The Axl Rose Makeup Journey
Alright, folks. Gonna walk you through my messy attempt at the Axl Rose look today. Seen so many fancy tutorials, wanted a real quick, practical method.
First thing – I gathered all the crap I thought I’d need:
- My old black eyeliner pencil (hope it’s not dried out)
- That cheap dark eyeshadow palette with the greys and blacks
- Some spirit gum adhesive (scary stuff)
- Fluffy makeup brushes and q-tips
- A bunch of brown and black pencil liners
- My regular foundation, but way lighter than my skin
Jumped right in by washing my face clean. No moisturizer yet – wanted a blank, kinda rough canvas. Slapped on that super pale foundation. Felt weird, looked ghostly. My neck didn’t match at all. Whatever, moving on.
Tackled the eyebrows next. Axl’s are thin, dark, and kinda arched weird. Used a dark brown pencil to draw thin lines way higher than my actual brows. Looked ridiculous, like two sad worms crawling up my forehead. Grabbed a tiny brush and black eyeshadow to smudge under them, trying to get that deep-set, grungy look. Ended up looking bruised. Awesome.
Now the eyes. The liner. This is where things always get messy. Took that black pencil and went HAM around my eyes. Top lid, thick line. Bottom lid, waterline, all blacked out. Smudged it hard with a q-tip like I saw in some expert video. It didn’t look cool and smoky, just smeared like I’d been crying. Used the black shadow to pile on more mess. Looked at the mirror. Yep, panda eyes achieved.
The headband scar. Yeah. Tried to remember where Axl usually has it. Dabbed spirit gum on my forehead near the hairline. Waited for it to get tacky. Took a thin piece of tissue, ripped it to look scar-ish, and pressed it onto the glue. Held it down. Messed it up first try, pulled it off. Left sticky crap on my skin. Second try was slightly better. Waited for it to dry completely. Then came the fun part: layering foundation over it, then dark red pencil to make it look like a scab, finished with brown shadow around the edges for depth. It kinda looked like a weird bruise more than a scar, but hey, close enough.
Finished with the lips. Just a touch, nothing glossy. Dabbed a tiny bit of natural color lipstick and blended it out. Looked back in the mirror. The whole thing felt patchy, messy, and honestly kinda ugly – but weirdly recognizably Axl? The stark white face, the insane dark eyes, the ridiculous fake scar. Took pictures. Looked slightly less terrible in photos than in real life.
Verdict: It’s messy as hell. Looks trashy close up. Takes way longer than it should. But for a quick costume or stage look? Probably works if you’re not standing right next to someone. Learned that “quick expert methods” still involve a ton of smudging and hoping it looks intentional. Don’t expect perfection. It’s a dirty, grimy look by design. Practice might make it less bad. Maybe.
