Trial and Error: What happens when you follow a Halloween make-up tutorial

We all know YouTube is a treasure trove of make-up tutorials, and when it comes to Halloween, beauty bloggers really step up to the plate.

From Walking Dead-inspired zombies to real life Instagram filters, movie villains and sexy unicorns there are pretty much no Halloween looks YouTuber's haven't tried to create.

But how easy are these tutorials to actually follow? Could two Herald beauty enthusiasts turn their 9-5 looks into something spectacular if they had the right tools?

We asked Gracie and Jo to each choose a Halloween look they wanted to create this spooky season and give it their best crack - on camera.

Here's how they got on.

Gracie

Gracie selected black spider eyes for her tutorial, a look which she described as "kinda spooky".

Gracie got off to a flying start creating some immaculate spider legs and even adding in some knees.

Midway through her efforts, Gracie faced the harsh reality that maybe this spider was only going to have seven legs due to a "lack of face".

Disappointed, she persisted, squeezing a tiny eighth leg in to complete the look.

Jo

A keen glitter enthusiast, Jo relished the opportunity to create a mermaid look that let her go "all in" with some fun glitter pallets.

A few minutes into this tutorial, there was still no glitter in sight. Jo took matters into her own hands and skipped forward to attacking the glitter head on.

Is there such thing as too much sparkle? Jo says no. Deciding the look wasn't quite bold enough Jo took a glitter roller ball to a large portion of her face before securing extra green and blue glitter to complete her look.

There was momentary regret. And an attempt to tone down her look. But she soon realised that in order to be the best mermaid she could be, she needed to fully commit. So she did.

Gracie appeared pleased with the final look.

Final thoughts

Gracie and Jo found the tutorials at times frustrating to follow and, even with the best intentions, decided they may never get their desired look despite how many hours they put in.

Jo noted that the experience was a lot harder than she thought it would be and the glitter was a somewhat uncontrollable evil.

For someone with a lot of time and skill, following a YouTube tutorial this Halloween might be the perfect way to wow your friends and reign as supreme scream queen this spooky season. But for our panelists, both agreed next year they'll save their time and pay a professional to make them their spookiest selves.