Edward Scissorhands Makeup & Costume

Edward Scissorhands is the unusual story of a man who has scissors for his hands after the scientist who was creating him died before he could complete his human body. Due to the inconvenience of his scissor hands, Edward has distinctive scarring on his face. In Tim Burton’s iconic Gothic fantasy style, Edward is dressed in a black outfit with straps and detailing but is later given a shirt, trousers, and suspenders to wear in complete contrast. Edward is taken in by a suburban Mum and beauty sales rep and is introduced to her husband, daughter and son. The story follows Edward’s journey to learning how to be a human and yet somehow he remains an outcast.

This critically acclaimed film has captured the hearts of many misfits and fans of Tim Burton’s style. This is one of his earliest successes and remains a much-loved movie, especially in autumn and winter.

Several of our talented affiliates took on the challenge of creating Edward Scissorhands makeup, many opting to paint on his clothing rather than create a costume. Their incredible artwork is a true homage to the iconic Edward Scissorhands character.

Firstly, @hollymurraymakeup has created this incredibly detailed Edward Scissorhands cosplay. She has considered every detail of this character and transformed herself completely.

Here are the main elements of her Edward Scissorhands makeup:

• Edward Scissorhands Face: Holly has contoured her face to transform herself into Johnny Depp as Edward Scissorhands. She has created his hollowed eyes using dusky makeup around the eyes and paired it with purple tinted lips. She has cleverly shaped her face to highlight her cheekbones.
• Edward Scissorhands Scars: Edward is instantly recognisable by his scarred face which is caused by the trials of having scissors for hands. Holly has copied the locations of the scars on his face and given a 3D illusion to the scarring using body paint. Some may prefer to opt for prosthetic makeup to simulate the technique used by the Edward Scissorhands makeup artist but Holly has shown that you can achieve the look with some clever makeup art.
• Edwards Scissorhands Hands: Being part of his name and a key point of the film, Edward’s scissor hands are an essential part of your costume. Of course, if you are wearing your outfit to a fancy dress party, you don’t want actual scissors for hands so cutting out some foam blades and painting them will give the same look.
• Edward Scissorhands Costume: His black costume is difficult to create due to the intricate detail in the buckles so you could opt for his second costume of a shirt, suspenders and trousers. In her impressive body art, Holly has painted on both costumes in an incredible show of her creative skills. To finish off the look, add a choppy black wig.

Holly has added one final touch to her Edward Scissorhands costume – White Coloured Contact Lenses. This spooky addition works perfectly with Tim Burton’s fantasy Gothic style and gives the costume a fun twist for Halloween.

If you are looking for an Edward Scissorhands makeup tutorial, check out Holly’s video below to see the stages of creating her Edward Scissorhands costume.

@makeupbycole’s vibrant painting style enhances the fantasy aesthetic of this Edward Scissorhands makeup. The detailed costume, created entirely of body paint, looks like it belongs on the pages of a magical storybook. She has created Edward's scarred face, darkened eyes and pale skin, complete with a wig and hands. Taking 18 hours in total, we are amazed by this work of art! To complete her transformation, Cole has added Black Coloured Contact Lenses for a Tim Burton gothic style.

These incredible makeup artists go above and beyond to ensure their costumes look as realistic as possible but if you are new to makeup art and want to try Edward Scissorhands makeup easy then why not purchase or DIY aspects of your costume including the wig, clothing, and hands then test out your face paint skills by creating Edward’s scars, black circles around the eyes, tinted lips, and pale skin. If you want to give your Edward Scissorhands costume an unusual addition for Halloween why not add a pair of coloured contact lenses?