How to Makeup Bruises with Cosmetics

Whether you’re gearing up for Halloween, April Fools’ Day, or an upcoming play, a little makeup can help show off a painful fall or smack in the limb. Use makeup or makeup products in your closet to create a realistic bruise.

Table of Contents

Use makeup products

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Choose the location of the bruise makeup. Decide where you will bruise and where you will get the bruise. This will help you determine the location, size, and shape of the bruise.

You should choose a location that is easy to reach to make the makeup simpler.
The shape of the bruise should reflect what caused it.
Consider faking a bruise on your forearm as if you were hit by something like a tennis racket. This bruise will have a long oval shape and rounded edges.
Another option is to dress up a bruised eye as if someone punched you in the face.

Apply a layer of red eyeshadow as a base. Apply a layer of red eyeshadow to the bruised skin. This powder will give the shape and size of the bruise. Red will represent the entire area of skin affected by the bruise. ^{[1] X Research Source}

For example, if you want to create a bruised eye effect, draw a curved line below the eye, starting at the corner of the eye and working it out under the eye in a crescent shape. The curve will be about 2.5cm wide at its widest, near the outer corner below the eye.
You can add a little more red powder on the edge of the upper eyelid to create a puffy look.

Add a little purple eyeshadow to add color and depth to the bruise. Purple will be applied at the deepest part of the bruise to make it stand out.

For the bruised eye example, you would start at the lower corner of the eye, drawing along the lower eyelid. Start again at the corner of the eye, drawing down along the edge of the eye socket. This step will form a horizontal V (like the “greater than” symbol in math).

Daniel Vann

Makeup artist

Daniel Vann is the Creative Director of Daredevil Cosmetics, a makeup studio in the Seattle Area. He has worked in the cosmetic industry for over 15 years and is now a licensed esthetician and makeup trainer.

Daniel Vann
Makeup artist

Use the same colors as real bruises. Daniel Vann, creative director of Daredevil Cosmetics, says: The colors you choose to dress up a bruise should be based on the stages of a real bruise . Bruises will go from black to purple, green, yellow and to peach, so you should only choose these colors.

Dress up old bruises with yellow and green. If you have yellow and green eyeshadow and want to make the bruise appear to be healing, you can add a little green around the edge of the bruise and a point in the middle. Dot more yellow on the edge and in the center of the green area to create highlights. ^{[2] X Research Source}

The green and yellow mile around the edge of the crescent in the black eye. Add a little more at the corner of the eye, push down to the bottom of the eye socket, pull slightly up the upper eyelid and down to the lower corner of the eye.

Blur the highlights with black eyeshadow. If the green or yellow you just added is too bright or too bright, or looks unnatural, you can add small black dots to make the color fade and melt a bit.

You can also use black to darken purple areas if the purple tone is a bit light or you want to emphasize it a bit more.

Blend the bruise to blend into the skin and apply a face powder to keep the bruise in place. Use a large makeup brush to apply some face powder on the bruise. Apply powder all over the bruise to blend in with the skin tone and make the eyeshadow less shiny. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

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Trick friends. Let people notice the bruise before you go around showing it off. They’ll be more likely to believe the bruise is real if you don’t tell them anything. Let people ask what happened and make up some story.

If no one asks, you can “accidentally” touch the bruise or bump into something and react as if it hurts.

Use makeup cosmetics

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Identify the stages of the bruise. Bruises go through a process of trauma and healing. Each stage of this process is represented by a different color and intensity. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

The new bruise is dark red due to a hematoma under the skin.
Next, the bruise will begin to break down the iron and turn purple.
As it begins to heal, the bruise will turn green around the edges.
Before it fades, the bruise will turn yellow over the entire area.
Eventually, the bruise will return to its normal skin color.

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Buy a color wheel. There are many brands of makeup cosmetics, from inexpensive Halloween costumes to professional theatrical makeup. The most popular cosmetic brand for stage use is Ben Nye. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

Mehron and Ben Nye both have a product called “Bruise Wheel.”
To dress up a bruise, you’ll need red, purple, yellow, green, and blue colors.
Choose darker, duller colors like chestnut brown, mustard yellow, and olive green.

Create a red background layer. Dot the makeup sponge in red. Apply red with the size and shape of the bruise you want to create.

Apply a thin layer of foundation so that the skin underneath the cosmetic is still visible.
This red layer will look like red skin.

Create depth with dark colors. Use a foundation sponge to add purple and blue color to the bruise. Miles from the edge of the bruise to the middle. ^{[6] X Research Source}

Continue to use very little cosmetics and add small amounts at a time.
Use your fingers or a makeup sponge to blend the sharp edges of the bruise to blend the dark colors into the red.

Highlight the bruise with yellow. Use a makeup sponge to dab a yellow spot in the center of the bruise. This step will help the bruise rise and appear to be starting to heal.

Create old bruises in yellow and green. If you want your bruise to look like it’s been around for a while and is about to heal, start with a yellow base instead of red. Apply a purple circle in the center of the yellow to create depth, then add a bit of green around the outer edge of the purple. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Advice

Don’t use shimmer cosmetics! The bruise is not really shiny.
Create an oddly shaped bruise, it will look more natural!
Do not use too many cosmetics; otherwise the bruise will look very fake.

Warning

Don’t tell the authorities that your bruise was caused by someone else. Even if you were just joking, that person could get in trouble, and the authorities will be very unhappy that you lied!

Steps

Use makeup products

Use makeup cosmetics

Advice

Warning

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