Having a full steampunk look is something that is always admired and will leave anyone in awe! However, doing the steampunk makeup may be hard for some so we have created this guide to help you out in choosing what is the best for you.

Creativity and individuality, however, is also very preferred. What you’d like to stick to is gray and black with some golden undertones and details that represent the machinery and different inventions. So, in case you don’t have ideas, here’s a list of suggestions. But before that, there are few things you must do first before applying the makeup.

1) Moisturize

Before applying any kind of makeup, it’s always important to moisturize your face first. You’ve got to clean and wash your face first and then you can apply moisturizer on your face if you want, then let everything dry before starting.

2) Foundation

After you’re done moisturizing, apply the foundation of your preference and make sure to cover it down your neck as well. After that, use a concealer on the places where you wish then powder it all so it all blends in.

Then apply bronzer on your cheekbones, at the top of your forehead and along your jawline. You may apply blush on your cheeks but make sure not to overdo all of this. For example, make contouring too strong, or add too much of blush because the main focus with this makeup is eyes.

3) Eye makeup



One of the main clues in steampunk makeup is to keep to gray, black and golden tones. The first thing you should do is apply gray and gold as an eyelid primer and then add golden pigment at the inner corner of your eye, then keep applying till the half of your lid.

Use some darker shade, dark brown, black or gray on the opposite side of your lid and then apply all those 3 colors to your crease. Make sure to blend it well. If your choice was a dark brown then you should combine it black or gray to make it a bit steamier.

The next thing you should do is grab an eyeliner or a black eyeshadow, apply it on your crease all the way to the corner of your eye, then do a wing. You should blend it all out, making a bit of a smoky eye look. Apply dark eyeshadow on top of your lashes and underneath, then do the same on higher and lower waterline and blend it out as well. For the end, add mascara on your lashes and fill out your eyebrows for a more powerful look.

4) Lip color

You can choose whatever lipstick color you may want to, as long as it makes a good contrast and appeals well to the rest of the makeup.

5) Extras

Some few extra tips are concerned with adding accessories. For example, you may want to use glue for applying fake lashes to little gears, cogs, or clocks. If you want to, glue 2 or more on every corner of both of your eyes.

Also, steampunk look isn’t without goggles! The best place to wear them is on top of your head to make your eyes pop out even more. Or you can ad some awesome Steampunk gears decoration to your outfit.

However, you shouldn’t limit yourself with gears to face only! You can be even more creative like this person who managed to make bloody gash SFX makeup as if gears can be seen from underneath his flesh.

Few other extra ideas!

Dirty goggle marks

How to: put on your goggles, then use a damp makeup sponge then apply dark shadow all around under the goggles, making it into a fine line so you know where they touch your skin. You can also use some creamy eye shadow or eyeliner. Greasepaint and coffee grounds work too!

Afterward, take off the goggles then smear all that color all across your face, obviously avoiding the place where goggles used to be. You can even use Vaseline to make it more realistic.

If you want to be even more extra, to make it even more realistic, you can use the makeup professional Special FX use. Various brands have special types of dust and dirt powders, even gels, in all kinds of shades. Brands that you can check out are The Ben Nye and Mehron.

Draw some clocks!

If you are able to draw a straight line, then Clockpunk look shouldn’t be too hard for you. What you are going to do is, first, you need a pencil eyeliner, liquid one, or a think makeup or paintbrush dipped in black greasepaint.

You can either draw two small clocks near your eye or even use your entire face as a canvas.

If for some reason, however, you can’t draw a straight line, then you don’t need to worry. Just find some actual small clock hands and use some eyelash glue before sticking them to your face. You can either buy some clock hands online or just, you know, break apart some clocks in your house.

Use some stencil!

Look at your face like some big canvas and apply some stencils on it. The best thing about stencil is that you are allowed to use different kinds of makeup. If you have an airbrush machine, then you can use liquid face paint for a bright and high-pigmented color. There is also a possibility of using some creamy makeup or some alcohol activated professional one, or even some everyday makeup with high pigment.

