Day of the Dead or El Día de los Muertos is just around the corner!
Are you planning to dress it up and do some fantastic skull make up for your fans?
You definitely should and later in this piece I’ll share some insight on how to pull it off because there’s no denying that the costumes and traditional face paint connected with the holiday are wildly cool.
What is Day of the Dead?
Celebrated November 1 and 2nd it may seem to be a close cousin of Halloween – after all it’s got a spooky name, skeletons are everywhere, and the actual celebration often takes place in a cemetery next to the tombstones of loved ones.
However, Day of the Dead couldn’t be more different than Halloween.
Though they both deal in death, they have unique viewpoints.
Halloween has a negative relationship with dying – and that’s said in the most loving way as I’m huge fan of the holiday.
When it comes to Halloween, kicking the bucket is almost always a bad thing. Whether it’s Jason who’s going to carve you up with a knife, Bela Lugosi sucking your blood dry, the devil that’s going to possess you, body torture, cannibalism, hauntings or a million other horrific things, Halloween is all about creeping you out over the very natural process of dying.
That’s not a bad thing… it can be cathartic.
Even if you’re terrified, you know none of it is real, so it can be a very safe place to face your fears of mortality and overcome them.
Day of the Dead on the other hand has a completely opposite way of relating to the big D yet it too can also help face fears of giving up the ghost.
Originated by the Aztecs, and celebrated for over 3,000 years in Mexico, Day of the Dead portrays death in a positive light – ceasing to live is just part of the cyclical nature of the universe and it’s to be respected and embraced when the time comes. During the celebration, instead of crying over loved ones who have passed, you rejoice in their memory, give them gifts at their resting place, build them altars, and tune into death being not the end, but an exciting new journey.
In a serious light, both Halloween and Day of the Dead are a chance to connect with your mortality and come to peace with it. The magic of both is that once you look the grim reaper in the eyes, it’s time to dress up, have fun, and enjoy being alive!
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If Day of the Dead intrigues you and you want to get into the spirit for your cam audience, check out the following how-to videos for some great tutorials on creating the traditional skull look. In addition, I’ve included some costume links so you can tie it all together.
Easy Sugar Skull Makeup
Diamond Sugar Skull Makeup
Black & Gold Dia de los Muertos Makeup
Body Makeup
Day of the Dead Headpiece
Day of the Dead Costumes
Amazon Day of the Dead Costumes
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Main photo credit: iStock.com/Mariia Hlushchenko
Second photo credit: iStock.com/Sandor Mejias Brito
Third photo credit: iStock.com/Cavan Images
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Alyssa Collins hails from Minnesota, where snowy days were the perfect excuse to stay warm inside and write. Over the years, she turned that joy into a career and has authored numerous articles for various publications (under pen names). Email Alyssa via alyssa@ynot.com.
