Show of hands for how many of you reading this think doing a full face of makeup and styling your hair in five minutes is a complete sham. Oh, all of you? Well, I can't blame you. I was one of you. For so long, I laughed at the prospect of getting anything other than my mascara done in five minutes. However, I've now made it my personal mission to prove both myself and all of you wrong. Enter: Elite Daily's series, Ready In 5. Consisting of actually cool beauty tutorials, this series will break timely beauty looks down into five simple steps, all of which, together, can actually be completed in five minutes, so you have more time to focus on the plans that come next.
You know what's even scarier than every ghost, demon, goblin, and zombie? The fact that Halloween is in a few days and IDK WTF I'm going to dress up as. So, for all my fellow last-minute planners who just want to scare the pants off everyone at your Halloween party, this easy Pennywise makeup tutorial — which takes only five minutes — is for you.
Following the success of the remake of Stephen King's It, It Chapter Two — which follows the terrifying adventures of the grown-up Losers' Club as they battle Pennywise once more — hit theaters in early September 2019 and swiftly brought in around $450 million worldwide at the box office. I'm no film expert, but given the movie's success, I'd say there'll be a lot of people with Pennywise's signature smile and red balloon running around. If you're pressed for time and a costume, why not join the dark side? You'll float down here. We all float down here. Here's how.
Step 1: Prep
Time: ~20 seconds
You'll remember from It that Pennywise's complexion is stark white. Instead of wrangling a thick white face paint that'll take forever to apply and take off, I used a Beautyblender to apply Flesh Beauty's Pure Flesh Liquid Foundation ($32, Ulta) in a few shades lighter than my skin tone to create an ultra-pale complexion. For greater effect, apply a second coat of foundation once the first layer sets into your skin.
Step 2: Complexion
Time: ~30 seconds
To achieve Pennywise's pasty, cake-y complexion finish, I applied Decorté's Loose Powder ($50, Decorté) with a heavy hand using the included powder applicator. (Any super light-colored loose powder will work for this, so you can pick a cheaper option up from your local drugstore.) As an added bonus, the powder will also set your foundation, so you don't have to be scared all your makeup will melt off.
Next came Pennywise's iconic red clown nose. Again, rather than using finicky face paint, I used Morphe's Matte Liquid Lipstick ($10, Morphe). A matte liquid lipstick will dry down better than a face paint will and is a little easier to control in terms of clean lines. For my clown nose, I drew a line across my nose, from nostril to nostril, using the lipstick applicator. I drew another line across the under part of my nose, again from nostril to nostril, and then filled in everything in the middle.
Step 3: Eyes
Time: ~3 minutes
Honestly, if you did no other part of this tutorial besides Pennywise's iconic eye makeup, everyone would still immediately recognize your costume. This part is all about quick movements and layering, so work fast and you can get this done in under five minutes. To start, I gave myself a very quick dark eye makeup look using Morphe's 35M Boss Mood Artistry Palette ($25, Morphe).
I applied the darkest black shade with sweeping motions in my crease using a fluffy eyeshadow brush. Then, on the outer corner of my eye, I applied the same shade with a small dense eyeshadow brush to deepen the overall eye look. Finally, I swept the black shade across my lower lash line several times, and I used my finger to apply a little bit of a red shimmer shade in the center of my lid. Don't worry about this looking... clean. Pennywise lives in a sewer. I imagine he doesn't shower very often.
Once I blended out this eye look, I applied Maybelline's Tattoo Studio Gel Pencil Eyeliner ($9, Ulta) around my eyes to make me look creepier and dead. I finished off with a few swipes of IT Cosmetics' Lash Blowout Mascara ($25, Ulta).
Then, it was time to go from "goth girl who moonlights as a clown" to "oh, sh*t, that's a killer clown." To capture the shape of Pennywise's creepy smile, I took a small, dense eyeshadow brush and applied the deep red shade from my Morphe Palette, starting at the outer corner of my lips, curving up toward my cheek, and stopping in the middle of my lower lash line. I did the exact same line on the other side of my face before adding two smaller lines extending upward from the centers of my eyebrows.
After the base lines were drawn, I layered products on top of that initial line to create a gritty, grimy, almost bloody effect. First up, I applied Bite Beauty's Crystal Crème Shimmer Lip Crayon ($24, Bite Beauty) in little sketch-like marks directly over the eyeshadow lines to darken them. I then revisited my Morphe lipstick, using the applicator to go over the lines, again, with small, sketch marks. Finally, using the exact same drawing process, I applied my Maybelline eyeliner in tiny little marks as a finishing touch.
Step 4: Lips
Time: ~25 seconds
By this point, I could barely look at myself because I was scared of who I was becoming, so I promise there's not much more. In It, the outer lining of Pennywise's lips are a little darker than the red in the center, so I lined my lips with my trusty Maybelline eyeliner. I then took my Morphe lipstick once again to fill them in and blotted my lips together to ensure the two colors blended.
Step 5: Hair
Time: ~40 seconds
If there were more time before Halloween, I'd say pick up an orange wig and call it a day. But if you don't have that kind of time, teased space buns are an easy way to recreate Pennywise's all-over-the-place hair. Starting with my hair in high pigtails, I back combed both ponytails so they looked pretty messy. Then, I twisted each ponytail around its base and secured it with a bobby pin to create very messy, wild-looking space buns.
Aaaaaand boom. Hello. Nice to meet you. I'm Pennywise's twin sister... Nickelwise? (I'm sorry.) Now, you're ready for any Halloween party, to scare the hell out of your neighbors, and/or to terrorize a group of small child misfits. (OK, but, like, maybe don't do that last one.)
So, how does that sound? Still don't believe me that I (and you!) can get this look done in five minutes? Hey, I get it. Seeing is believing and whatever. So, in the spirit of giving, I present to you proof that miracles really can happen: a #ReadyIn5 video tutorial.
In this tutorial, I'll take you through the steps and products needed to complete the look as we race against the clock. It's thrilling. It's suspenseful. But most importantly, it's funny AF to watch. Get comfy, and follow along with the video below to see how my look is actually ready in five. Comment on the video or DM me on Instagram to suggest looks you'd like to see broken down in the future:
