Corpse Bride makeup is all about the eyes. Pale blue gray skin, huge dark eyes with long lashes, a deep blue lip and a few faint stitches on one cheek, finished with a tattered veil. It is one of the most beautiful looks of the season and one of the most searched. Here it is step by step, with the trick that makes the eyes look twice their size.
What makes it read as the Corpse Bride
The eyes carry the whole look. The pale blue skin and blue lip set the mood, and the stitches are a small detail, but it is the huge, dark, sad eyes that make it unmistakable. Spend half your time on them.
Our roundup of trending Halloween costumes ranks this against the other character looks of 2026.
Corpse Bride makeup, step by step
1. Paint a pale blue gray base
Prime the face and neck, then press a thin layer of pale blue gray water activated paint over the face, ears, neck and chest. Powder it, then add a second thin layer where needed.
2. Hollow the face
With a slightly deeper blue, shade under the cheekbones, at the temples and along the jaw, blended softly. The face should look delicate and a little hollow.
3. Make the eyes huge
Blend a charcoal shadow through the crease and slightly outside your natural eye shape, above and below. Deepen the outer corners with black. Line the upper lash line in black and the lower waterline in white or nude.
4. Add long lashes
Long false lashes on top and a few individual lashes on the bottom. The lashes are what turn dark eyes into cartoon eyes.
5. Paint the blue lip
A deep blue lipstick, lined first, with the edges kept soft.
6. Draw a few stitches
Two or three short stitched lines on one cheek and the collarbone with fine black liner. Keep them faint; the Corpse Bride's stitches are delicate, not bold.
Make it last, then take it off gently
Pale blue paint shows every smudge, so set it well. Press translucent powder over each layer with a puff and finish with a setting spray. Keep your hands away from your face and blot, never wipe, if you get warm. Carry a small tube of the blue lipstick; it is the part that wears first.
At the end of the night, melt the paint with a cleansing balm or oil before you reach for water, then follow with your usual cleanser. The lashes come off first: peel them from the outer corner inward.
The hair and the veil
The Corpse Bride's hair is long and blue, worn loose under a tattered white veil. A blue wig is the easiest route; for your own hair, a temporary blue color spray works on light hair. You can see how a deep blue shade looks on your photo first: royal blue is close. Tear the edges of a thin white veil and add a few silk flowers.
A quicker Corpse Bride
Skip the full paint. Use a very pale foundation dusted with a little blue shimmer, spend all your time on the big dark eyes and long lashes, and add a blue lip. With the veil, it reads clearly as the Corpse Bride in about twenty minutes.
Looks that go with it
Sally is the other stitched, pale blue character of the season, with red hair and heavier stitches; our Sally makeup guide covers her. For a group from the same world, a Beetlejuice ghoul fits well, and our Beetlejuice makeup guide walks through it. A sugar skull is the other beautiful take on the afterlife, covered in our sugar skull makeup guide.
For hair ideas that finish a costume, see our hair ideas by season guide.
See the Corpse Bride on your own face first
Pale blue skin and a blue lip flatter some skin tones and wash out others, and huge dark eyes suit some eye shapes more than others. HairGlam's Halloween Studio puts the Corpse Bride look on a photo of your face in seconds. Your first 4 Halloween looks are free, on iPhone and iPad. Try Corpse Bride makeup on your own face in HairGlam before you buy the blue.
Try Corpse Bride makeup on your own face
Your first 4 Halloween looks are free. 39 face paint and costume looks, no mess, nothing to wash off.
Character names describe costume looks only. HairGlam is not affiliated with the shows or films mentioned.
Questions people ask
What colors do I need for Corpse Bride makeup?
How do I make my eyes look big like the Corpse Bride?
How is Corpse Bride makeup different from Sally makeup?
Is there a quicker Corpse Bride look?
Read next
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Beetlejuice makeup: the grimy green ghoul, step by step
Sugar skull makeup: the classic, a half skull and a skeleton version
Winter hair colors: cool tones and deep shades for low light
