sugar skull make up tutorial from day of the dead glesga Halloween may be over, but there's still an opportunity to welcome the spirits of the dead. Tonight, Day of the Dead Glesga will bring the spirit of Dia de los Muertos to the city. As well as an abundance of mariachi music, sombreros, burlesque, performance art and more than a wee drop of tequila, one of the star attractions will be the revellers themselves. Each guest will be transformed with their faces painted to look like calavera skulls, also known as sugar skulls. A calavera is a representation of a human skull made from either sugar or clay. They are traditionally used for decorating altars and often, the name of the deceased is painted on the forehead. But they are also represented in hauntingly beautiful makeup which is a common sight at any Day of the Dead celebration. According to the event's makeup artist Ruth Higgins, it's actually quite easy to do at home. All you need is some face paint, quality brushes (a foundation sponge and black eye-liner works too) as well as a steady hand and some patience. Naturally, we had to check it out for ourselves and you can see how Ruth created the look in the timelapse video below. While she was working, Ruth gave us some handy pointers for how to create the perfect sugar skull look at home. First off, you want to start out with a latex sponge and some white face paint. You need a quite thick consistency. Dab it all over your face leaving two circles around your eyes and remember to go right over the lips. Brush on some white translucent powder to help it set - you can even use talc. Then, with some red face paint you can contour around the hollows of your forehead and cheek bones. "For this I used a Mac blusher but you can also do it with face paint," explains Ruth. "Sucking in your cheeks make this easier," Ruth adds. Then take a thin brush and slowly make a ring around the eyes in black - remember to go over the eyebrows and keep the paint thick. If you colour in the eyes with two different colours you can use your forefinger to blend it in. For the petals, just take your time and keep checking to make sure they're symmetrical. Make them a little smaller when you get to the corner of your eyes. "Start the cobweb with a horizontal line along the centre of your forehead, then sweep out to the sides in semicircles," said Ruth. You're best doing these quickly but can use a eye liner pencil to trace out the lines first. For the nose you can either colour on in block colour or like a skull's by adding two points at the top, using a sharp eye-liner pencil or thin brush for the points. For the mouth, again you can use an eye-liner pencil to trace out the lines and swirls at the end. When you're doing the teeth they don't really need to be even. I think making them jaggy adds to the effect," explains Ruth. To finish the look, you can add stick on gems on the swirls or petals, and continue the make up down onto your neck. And the end result should look a little something like this ... If you enjoyed this page, why not get the app on Android or iOS.