Don’t just go as Suicide Squad’s Harley Quinn this year — make it look like you jumped right out of a comic book!
We all knew Harley Quinn would be one of the most popular Halloween costumes this year, so you probably saw this tutorial coming. Only this version has a bit of a twist. Since I had so much fun doing a pop art look last year, I really wanted to do another one this year, and as soon as I saw Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad, I knew — THIS IS IT! Her look is perfect for a pop art, comic-book-come-to-life version. It’s actually really fun to do, and not that hard!
For this look you’re going to need a few essential products:
A really light foundation/concealer (just a shade or two darker than white)
Setting powder
Red and blue eyeshadow
Black eyeliner (preferably gel and waterproof)
Mascara
Red lipstick
White eyeliner
You’re also going to need a few brushes! The most important/useful brushes, in my opinion, would be:
And of course the costume itself. I was lucky enough to have a friend lend me a wig and clothing for this!
THE BASE
First you’re going to want to prime your skin with moisturizer and primer. Then you’re going to add your super-light foundation shade all over your face and neck. I used Kat Von D Lock-It Concealer Creme in Light 1 and blended it out with my damp beautyblender. I didn’t want it to be true white because I’d be adding white as my highlight.
Now I’ve gone in and added my red and blue eyeshadows. For the red I used my Ben Nye Powder Rouge DR-1 Flame Red, and for the blue I used the shade AB42 from my Kryolan Eye Shadow Compact in V2 Bright. I really packed it onto my lid with my MAC #239 brush and then into the crease. I used my MAC #217 brush to blend it out. You want this to be messy and dramatic, so I blended the shadows out into a dramatic cat eye and then dragged the shadows down in the outer corners.
THE LIPS
I’m using Jeffree Star Velour Liquid Lipstick in Redrum. I filled it in as much as I could with the wand itself — to do this, I scrape off a lot of the excess product when taking it out of the tube so that it’s just a thin layer. I find liquid lipsticks tend to settle better with less product.
I then go in and line my lips with the same product, but using Bdellium Tools #542 lip brush to basically line my lips with the product and create sharp clean edges. I’ve also added lines to the corners of my lips so that they’re more clown like. (This isn’t entirely accurate to her makeup in the film, but I wanted to add that little detail just for fun.) I then drag down a bit on the right side in the corner.
THE BROWS
I’m actually just doing my brows like I normally would with my angled MAC #263 brush and my Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow in Medium Brown with a drop of Inglot Duraline, but I’m making it a bit heavier than I normally would. I’m going to outline them with black liner eventually; I just didn’t want them entirely black because I like more gradient colors than flat.
THE DETAILS
To make this look really look like a pop art version, you need to add your black line work. It’s easy really: You just add lines to the natural lines of your face. It creates definition and makes you look 2D.
To do this, I used Anastasia Beverly Hills Waterproof Creme Color in Jet with a drop of Inglots Duraline. I used my MAC #210 brush for more precise line work and my MAC #263 brush for heavier line work. I created a bit of a cat-eye liner to my eyes and then added crosshatching to create the depth and shape, similar to the shape of the eyeshadow. It’s just pulled out into a cat eye shape and dragged down into a point in the outer corners.
I also used the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk as an extreme highlighter on my face and neck. I blended it out with my Bdellium Tools #781 brush, but you could always just use clean fingers to do it. I then set everything with my Ben Nye powder again to make sure everything settled.
