As a Mom, I’ve been blessed with 2 very finicky boys… especially when it comes to choosing Halloween costumes! They go back and forth, trying decide which costume will be the coolest or scariest of them all. So, every year I wait for them to make up their minds. I wait and I wait… until Halloween is right around the corner. Then we are scrambling to put something together at the last minute!
This year, my 6 year old has finally decided he wants to be a Zombie for Halloween.
“A very scary zombie, Mom!” He says. While I don’t really like bloody, gory costumes for Halloween. I decided not to fight this one. I was just grateful he had finally made up his mind!
This costume is so simple to make, you might even feel a little guilty that you didn’t put more time or effort into it. Just gather a few things from around the house. Raid your cosmetic bag, your pantry and your child’s closet. It should take about 15 minutes to throw this together. Even better? Your child can help make it!
Here’s what you’ll need to create the Zombie Costume:
- Old jeans, even better if they are already ripped, torn or faded
- White shirt (You know, the one with that stubborn spaghetti sauce stain on it!)
- Scissors
- Black or gray powder eye shadow
- Cosmetic sponge or wedge applicator
- Red or Pink Icing Color (gel) OR Red Liquid Food Coloring and a little bit of Cornstarch and Water
- Paper Towels
Caution: These clothes will look like someone died and crawled out of a grave in them. If your child doesn’t have any clothes that you want totally ruined, I would suggest purchasing something cheap at Goodwil or a store clearance section.
Zombie Costume Instructions:
- Cover your work space with wax paper or a plastic tablecloth. This will get messy!
- Use the scissors to cut the jeans and shirt. Make short vertical “incisions” near the bottoms of the legs of the jeans, the bottom of the shirt and the shirt sleeves (and the collar of the shirt if it has one) . Cut a couple of holes near the knees and pockets.
- Pull the fabric where you made the cuts to rip it a bit further, for a more rugged uneven effect.
- Dab the cosmetic sponge in the black or gray eye shadow. Swipe shadow along the seams of the shirt and collar.
- Smudge eye shadow on the front of the shirt and the jeans, as little or as much as your child would like. You want it to look good and dirty!
- Pour the red gel food coloring in a small dish. I used Wilton’s PINK Icing Color and it worked great! This is your fake blood. (NOTE: If you are using liquid food coloring, just add little bit of cornstarch and a few drops of water and mix until you have a gel-like consistency.)
- Wad up a paper towel and dip in the fake blood.
- Blot the food coloring on the shirt and jeans.
Here’s what you’ll need for the little Zombie’s face:
- Cosmetic sponges or wedge applicators
- Q-tips and/or make-up brush.
- Concealer from your make-up bag.
- Eye shadow that is a shade or two lighter than your child’s skin tone. White, beige, gray… You want your child’s face to appear naturally pale. (Think of the shadow color you use to highlight your own brow line.)
- Olive Green, Purple, Dark Gray and/or Black eye shadow. Matte works best.
- Red lipstick.
- Black eye-liner. (optional)
Zombie Face Make-Up Instructions:
(Word of Advice: Have your child put the zombie outfit on before applying the make-up.)
- Apply concealer all around the eyes. This provides a good base for the dark eye shadow you’ll be adding later.
- Using the cosmetic sponge, pat the light eye shadow all over the face.
- Sweep the darker eye shadow (green, purple or gray) along the sides of the face just below the cheek bone. Swipe the sides of the chin and the forehead along the hairline. Then blend.
- Make the eyes pop by using the darkest eye shadow you have all around the eyes. Start by applying the shadow just below the lower lash-line with a q-tip or cosmetic brush and blend outward.
- For the lips, dab on concealer and smudge lightly with your fingertip.
- Apply red lipstick to the corners of the mouth, adding a few dots at the center of the bottom lip. Pat it gently with your fingertip or use a q-tip to smudge it. (I used the lipstick for the bloody effect because it washes off easily.)
- Use the red lipstick to mark small lines on the cheek and near the hairline. Very lightly, smudge with your fingertip. You can dust it with some of your dark eye shadow to make it appear more scab-like.
This whole process goes against everything we, Mothers, stand for. Dirty, stained clothes and heavy make-up. That’s what makes it a great project for kids to help with because it breaks all the rules! Once you’re done, ask your son or daughter to make their scariest zombie face. And there’s your photo op! Enjoy scaring the neighbors with your creation!