Pixel Makeup Might Be the Perfect Low-Key Halloween Costume

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Halloween is still mostly a month away, but if you're the kind of person who always scrambles for a last-minute costume, consider ditching the clothes part of the costume entirely. Consider: Pixel makeup, which asks only that you have a steady hand, some storage of cosmetics, and the ability to smugly say, "Yeah, I know it's awesome" over and over again to awed strangers.

"Pixel makeup" is a simple enough concept: Your face, but instead of using makeup to define your features, you instead "block" out focal points like your eyebrows, your nose, and your mouth to mimic the 8-bit pattern of early internet graphics. It's best depicted through, well, pictures:

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You don't have to do your entire face:

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But you certainly can:

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And you can experiment with the range of colors you apply to your skin:

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And if you're a fan of video games, you can use pixel makeup as a cheeky way to take your full costume to the next level:

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And of course, square pixels aren't the only kind of pixel art out there:

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Need a guideline for how to get this retro-digital look? Most of the posters have tutorials; you can start with the video below:

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