What you are going to need first is, of course, a stencil. When using a stencil, every time you rotate it, it creates a different effect but a blocking paddle can block out the shapes inside so you can easily isolate the ones that you want. You can use any stencil that you want. Hot Wingz one is designed especially for the face, but you can use ones for cake decorations or crafting although they may not be as small as the ones created specifically for a face.

Use masking tape and cover the shapes that you don’t want to use. When using creamy makeup, make sure to hold the stencil firmly against your skin and blot on the color using makeup sponge with a quick and stippling movement. When using powder makeup, either use a brush or a damp sponge to dab the color up and down. Then, just remove the stencil and it’s already done.

Lace masks

If any of the options above don’t really appeal to you for some reason, it’s never too late for some lace masks! The best ones to use are the ones that don’t require you to take them off and allow you to see normally. Lace masks are never out of fashion and they are a bit Gothic, romantic and sexy.

If, however, you are not up to experimenting yourself and are still rather new to the entire steampunk look, maybe it’s better for you to start off with some tutorials on how to do the makeup. It might give you a better idea of how it should all look and how you should start off. Or, you just simply prefer learning by watching someone else do it.

So, below are a few tutorials and makeup ideas that you can choose from and decide what’s better or easier for you! Hopefully, you will find what you are looking for.

STEAMPUNK MAKEUP TUTORIAL #1

This one might not be too easy on the first glance but you never know until you try! Just make sure to watch it multiple times and there is a high chance you’ll succeed. This one is also a little bit more flashy so if you wish to look extra for some special occasion or would just love to experiment, then this might be a good idea for you.

Products used for this video are:

Mehron Mixing Liquid + Mehron Metallic Powder (Gold, Bronze, Copper, Silver)

Urban Decay Primer Potion (Eden)

BH Cosmetics Eyeshadows (Brown, Red)

Mehron Paradise Paint (Light Brown, Dark Brown)

Urban Decay Eyeliner (Smog, Perversion)

STEAMPUNK MAKEUP TUTORIAL 2#

This one is a little less flashy and a little bit more glam. You may want to try this if you are just starting or if it’s actually the look that you are going for in the first place, depending on your overall outfit.

The permanent foundation in the video is by Atelier A.

Powder eyeshadows by Cinecitta.

Watercolors and colored eyeshadows are also by Atelier A.

The magic eyeshadow set is by Graftobian.

There are two matt lipsticks – one by Nyx and another by Topface.

STEAMPUNK MAKEUP TUTORIAL 3#

This one look is stencil one as well so if you are looking to do something like that, then you are at the right place.

Gears: Omer DeSerre

Copper and golds: Coastal Scent – Ultimate 252 palette

Black: Urban Decay – Blackout

Black liner: Rimmel

Golden pigment: Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics – Flicker

Liquid liner: Lise Watier – Encre Noire

Mascara: L’oréal – fibers

Lashes: pinkyparadise.com

Copper aqua cream color: Makeup Forever – 14

STEAMPUNK MAKEUP TUTORIAL 4#

Lime Crime Eyeshadow Primer

Lime Crime Alchemy Palette (used Spellbound, Lucky Charm, and Incantation)

Anastasia Beverly Hills Cat Walk Palette (used LBD)

Sugarpill Pressed Shadow in 2 am

Sugarpill Loose Pigment in Goldilux

Lime Crime Glitter Helper (not released to the public yet)

Apocalipstick Cosmetics Loose Glitter in Dark Fairy

BH Cosmetics Liquid Eyeliner Marker

Starlooks Kohl Eye Pencil in Obsidian

NYX Eye Shadow Morocco

NYX Glitter Eyeliner (discontinued)

Physician’s Formula Shimmer Strips Eyeliner Trio (comes in a pack of 3) in Warm Nude Eyes

Lime Crime Opaque Lipstick in Styletto

Visit also out women’s steampunk collection for more great products.