In the spirit of Halloween, horror enthusiast Madelyne Acuna can often be found applying and showing off her eerie makeup to scare others, a hobby that has developed into a career dream.

The Diamond Bar High School junior created an Instagram account @acunasfx in August, where she displays her works such as lip laceration illusions and other horror looks.

“I started because last year, during Halloween, I wanted to go really full out with my makeup and I just practiced one look over and over,” Acuna said via text. “I found it really interesting and I just kept creating my own looks and following tutorials then it became a weekly thing, like on Saturdays and Sundays I would take five hours of my day to practice makeup.”

Although Acuna taught herself special effects makeup, she has previous experience with cosmetic makeup from practicing on her mother and herself for color guard.

Acuna was offered a spot in the Citrus Cosmetology summer program, a beauty school located in Glendora with free tuition and paid supplies, except for the price of the entry fee into the program.

Acuna said that she is deciding between Citrus Cosmetology and Cinema Makeup School, a private makeup training school located in Los Angeles, which offers special effects boot camp programs for two weeks. She also thought about attending a program at Blanche Macdonald Center in Vancouver for applied design.

Acuna said that some of her special effects looks take up to five hours to create.

“The time it takes just depends on the detail that goes into the look and how much [makeup] is going onto my face because sometimes I paint my face and sometimes I have to create a prosthetic beforehand and then apply it to my face,” Acuna explained.

Acuna also creates creepy face prosthetics that she sells. She had sold a small prosthetics for $7 while also selling a medium prosthetics for $12.

“I don’t advertise my prosthetics, but I am willing to sell to anyone who asks,” Acuna said.

Apart from having plans to take makeup programs, Acuna’s main goal is to work for Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios for a year as a scare actor or as a makeup artist. Ultimately, Acuna said she wants to have a career in film.

“I’m currently trying to network with other artists on social media and take as many opportunities as I can,” Acuna said. “Movies and TV shows would be my ideal workplace.”