Try This Super Simple Mermaid Makeup On Halloween

Halloween is my favorite time of year for one specific reason: makeup! As a girl who works 9 to 5 in an office, I can't say I'm bold enough to experiment with purples and blues on a regular basis. But mermaid makeup on Halloween? Yes, puh-lease.

Each year, I choose my costume based on the makeup look I'll be able to create with it. One year I went as the Black Swan, another year I went as Jasmine, but the most compliments I've ever received on a Halloween makeup look had to be when I dressed as a mermaid.

That year, I watched a ton of mermaid makeup tutorials and found that each makeup artist did something a bit different to achieve the same under-the-sea look. Even as a self-proclaimed beauty guru, there were a few tutorials that were far beyond my skill set, so I decided to take bits and pieces of all the looks I found online to create something super simple but would still help me stand out in a sea (ha!) of creative costumes.

Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Foundation, $43, Sephora | Beauty Blender, $20, Sephora | MAC Studio Finish Concealer, $21, Macy's

I started off by moisturizing my skin and then applying my foundation, Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation with my Beauty Blender. While this foundation is my personal favorite, it is super important to choose your foundation based on your skin's needs, especially since you will be layering eyeshadow on top of it. I used MAC Studio Finish Concealer to hide any redness or blemishes that I had and was ready to go! With this look, there's no need to contour or to add any bronzers or blushers — that's what the blues and purples are for.

For the colored contouring of my face, I chose to use two shades of blue, MAC Electro Sky and NYX Cool Blue, and a purple, Annabelle Cosmetics Violish. Unfortunately, both shades of blue I used are now discontinued, but you can honestly use any shades so long as one is dark and the other is pastel. I started off with Electro Sky and, using a blush brush, rubbed the color all along my hairline and into the hollows of my cheeks. I then repeated the process with the Violish and Cool Blue, getting further and further away from the hairline with each color. Once finished, I took a smaller brush and darkened the blue in the hollows of my cheeks to create more definition. Looking more and more like a mermaid by the minute!

BH Cosmetics 88-Matte Palette, $13, BH Cosmetics | Kat Von D Tattoo Liner, $20, Sephora | L'Oreal Paris Voluminous Million Lashes Mascara, $8, Walgreens | Anastasia beverly Hills Dip Brow, $18, Sephora | Huda Beauty Classic False Lashes, $20, Sephora

From here, I completed the rest of my regular makeup. I decided that, since my face was mostly blue, I'd use more purple-y shades on my lids. I used a few purple shades from the BH Cosmetics 88-Matte Palette as well as a cream shade for the inner corners. I then used Kat Von D's Tattoo Liner to get a matte cat eye, L'Oreal Paris Voluminous Million Lashes mascara for both upper and lower lashes, and Anastasia Beverly Hills dipbrow pomade to fill in my brows. For the finishing touch, I popped my all time favorite MAC lip color on my pout, Rebel, and used a clear gloss on top to give it that wet, mermaid look. If you're looking to add more drama to your costume, opt for a pair of full falsies — Make Up For Ever Lash Show and Huda Beauty Classic False Lashes are two great choices!

Once all of my makeup was complete, I took my DUO Eyelash Adhesive, dabbed a bit of it on the back of my hand, and used tweezers to add the gems to my face. I found these gems at WalMart for under five dollars and most craft store will sell something similar. I chose these ones because they had a ton of different colors and came in a bunch of different sizes. I started with the largest gems and lined them unevenly around my hairline and as I got closer to the inside of my face I switched to the smaller gems. I always say, the more bling, the better!

With a bit of imagination and a lot of eyelash glue, I was able to find a good use for my blue and purple eyeshadow palettes. Now all I need is my Prince Eric... any takers?!

Images: Krystal D'Souza