It’s hard enough deciding on what to dress up as for Halloween, but even if you’ve decided you’re going as the Joker, you still have to decide which one. Joaquin Phoenix’s take, the latest incarnation, is a popular choice this year if only because it’s the newest with arguably the simplest makeup, but all of the other versions we’ve gotten to know over the last 80 years are still plenty inspiring. Luckily, one talented makeup artist has come up with an idea that pays homage to multiple Jokers, and in a way that manages to make the character even creepier.
Known on social media as McDrew, Drew McHale posted a photo of herself on Instagram in a makeup look she calls, “Joker x 4 — highlighting some of the iconic portrayals of the joker throughout history.” And her makeup tribute is just as iconic. She has made up her face in quadrants; the upper right quarter of her face (left in the photo) is made to look like Phoenix’s Joker, the upper left is made to look like Heath Ledger’s Dark Knight version, the bottom left and left side of her neck is made to look like Jared Leto’s Suicide Squad edition, and the bottom right and right side of her neck is made to look like the 1988 Batman: The Killing Joke graphic novel version drawn by Brian Bolland.
And in a stroke of disturbing genius, she unites them with an effect that looks like the quadrants have been stitched together with metal rings.
McHale took two hours just to prepare for this project. “I took a little while to create my face chart for this look on my iPad to be sure I nailed down all the details. I used this time to do my research on past jokers and the iconic characteristics of their looks,” she tells Allure, sharing the chart.
It took twice as long — another four hours — to actually execute the incredible look. And she shared on her Instagram post exactly which makeup products she used: Mehron Clown White face paint, the Anastasia Beverly Hills Norvina Pro Pigment Palette Vol. 2, the Morphe x James Charles Palette, Beauty Bakerie Lollipop Liner, Fenty Beauty Vivid Liquid Eyeliner in Wet T-Shirt, Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in American Doll, Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder, Huda Beauty Overachiever Concealer, Huda Beauty #FauxFilter Foundation, Moon Creations Face & Body Paint, Skeddit Colorant Vessels, and Colourpop’s new Smoke Show Palette.
“I chose the four that were most unique and recognizable to me,” McHale says. No offense, Jack Nicholson and Cesar Romero. “It’s really hard to pick a favourite joker as they all have such special stories and characteristics, but if I had to pick, I would say Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker.”
Need more ideas for Halloween makeup? Check out McHale’s Instagram, or maybe peruse these easy Halloween costumes?