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Cracked Porcelain Doll Costume: How to Make It in 30 min
- Time 30 min
- Cost mostly free
- Best for Best makeup look
This one is a makeup costume. The clothes are simple (a pale dress or nightgown, tights, a bow) and the face does the work: a smooth white base, rosy cheeks and thin dark cracks that make it look like a doll that has been dropped. Slow, still movements sell it.
What you probably already own
- A pale dress, nightgown or old-fashioned blouse
- White or very light foundation and loose powder
- Fine black or dark brown eyeliner pencil
- Red or pink blush, a rosy shade
- Dark red lipstick
- Hair ties and a ribbon or bow
Buy only if you want it
- A thin liquid eyeliner brush for sharper cracks
- A small bottle of white face paint
- Fake lashes, if you want large doll eyes
Step by step
- Clean your face and put on a thin layer of moisturizer. Then apply white or very light foundation across the face, neck and ears. Dust with loose powder to make it matte and smooth.
- Draw round rosy circles on the cheeks with blush, high on the cheekbones. Keep the edges soft but visible.
- Paint the lips small and dark. Use dark red lipstick and draw a small rosebud shape, slightly smaller than your natural lips.
- Make the eyes big and still. Draw bold upper lashes and a few lines under the lower lash line, like painted doll eyelashes.
- Draw the cracks. Use a fine eyeliner to draw a thin crack from the corner of one eye down the cheek, another from the forehead, and one from the mouth toward the jaw. Branch them like twigs. Add a dab of gray eyeshadow along each crack for depth.
- Add doll hinge lines: two thin lines from the corners of the mouth down toward the chin, the way a doll's jaw is jointed.
- Put your hair up in two bunches or curls and tie bows. Put on tights and plain shoes.
Wearing it seated
Seated notes. A doll stays still, which suits sitting. Place your hands on your lap, keep your gaze fixed, and turn your head in small, slow steps. Do the makeup in good light so you can see the cracks, and sit with a mirror at eye level.
Mistakes to avoid
- Cracks that are thick and straight. Thin, branching lines look like real breaks.
- Skipping setting powder. Foundation without powder slides and smudges.
- Heavy lipstick all across the lips. A small, dark mouth is the look.
Make it better
Dress it with lace gloves, white stockings and Mary Jane shoes. Hold a vintage-looking doll or a teddy bear in your lap, and darken one eye socket slightly for a more damaged doll.
Good to know
Old porcelain dolls often have fine crazing, a network of hairline cracks in the glaze. That is the pattern to copy when you draw yours: fine lines, not big gashes.
Where to buy
Amazon links; check the product page against the notes before you order.
- White face paint (look for skin-safe face paint)
Safety
- Test face paint and blood on a small patch of skin first.
- Make sure you can see and breathe freely.
- Keep fabric and props clear of wheels, casters and brakes, and away from real flames.