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This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Aimee Payne, MFA. Aimee Payne is a writer and editor living in Jacksonville, Florida. For more than 10 years, she has created informative and engaging marketing content for the insurance, collectibles, and apparel industries. She has a BA from Otterbein University where she studied English Literature and Music, and an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts.
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Do you envy the attention people get at school when they have a hickey on their neck? If so, you’ve come to the right place. Hickeys are created when intense suction or biting breaks blood vessels underneath the skin, usually caused by an intense make-out session. Most of the time, people want to get rid of a hickey, but if you’re trying to create one on yourself, there are a few ways to create a hickey with a bottle or fake one with makeup or body paint. Keep reading for a step-by-step guide on giving yourself a hickey!
How to Give Yourself a Hickey
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Place the mouth of an empty plastic water bottle against your neck to create suction. Squeeze the bottle for about 15 seconds, then pull the bottle off your skin. Alternatively, blend pink, purple, and blue eyeshadow together to fake the appearance of a hickey.
Steps
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Place the mouth of a 2-liter bottle where you want the hickey and squeeze. Keep the bottle’s mouth flush with your skin to create suction.[1] The more you squeeze the bottle, the more suction there will be. More suction creates a faster-forming and more intense-looking hickey. Hold it in place for approximately 15 seconds. After 15 seconds, pull the bottle off your skin.- Most hickeys tend to be around the neck area, but hickeys also appear on the chest and other parts of the body.
- If you place the hickey on your neck, put it on the sides of the neck to make it more believable.
- Avoid the area underneath your chin and directly in the middle of your neck to prevent injuring your esophagus.
- As you make your hickey, it helps to stand in front of a mirror so you can see what you’re doing.
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Widen the hickey by creating a second one next to the first. Since the mouth of the bottle is a perfect circle, consider moving the bottle over a centimeter or two and making another hickey. This second hickey doesn’t need to be as intense as the first one. Try squeezing the bottle less or holding it on your skin for a shorter amount of time.- Since human mouths are more oval, widening the hickey makes it look more realistic.
- This method is generally safe, but a hickey is a type of bruise. Too much suction can cause damage to your skin.
- Bruises take from 3 days to 2 weeks to heal. Hickeys are usually a more superficial bruise, so they take less time to fade than a deeper bruise.[2]
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Apply a pink eye shadow with a small eye shadow brush. Gently tap your eye shadow brush once or twice into the pink eye shadow. Stand in front of a mirror and sweep the brush over your skin in small, ½ - 1 inch-sized ovals.[3]
- Build up the color of the hickey gradually, working in layers.
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Place a purple eye shadow at the center of the pink shadow. Tap a corner of your makeup brush once into the purple eyeshadow. Dab the shadow onto the middle of the fake hickey. Use the brush to make small ovals and lightly blend the purple shadow into the pink to create your hickey.[4]
- When in doubt, use less of the darker eye shadow colors. You can also add more, but it’s harder to take off the color once it’s added.
- Another option is to use a darker pink option that gives the look of a “fresh” hickey.[5]
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Add a blue eye shadow to the very center of the hickey. Again, tap a small corner of your makeup brush into the blue eye shadow. Dab the brush into the center of the hickey. Move the brush in small ovals to blend the blue shadow out toward the edges of the hickey.[6]
- Only add a tiny bit of blue to the middle of the fake hickey.
- Consider tapping the brush on the side of your finger or the edge of a surface to knock off any excess blue shadow.
- If you use 2 shades of pink to make a “fresh” hickey, use a dark red or purple for the center instead of blue.
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Set the eyeshadow with hairspray or a makeup setting spray. Spray a thin layer of hairspray or matte makeup setting spray to make the hickey last longer and prevent it from coming off on your clothes. This fake hickey will last until you wash it off.- If you don’t have hairspray or a setting spray, set the hickey with translucent setting powder.
- Setting powder can also help you tone down the color if your hickey turned out too bright or dark.
