.
As a finishing touch I added white pencil all around my eyes, waterline and lashes. And I added some gold chunky glitter. Use your imagination and decorate the skull if you want to.
I also styled this look with some white pearl hair pins. White accessories or an all white outfit goes well with this look.
Quick summary: A floating contour means placing matte shadow above the natural crease, where the brow bone creates a hollow, so deep set or downturned eyes look lifted while the lid stays lighter. Check the placement with your eyes open. If you are still figuring out your eye shape, start with my makeup for eye shapes guide; for the broader route, see makeup for downturned eyes and my deep set eyes makeup do’s and don’ts.
If you want to try something new for your deep set or downturned eyes, why not try a floating contour? I like to do this when I feel like doing something different and want to keep my eyes (lids) more bare.
This technique works for downturned and deep set eyes, as the idea is to pull away the attention from the hood and the (downturned) crease with a matte eyeshadow. You see, typically I would add a darker eyeshadow to hide the so called problem area. But in this look I totally just ignore it, applying eyeshadow elsewhere to trick the eye. I call it the floating contour or an open contour, because it floats on the lid and is not connected in the outer corner, like the usual style. It’s all about contouring and shaping the eye with a darker eyeshadow, mimicking shadow.
Floating contour for deep set or downturned eyes
As most eye makeup tips, it’s easiest to explain and do when your eye is relaxed and open. See that outer corner in my eye? It’s where my eye creates a tiny little hood and my crease tilts downwards. This is the area that I typically hide with matte colors. But in this look I apply matte eyeshadow on top of that area to lift up the eye. And then I highlight my lid with a lighter shimmer color, making my eye look more open.
How this floating contour looks from the side.
Now – how to find the right spot for the contour?
I’ve shared this tip before, but it’s all about working with the natural shape of your eye. The right spot is where a natural shadow occurs on the eye, where the brow bone ends. When you put a brush in that spot, you can kind of feel that brush sink in there: that’s about where your contour should go. Though in my eye I apply it there, but tilt it slightly upwards.
I also shared a video tutorial of the technique on my Instagram (@charlottaeve).
You can feel the ‘hollow’ in your eye, where the brush sinks in. That’s a good guideline for the contour!
Another way to look at it is to keep your eye open and draw the contour where you can see it. Obviously it’s way higher than the natural crease. How high you want to bring it is up to you though. Just make sure to leave a gap right under your brow.
This technique doesn’t hide the so called problem area (the crease/hood), but it shifts your focus to someplace else. Makeup is all about having fun and trying different things. So you know, why not try a different look every once in a while? There are no rules. Personally I enjoy wearing my eyeshadow a bit differently sometimes.
1st photo: how I usually do my makeup, adding dark matte eyeshadow in the outer corner. 2nd photo: An open/floating contour.
Draw the floating contour on the eye with a pencil brush. (I used Zoeva 230.) You can tilt it upwards in the outer corner to create a bit of a winged look.
Blend that out using a slightly bigger and rounder brush. (I used Zoeva 225.) You can also take a color that is slightly lighter than the one you just used and blend it out using that. Blend slightly on top of the line or towards your brow, so that the lightest color is closer to your brow, blending nicely to your skin tone.
Add the same colors to your lower lid as well.
Then you can add your lid color. I added it all the way to the inner corner, because it was so light. Blend it slightly (still Zoeva 225), so that the contour line is not that harsh. Or you could also leave it more visible, faking a crease type of thing. (I used a flat brush from Coastal Scents brush set.)
Line your eyes and add mascara. Done!
Products used in this makeup
Updated 2026: I kept links only where I could verify a current exact destination. Some original 2021 products are discontinued or not reliably available, so those are listed as product names only.
Illamasqua Unveiled Nude Artistry Palette (original palette, currently not linked) NYX Perfect Filter Palettes (discontinued) Too Faced Gingerbread Extra Spicy Palette (discontinued) Coastal Scents Brush Set (original brush set, currently not linked) Zoeva Rose Golden brush set (currently not linked)
Here’s also two other looks with a floating contour.There’s also a video tutorial of the look below & the technique on my Instagram (@charlottaeve).
By the way: That red dot on my cheek is not a pimple, but spider veins. So annoying, but I’m waiting for it to just disappear. I’ve had one before on my nose and that went away on its own. Don’t ask how I got it, I live in Finland okay? (Sensitive thin skin on the cheeks + harsh weather is not the best combo.)
