Molly Savery is a 21 year-old makeup artist based in Hampshire. Largely self-made, having also completed a two-year makeup course at college, Molly not only creates glam makeup looks but frequently focuses on creative pieces that range from beautiful body art depictions of nature to straight up terrifying skull demons. Her Campus sat down with her for the best tips she has for creating Halloween looks this year, where she finds inspiration, and more.
You can find more of her work and contact her for enquiries on Instagram and Facebook, or via email at muamollyx@gmail.com.
How did you get into creative makeup? Where do you find your inspiration?
I think the main reason I was interested in creative makeup to start with was because I like to make things with my hands instead of always painting or doing everyday makeup. I like glam makeup too but I wanted to push myself and experiment a bit.
One of my biggest inspirations is definitely Vanessa Davis, who’s also known as ‘The Skulltress’ on Instagram. Her work is unusual and she is just insanely talented. She does body art and a lot of 3D work which I like too. I am also a really big fan of Keziah Joy Saunders, whose username is @artbeautychaos on Instagram. I find her inspiring because she also does a range of looks and just naturally thinks outside the box. She also speaks openly about her mental health online, which I think is a really positive thing.
5 DIY looks you can achieve at home:
Wednesday Addams: This is a really easy look if you don’t have that many products or are pushed for time. All you need is a black wig – mine was only about £8 from Amazon; pale foundation or concealer to lighten your foundation with; grey or brown eyeshadow (preferably not red-toned) for eye bags, turning down the corner of your mouth, and creating sunken cheeks; and a black liquid or gel liner to use in your brows and around your eyes.
Cruella de Vil: Again, a wig is crucial with this one. But you don’t need to necessarily spend a lot even though it’s slightly more specialist – you can use talcum powder or dry shampoo to make half of it grey! Then I would recommend a combination of teal green and pale green eyeshadows, then a light red lipstick used with a dark red lipliner to create a pouty look.
Tip: pack on the darker green shadow first, and then blend this out using the lighter one with a clean brush.
Spider: This is another good one in terms of using only a small selection of products. The main thing is to find a black gel liner to draw the spider legs with. Then it is just a matter of using white face paint to add details, and grey or black eyeshadow to add some shadows and create depth.
Devil: I used scar wax in this look to create the crosses under my eyes. Again, you can easily find a black wig and some horns for a small price online. Then I used a range of palettes to give different dimensions to my face with different reds and browns. Finally, a black gel liner completes the look to fill in your eyebrows and lips.
Mermaid: This one is slightly more adventurous but you can adapt it to take it as far as you are comfortable with. Black contact lenses aren’t essential, but they do make the look more scary! Other than this, the look can be easily achieved with blue face paint, black liner under the eyes, and then some conditioner in the hair to create a wet look.
Some ideas to try a more complicated look:
Gold Demon look: I enjoyed making this skull look recently because I got to make the props as well as do the makeup. My inspiration for this look came from Billelis’ work. If you want to try something different like making a headdress, a glue gun is your best friend!
Experimenting with latex: I like to practice with latex when creating more gorey pieces, and also because it adds an additional dimension to the look. In this first photo I used pieces of string, dipping the ends into latex and then sticking it to my face. After this I painted the sections underneath black, then used red to go over the sections in between and smudged to make it look more like actual blood.
This second look with the hand was a real experiment and I didn’t know how it would turn out, but I’m really pleased with it. The fingers are also made of latex, which I casted using alginate.
What would be your top 5 must-have products this Halloween?
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Liquid latex – I would recommend Kryolan.
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Morphe’s 35L palette – it has great matte and shimmer finishes, in brown and red tones which are very on-brand for Autumn or Halloween!
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UV paints – SUVA Beauty Hydra Liners are really good!
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Snazaroo Clown White face paint, or any of their paints in general.
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Ben Nye scab blood or scar wax.
Are you looking to try out something new soon?
I am currently in the process of planning a full body shoot, which is something I haven’t done before as I will be making props for the scenery as well as myself. The theme is not finalised yet but I have started making some big clouds – it’s a work in progress so we’ll have to see!
I also recently worked on my first film which was a new experience for me. It is called Day 66 and is a zombie film. I found out about this independent project from a family friend as they were looking for extras, but I contacted them asking if they needed a makeup artist instead. It turned out they needed a look with someone stabbed in the eye, as well as other zombie makeup. It was a really enjoyable experience for me.
A massive thank you to Molly for taking the time to discuss her work with us. Hopefully this has inspired you to try something new this Halloween and get creative!