Easy "The Orville" Xelayan-inspired Alien Girl Costume For Halloween

Unorthodoll
by Unorthodoll
16 Materials
$5
20 Minutes
Easy

In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to make an alien girl costume inspired by Xelayans from The Orville. If you’ve seen the show The Orville, you’re probably familiar with the Xelayans, a humanoid alien species from a planet with a high gravitational pull, so they’re super strong.


Xelayans are also characterized by the ridges above their eyebrows, so it’s easy to create their look using makeup for Halloween or cosplay. Let’s get started with this DIY Xelayan alien makeup!

Tools and materials:

  • Primer
  • Foundation
  • Concealer
  • Eyebrow pencil
  • Setting powder
  • Large brush
  • Eyeliner
  • Mascara
  • Matte blush
  • Matte bronzer
  • Highlight
  • Small angled brush
  • Brown eye pencil
  • Elf ears
  • DIY The Orville uniform
  • Prop for fun
Filling in eyebrows with brow pencil

1. Apply normal makeup

Start by applying primer, foundation, and concealer, as you would usually. Fill in eyebrows with an eyebrow pencil, and set the base makeup with setting powder, using a large brush.

Applying matte bronzer to cheeks

Apply a little matte bronzer to the hollows of the cheeks, the sides of the forehead, the eyelids, and anywhere else you think you’ll need it. Then, add highlighter to your cheekbones and the top of the nose.

Prepping for the alien makeup

Apply eyeliner and mascara. I’ve gone for a little winged eyeliner.

Applying lipstick

Finish up with lip liner and lipstick.

Alien makeup ideas

2. Create shadow

Now for the fun part - creating the alien makeup! Apply a matte blush to the apples of your cheeks and the sides of your forehead. Top this with another layer of matte bronzer to create a shadow.

DIY alien makeup

3. Create the ridges

Dip a small angled brush into concealer and mark where you want the ridges to be, right above the arch of the eyebrow. Remember, they should look symmetrical on both sides. Also, mark ridges down the nose.

Making a The Orville costume

Then, fill out the shape of the ridges with concealer.

Alien Halloween costume

Go in with a brown eyeliner under the ridges to add a shadow and make them look 3D.

Female alien costume

Blend the brown pencil marks a little with a clean angled brush.

Last minute DIY alien costume

Add a second layer of concealer, concentrating application at the tip of the ridge, to make it appear like it’s catching the light.

Alien costume and makeup

4. Add elf ears

To truly get that Xelayan alien look, apply some elf ears.

Xelayan costume from The Orville

Draw lines on the ears with the brown eye pencil. It’s best to do this roughly while wearing the ears so that you can see how it looks. You can soften up the lines with a small angled makeup brush after.

Easy Xelayan-inspired alien girl costume

Easy Xelayan-inspired alien girl costume

My DIY alien makeup is complete, so I fashioned a The Orville uniform and styled my hair so that the ears are just popping out. Make a little prop (like an aluminum box) to prove your alien strength and you have yourself a full Xelayan Halloween costume!


If you’re not a fan of The Orville, I think this easy ridge look would still work well for other costumes, such as a mermaid or a fantasy character. Let me know what you think of this tutorial and my alien makeup ideas in the comments below.

Suggested materials:
  • Primer
  • Foundation
  • Concealer
See all materials

The author may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.

Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 5 comments
Next