Is it weird that I'm kind of jealous of el Día de los Muertos' Catrina's makeup skills? For a skeleton, the mujer has style. Well, at least the real life women who imitate her on the Day of the Dead do. I love how they let their imaginations run wild. Every year, their sugar skulls and Catrina masks become more over the top, and their trajes and hair are wilder and more beautiful. It's all so pleasing to the eye, but also so very fleeting. It's too bad we can't always do our hair and makeup like La Catrina's every day of the year. Or can we?
More from MamásLatinas: Halloween vs. Día de los Muertos: What's the difference?
I believe we can harness the daring spirit of el Dia de los Muertos to use throughout the year. It takes great skill to put together one of those skeleton looks and there's no reason why we can't take those same skills and apply them to our usual routine looks every other day of the year. All you need is a little makeup and a lot of imagination.
Some women keep their sugar skull looks simple and traditional, while others give it a more fresh and current look using today's go-to beauty trends. From shiny glittery lips to bright and bold makeup colors, there's really no limit to where you can take this and then you can translate that same approach to your "in real life" glam looks. Here are 20 everyday style and beauty looks I dug up from La Catrina's Día de los Muertos beauty vault that you can use IRL.
–Additional reporting by Tanisha Love Ramirez
Día de los Muertos Do: Rock jewel-toned eye shadow.
La Catrina was Latina, so it makes perfect sense that more women are choosing to forgo dark eye makeup in favor of bright jewel-toned shadows to make their version of the famous skeleton's technically non-existent eyes pop. If you want to avoid looking like the undead during the dark fall and winter months, take a page out of La Catrina’s stylebook. Check out how La Catrina's makeup look translates IRL.
Try jewel-toned eyeshadow.
Swap dark eye makeup that will make your eyes appear sunken and small for bright, eye-opening jewel-toned shadows and eye liners. To keep things from looking too Halloween-esque, pass on opaque shadows in favor of slightly translucent but vibrant shadows. As for lips, try using a bright but sheer moisturizing lipstick to keep your labios looking fabulous and healthy.
Día de los Muertos Do: Sport a braided crown.
Braids are a huge hair DO for La Catrina, especially Frida Kahlo-inspired trenzas that wrap up and around your head like a beautiful braided crown. So, how do you recreate this pretty hair look IRL? Pues…
Style your hair in a braided crown IRL.
It's easy, really. Part your hair down the middle of your head. Braid one side and wrap it up and around the your head, pinning it about an inch back from your hairline. Tuck your ends into your the remaining section and pin to hold. Now, grab an elastic and tie the rest of your hair into a low side pony. Boom, you're done. If you want a more traditional look, braid both sections and wrap them both over and around your head and pin into place.
Día de los Muertos Do: Get creative with eye liner.
Eyeliner can make or break a look, especially if the look you're going for is a killer sugar skull mask. Want to know how you can rock this eye-popping look in real life? Keep clicking!
Give the creative eye liner approach a try in IRL.
In real life, a little goes a long way. Layer a colorful eyeliner atop an opaque black gel liner, and top it all off with a neutral smokey eye. If you want more drama, extend each line to create a pretty cat eye.
Día de los Muertos Do: Wear roses in your hair.
La Catrina wouldn't be caught dead without her crown of roses. But does this really work in real life? Actually, yes, it does. Here's how…
Roses in your hair IRL are a must!
Smaller roses are far less distracting and way more wearable than your average Día de los Muertos rose headband. However, flower crowns are becoming more and more popular, especilly for special occasions, such as weddings, brida showers or simply to go out for brunch.
Día de los Muertos Do: Contour, contour, contour!
Doesn't La Catrina have the most gorgeous cheekbones? Well, I have a secret: they're not real! She contoured her face within an inch of its life to get 'em to pop. Here's how you can do the same…
Put your contouring skills to use IRL.
Contouring is as lot like life. It's messy and crazy, at first, but it eventually all comes together. Here's a step-by-step video by none other than Jennifer Lopez's makeup artist, Scott Barnes, on how to contour your face.
Día de los Muertos Do: Wear a bold, red lipstick.
While you're trying to duplicate a skeleton look, there's no harm in wearing a bold, red lip, for a splash of color, especially if you're wearing red flowers in your hair.
Wear a bold red lipstick.
When wearing a bold lipstick like this one, take a minimalist approach with the rest of your face. Go easy with the eye makeup and opt for a clean foundation look to let your lips speak for themselves.
Día de los Muertos: Do use dark lipstick or eyeliner to create the teeth.
Use a fine black lip liner or lipstick to draw in lines across your lips to represent the skull's lips. Blend them out with a small brush to create shadows so it has a more natural effect.
You can rock a black lipstick IRL.
Just like Rihanna, it takes a bold person to wear black lipstick but it's totally doable. Especially for a night out with the girls.
Día de los Muertos Do: Wear a ton of black eye makeup all over your eyelids.
This makes your final look on your skull appear more realistic and makes the white areas of your eyes stand out.
Wear black eye shadow IRL.
You can totally pull off dark eyeshadows.
Día de los Muertos Do: Get creative with your colors.
While most people go for the dark colors route, you can liven up your sugarskull by wearing bright and colorful makeup to turn the look into something brighter and kid friendly.
You can try new glams looks with bright colors IRL.
Bright eyeshadows ARE wearable and look amazing; just make sure to keep the rest of yout makeup simple and natural.
