How to do Makeup for The Creature from Guillermo del Toro's 'Frankenstein'

Back with another makeup tutorial! This time we’re focusing on how you can do your own look from Netflix’s big hit last year Frankenstein, directed by Academy Award-winning & gothic horror godfather Guillermo del Toro.

Our step-by-step tutorial pairs alcohol-activated paints with simple tools you can find anywhere. It’s an approachable, layered look for both beginners & experts to try out and experiment with.

Take a look below, and follow along as we lay out each step of the process!

Step 1: Block the Brows

Take a simple glue stick to glue down your eyebrows in an upward direction. You can use a small eyelash brush to smooth it out before using powder and a second go with the glue stick to keep everything flat, dry, and smooth.

Color conceal is next up. Start with a slightly darker tone than your skin color to better conceal any of the color from the glue stick, before applying a second color tone more matching your own skin tone. This is all to get the look of the Creature’s skull-like face with nary a hair in sight beyond those long, messy locks.

Step 2: Puzzle Piece Face Shapes

Using a red paint, take a small brush to outline the individual, stitched together pieces Dr. Frankenstein constructed for the Creature’s face. The added benefit to outlining these individual shapes is it gives you a paint-by-numbers guide on where to implement your color paints for each outlined area of the face.

Step 3: Fill in the Blanks

Start with a color and focus on those specific parts of the face shapes containing that matching color. Our video shows exactly which areas have a yellowish pale color and which have more an off white tone.

Step 4: Shadows & Shading

From here, add depth to your Creature makeup. Use a darker grey along the lower cheek line, with some off-white specked below that. Accentuate brows and cheekbones with eyeshadow, a darker grey as well here. Then, retrace the red lines of each face shape with a darker red to give a more raw, fleshy look.

Bonus Step!

If you’re in need of longer hair than what you might already naturally have, look towards our wig collection online. This 26″ Parted Long Hair Grunge Wig for instance would work great with this makeup look, getting a bit frayed and damaged, perhaps even wet to look more unkempt and monstrous.

Products featured in Tutorial:

*Zombie Alcohol Activated Makeup FX Palette* | *Dark Fleshtone Alcohol Activated Makeup Palette* |
*Skin Illustrator Necromania Alcohol Activates Makeup FX Palette*

Video Transcript & FAQ’s

“Hello, Abracadabra NYC. This is Jules and today we’re going to show you how to use alcohol-activated makeup to turn yourself into the creature from the 2025 Frankenstein film. First, Joey is going to block his brows with a purple gluestick. Really go back and forth to get the glue deep in your brows, and then firmly smooth it out with a spoolie brush. Once that’s done, powder them and go over it again with the glue stick to fill in the gaps. Keep repeating this until your brows are dry and smooth.

Now he’s going to color-conceal them using a more orangy tone to cancel out those blue undertones of his eyebrows, after which, he covers that with a color tone that matches the lightness level of his skin. Now, with red in a small brush, he starts lining out the fragments of the face pieces that Dr. Frankenstein stitched together. This will give you a kind of paint-by-numbers guide to where to put your colors. Start in these regions with a yellowish pale color. Once that’s done, fill in these sections with an off-white. Add in a little bit of pale blue for contrast.

Then add some darker gray in this cheek area here. After that, stipple some off-white on the jaw Below it, thusly. Next step is the shading. Add some shadowing to the top of the darker gray cheek portion, then, accentuate the brow region and cheekbones with some eyeshadow. Once you’ve done that, go back in with a darker red and retrace your jigsaw puzzle of a face. And finally, adjust your long, dark, flowing hair if you have any, add a little streak and you are done.”

What character does this makeup tutorial help create?

This tutorial demonstrates how to turn yourself into “The Creature” from the 2025 Frankenstein film.

What type of makeup is primarily used for this look?

The tutorial uses alcohol-activated makeup to create the look.

What is the first step in the makeup application process?

The very first step is to block out your eyebrows using a purple gluestick.

What is the proper technique for blocking brows with a gluestick?

You should rub the gluestick back and forth to get the glue deep into your brows, firmly smooth it out with a spoolie brush, and then powder them. You need to go over them again with the gluestick to fill in any gaps, repeating the process until the brows are completely dry and smooth.

How do you conceal the eyebrows once they are blocked?

First, apply an orange-toned color concealer to cancel out the blue undertones of the eyebrows. After that, cover the orange with a color tone that matches the lightness of your natural skin.

How do you map out the stitched pieces of the Frankenstein face?

Use a small brush with red makeup to line out the fragments of the face pieces that were stitched together. This creates a “paint-by-numbers” guide so you know exactly where to apply your different colors.

What colors are used to fill in the different face fragments?

You will start in certain regions with a yellowish pale color, then fill in sections using an off-white and a little bit of pale blue for contrast. You will also add some darker gray to the cheek area.

What technique is used for applying makeup to the jaw?

You should stipple off-white makeup onto the jaw, directly below the darker gray cheek area.

How is the face shaded to look more realistic?

Add shadowing to the top of the darker gray cheek portion, and use eyeshadow to accentuate both the brow region and the cheekbones.

What are the final steps to complete “The Creature” look?

Once the shading is complete, use a darker red to retrace your “jigsaw puzzle” lines representing the stitched pieces of the face. Finally, adjust your hair (especially if it is long, dark, and flowing) and add a little streak to complete the look.

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