No one really knows why we dress up scary on Halloween. Some historians think that the tradition originated from the Celts who believed that during this time of the year the veil between the living and the dead was thinner and spirits could walk the earth. To protect themselves and avoid being terrorised by the spirits, people would disguise themselves in costumes, choosing scary looks so that wandering spirits would mistake them for one of their own and leave them be. 

Another theory is that people would mock the darkness, cold and death that winter brings by dressing up as the fearful spirits which personified it – in other words, boldly confront the terrors of the season. Whatever the reason, Halloween became a time to tap into your inner mischief and madness and dress up in your best scary, haunting costumes.

To help you get in touch with your inner demon this Halloween is Isamaya Ffrench, a make-up artist who is no stranger to a spooky look. Having created a gory, stitched-up take on a glamorous red lip last year, this time around she has opted for a classic possessed demonic look.

Step one is to take a red eyeliner pencil and line underneath your eyes, and then blend this top and bottom with a red pigment or eyeshadow. Next get some black eyeshadow, Ffrench uses a shade from her Industrial palette, and cover your lids with it, blending it out towards the edges to create a soft, fuzzy smokey eye. “I like to try to make that brow feel quite straight across,” she says, “because I feel the straighter it is, the more evil it looks.”

The next step is to get some grease paints and, using your finger, dap some red paint below where you’ve placed the black shadow underneath the eyes and on the lips. Then take the same black eyeshadow and outline the lips in a messy, blended-out way. You can take the black up into the nose and down towards the chin. Then comes the fun part. To add texture to the look, Ffrench mixes up some paint and then sprays it onto the face with a toothbrush.

Make sure to avoid the eyes, and follow the lines you’ve been making with the eyeshadow by spraying your toothbrush quite close to the skin around the eyes, mouth and also along the hairline if you have dark hair. And there you have it! A classic spooky Halloween look. Watch the full tutorial below.