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Tap a makeup applicator sponge into 99% isopropyl alcohol. Soak a cotton ball in the alcohol, then squeeze it over a paint plate to create a small puddle. Tap the stippled edge of a makeup applicator sponge in the alcohol to moisten it and activate the paint. Then, squeeze the stippled edge of the sponge to distribute the alcohol. Dab the stippled edge of the sponge on a paper towel to absorb any excess alcohol.
- Alcohol-activated body paint is commonly used in film and theatre because it’s sweat-resistant and long-lasting.[7]
- Grease paints are another option, but they tend not to last as long and can melt a bit due to body heat.
- You can create your hickey on any part of your body, but they’re usually found on the neck and chest areas.
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Tap the moistened sponge into red alcohol-activated body paint and apply it to your skin. Lightly dab or stipple a corner of the sponge on your skin to create a small oval approximately ½ inch long (1.25 cm) and ¼ inch (0.6 cm) wide.[8] Stippling makes the hickey look natural and more realistic.
- Stand in front of a mirror so you can clearly see the area where you want the hickey.
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Apply blue alcohol-activated body paint to make a purplish bruise. With the same sponge applicator, dab the sponge into the dark blue color. The red from the previous application mixed with the blue will create a very bruise-like purple color. Or use a darker red with the blue to create a stronger purple color.[9]
- Dab the sponge into the center of the hickey very lightly to give the appearance of broken blood vessels.
- To help blend the colors, dip the sponge into the alcohol, tap it on a paper towel to remove excess alcohol, then dab the hickey to blend the colors.
Expert Q&A
Video
Tips
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If you want to give yourself a hickey on your wrist or arm, you can simply suck on your skin for 20-30 seconds!Thanks
Warnings
- Do not use a curling iron to burn your skin to look like a hickey. Burns don’t look the same as bruises, and you might seriously damage your skin.Thanks
- Using suction to create a hickey works on most people. However, some may have more sensitive skin and more obvious results than others.Thanks
- Remember that giving yourself a hickey means giving yourself a bruise. Be careful not to hold the pressurized bottle against your skin for too long, or you could give yourself an unsightly and possibly painful bruise.Thanks
References
- ↑ https://youtu.be/mTTVBTZeZa0?t=62
- ↑ https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-to-get-rid-of-a-hickey
- ↑ https://youtu.be/bDyeCVojKag?t=60
- ↑ https://youtu.be/bDyeCVojKag?t=115
- ↑ https://youtu.be/bDyeCVojKag?t=108
- ↑ https://youtu.be/bDyeCVojKag?t=142
- ↑ https://youtu.be/7JNqagQx6qk?t=49
- ↑ https://youtu.be/7JNqagQx6qk?t=81
- ↑ https://youtu.be/7JNqagQx6qk?t=95
About This Article
If you want to fake a hickey and make it look convincing, use an empty plastic 2-liter bottle. Hold the bottle around the middle with both hands and squeeze it to push air out of the bottle. Keep applying steady pressure as you place the mouth of the bottle against your skin where you want the hickey to go. Then, loosen your hold on the bottle to create suction against your skin. Hold the bottle in place for 15 seconds before pulling it away from your skin. Your fake hickey should last for several days before it starts to fade away (just like a real hickey). If you’d prefer a fake hickey that you can wash off, grab an eyeshadow pallet that includes the colors dark pink, dark purple, and dark blue. Stand in front of a mirror so you can see what you’re doing. Then, use a small makeup brush to apply a light dusting of pink eyeshadow in an oval shape where you want the hickey to go. Brush a layer of purple eyeshadow directly on top of the pink oval to add dimension to the hickey. Blend out the purple edges so your hickey doesn't have any hard lines. Then, brush on a very light layer of blue eyeshadow for added realism. Once you’re happy with the way the hickey looks, mist the area with a thin layer of hair spray or makeup setting spray to lock the makeup in place. When you're ready to remove the hickey, wash off the makeup with warm water and facial cleanser. For more tips, including how to fake a hickey with alcohol activated paint, scroll down!
Reader Success Stories
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"I made a hickey on my neck with makeup and when I went to school, my ex kept looking at me and getting protective. Also one thing, girls don't let a boy hurt your feelings, you're more than that."..." more
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