How to Make a Fake Bruise with Makeup

Co-authored by Daniel Vann

Last Updated: December 20, 2024 Fact Checked

Whether you're gearing up for Halloween, April Fool's Day, or your next play, a little bit of makeup does a great job of suggesting a nasty fall or a whack to a limb. Use stage makeup or the cosmetics in your cabinet to create a convincing bruise.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Making a Bruise with Cosmetics

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1
Place the bruise. Decide where you will put the bruise and consider what would have caused a bruise in that particular area. This will help you decide where the bruise should be as well as it’s shape and size.
- Put the bruise in a place which is easy to reach to make applying makeup simple.
- The shape of the bruise should reflect whatever you think would have caused it.
- Consider a bruise on your forearm as if it was hit by a blunt object like a bat, which would be an oval bruise. It would be a little longer than it is wide and have rounded edges.
- Another option is giving yourself a black eye as if you were punched in the face.
2
Apply a base layer of red eye shadow. Cover your bruise area with a base layer of red eye shadow. This should create a good size and shape for you to work with. The red will represent all of the area of irritation effected by the bruise.^{[1]
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- For example, if you are creating the effect of a black eye, curve the red around the bottom of the eye, beginning in the corner and expanding out below the eye and to the side in a crescent shape. It should be about one inch wide at the largest section near the outer, bottom corner of the eye.
- You can add some red on the edge of the top eye lid to show irritation.
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3
Add purple eye shadow to the area to give the bruise some color and depth. Purple should be used on the deepest sections of the bruise to make it really stand out.
- In the black eye example, start at the bottom corner of the eye and draw along the edge of the bottom lid. Starting back at the corner, draw down along the edge of the eye socket. This will create sort of a “greater than” symbol or a “v” on it’s side.
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Daniel Vann
Makeup Artist
Daniel Vann is the Creative Director for Daredevil Cosmetics, a makeup studio in the Seattle Area. He has been working in the cosmetics industry for over 15 years and is currently a licensed aesthetician and makeup educator.

Daniel Vann
Makeup Artist

Use colors from a real bruise. Daniel Vann, Creative Director for Daredevil Cosmetics, says: The colors you choose for a fake bruise should stem from the stages of a real bruise. Real bruises go from black to purple, to green, to yellow, to peachy, so try sticking to those colors only.
4
Age your bruise with yellow and green. If you have yellow and green eye shadow and want your bruise to appear to be healing, you can blend some green out around the edges of the bruise, as well as a spot of it in the center. Dab yellow on the edges and in the center of these green sections as highlights.^{[2]
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- Use green and yellow around the edges of the crescent in your black eye. Also put some in the corner of your eye, pushing it into the dip in the socket and dragging it slightly up the top lid and down the corner of the bottom.
5
Dull any bright spots using black eye shadow. If your green and yellow stand out, are too bright, or make your bruise look unrealistic, you can dab little spots of black throughout these areas to dull them and break up the color a bit.
- You can also use black to darken the purple areas if your shade was a little light, or you want more emphasis.
Take a large makeup brush and apply some powder to the area. Powder the entire bruise with face powder to blend it into your skin tone and take out some of the shine from the eye shadow.^{[3]
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7
Fool your friends. Let them notice the bruise before you go around showing it off. They are more likely to believe it is real if you don’t say anything about it. Let them ask you what happened and be prepared with a fake story.
- If they don’t ask about it, you can “accidentally” touch the bruise or hit it on something, then react as if it hurt.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Applying Stage Makeup

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1
Decide on the timeline of the bruise. Bruises go through a cycle of trauma and healing. Each part of this cycle reflects different colors and intensity.^{[4]
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- A new bruise is dark red due to the blood pooling under the skin.
- Next the bruise begins to loose iron and purples.
- As the bruise begins to heal, it will green around the edges.
- Before the bruise fades, it will develop yellow spreading across the skin.
- Lastly, the bruise fades back into regular skin color.
2
Purchase a color wheel. There are several brands of stage makeup which range from inexpensive Halloween makeup to professional stage makeup. The most popular brand of makeup used for theater is Ben Nye.^{[5]
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- Mehron and Ben Nye both offer a product called a “Bruise Wheel.”
- The colors you will want for your bruise are red, purple, yellow, green, and blue.
- Choose darker, duller tones like maroon, mustard and olive.
3
Create a red base layer. Using a makeup sponge, dab it in the red makeup. Apply a cover of red in the size and shape of your bruise.
- Keep this layer light. Your skin should still show through the makeup.
- This layer of red should resemble skin irritation.
4
Add depth with darker colors. Use a stippling sponge to add purple and blue makeup to your bruise. Work from the edges toward the center of the bruise.^{[6]
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- Continue using very little makeup and add small amounts at a time.
- Blend hard edges with your finger or makeup sponge to blend the dark colors into the red makeup.
Use your makeup sponge to apply a dab of yellow to the center of the bruise. This will give it highlight, as well as the appearance of beginning to heal.
If you want the bruise to look like it has been there for a while and is almost healed, start with a base layer of yellow instead of red. Create a circle of purple in the middle of the yellow for depth, then add green around the outside edges of the purple.^{[7]
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Community Q&A

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Question

Can you use Halloween makeup?

Community Answer

Yes. Depending on the type, cream could work, and so could grease. Eye shadow and alcohol or waterpaints can also be used.

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Can I use halloween makeup for this? And if I did, would it look realistic?

Community Answer

You could, but it would be a bit harder. I recommend eyeshadow, a chalky product, or alcohol paints. Look up Glam and Gore or Madeyewlook on YouTube for more help.

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Question

How could I make finger marks, as if someone grabbed my arm?

Homeschoolninja

Community Answer

Cover your fingers and fingertips in the makeup, or have a friend do it, then either do it yourself or have said friend grip your arm tightly.

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Tips

Make the bruise an odd shape, it'll look more realistic!

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Don't use too much makeup, or it will look fake.

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Don't use sparkly makeup! Bruises are not sparkly.

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Tips from our Readers

The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

If you have fair complexion, black eyeshadow may be too dark to make the bruise look realistic. Try a gunmetal gray or a similar shade as another alternative.
If you already have a real bruise, don't put a fake one near it. Otherwise, people may be able to tell the difference.
If you have too much makeup or it doesn't look right, use a wet rag, wipe, or towel to wipe away excess makeup.
You can also use light makeup around the sides that make your skin tone and some bronzer to blend it out.
Use nude lipstick underneath it so it stays on longer.

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Warnings

Do not tell the authorities someone gave that bruise to you. Even if you only mean it as a joke, the person you are fooling might get into serious trouble and the authorities wouldn't be very happy that you lied about it!

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