Amazingly enough there are still some of you out there who don’t yet know what they are dressing up for this Halloween…
I am both shocked and appalled but I guess not everyone plans theirs the year before like me!
Whenever anyone wants my help with these things I usually ask that person well what are you really in to? Pick a character you really admire, or would love to be. Also pick something recognizable or at the very least eye catching, after all your costume should be a conversation starter. It’s the absolute best time of year to talk to new people, not only do you have an excuse to speak to anyone you like by asking them about their costume but psychologically speaking your inhibitions should be much lower, dressed as perhaps your favourite super hero you will embody the confidence of your character and become someone new (Studies have shown the same works for hat parties, simply by having your guests wear a hat they will become more confident).
Even if you’re THIS socially awkward 😉
If you do by the way want some help with chat up lines this Halloween, there’s totally an app for that, it let’s you customize your lines based on their costume! 😉 http://www.appszoom.com/android_applications/social/halloween-pickup-lines_lee.html
Totes changed it for ya 😉
Always pick something achievable that you can pull off, so ask yourself these questions; What is my budget? Can I buy this costume or do I have to make it? If you’re creative, you are really only limited by how much time you have to put into your costume so ask yourself how much effort am I willing to put in and remember you only have so much time to get ready on the day if your costume relies heavily on makeup/prosthetics etc.
I fall into the creative bracket, mistakes I’ve made which you can learn from is not practicing my makeup before the night, very silly not to and stressful when it doesn’t go to plan! Perhaps I haven’t been ambitious enough in the past, I’m a little lazy and will always go for minimal effort, having now seen you can make your own Armour from foam, I think next year’s costume will be far more ambitious!
Ok maybe not THAT ambitious…
What I always do though and I think is wise if you can be bothered is make or put together your own costume, if you are going for something fairly popular the chances of seeing another “you” are quite high, the only way this is not embarrassing is if
A. you’re not wearing the exact same costume and B. You look WAY better in it than they do 😉
And for Halloween gender swapping is likely
Store bought costumes are totally fine just make sure you win on the details, your makeup and hair should be spot on and don’t forget to accessorize.
MAKEUP (not just for girls, I encourage everyone to gender swap)
The most popular DC characters for woman are Poison Ivy and Harley Quin, there is lots of room to be inventive with your costume here, you can put it together yourself fairly easily and you can even go Steam Punk with it.
Stunning example
Here’s some cool makeup ideas for Harley
Go big or go home essentially
Love the wee balls on the lashes
My faves for Poison Ivy
Love the sparkly eyebrows and fake lashes are a MUST
The creepy lip detail here is great, makes her lips look poisonous. Make sure you get some Ivy, I found some on ebay quite easily.
The Joker is another common one…
Love this nod to Heath and Jack in one!
This one pretty much covers all of your comic book Heroes and Villains
Disney is always lots of fun, there will no doubt be a fair few Maleficents on the go this year, so here’s some tips on being the bestest 🙂
If you wana do the original Disney version, this is pretty spot on
I personally prefer this, make sure to highlight your nose whatever you do. Make your lips bigger by going under the bottom sides and make a clear, wide heart shape at the top.
The Little Mermaid will never die, if you want some funky mermaid makeup, cover your face in some fish net stockings and then highlight areas on your forehead and cheek bones
Ursula makes a GREAT villain, I mean how much did you hate her! She was a pure dick like.
This makeup is perfect, note the eyebrows especially. I would opt for white hair though.
Another villain that works well is Hades from Hercules, would like to see some ladies try this one too
If you are going to attempt a Disney Princess you REALLY, I mean SUPER REHEEEHEEALLY have to get it perfect, if you can’t accomplish this, DON’T DO IT ok?
Expect this to be done TO DEATH this year, so unless you look THIS AWESOME don’t bother
Alladin should make a wee revival this year after Robin Williams notably died this year *SOB* I’ve seen some terrible Jasmines, don’t be that guy, unless you ARE a guy in which case wire in, the worse you look the funnier it is 🙂
This one isn’t hard to get right IF your are the right ethnicity, if like me you are paler than the moon, no amount of fake tan will make you look like her so don’t get your towels all streaky for nothing 🙂
You can always do a twist on your princess, super effective in a group costume, I’ve seen Steam Punk, Zombie versions and most recently warrior princesses YEEEAAAH!
No messin wi them!
Or the Burlesque version, although I think that’s pretty much what happens every year anyway, sexy Bumble Bee anyone?
One idea I absolutely LOVE, go as Peter Pan’s shadow!
Wear a black morph suit and either spray a Peter Pan Costume black, or make one out of black material
Some looks you can pretty much just rely on the MAKEUP so there’s no need to buy a costume, and remember YouTube is your friend, there are plenty tutorials out there to help you achieve your look 🙂
Only attempt if you have MAD skillz yo
Not too tricky, use putty to create the scars, face paint for everything else and contact lenses of course
Buffy style vampire, you can find the forehead prosthetics on ebay, cut to fit your face, attach with liquid latex, use body putty to smooth over the edges, paint your face and prosthetic all one colour with face paint and highlight with eye shadows or darker shades of face paint.
Bleach mask
Pop Art makes a great impact, give yourself plenty of time to do this though, and a tool which will make perfectly round dots will make this go a lot faster.
Stunning look, be prepared for the chest to take a while though…
As long as you can highlight the right parts you don’t really need a steady hand for this, cracks can be easily done with a fine brush. Stick some staples on with latex glue for some added realism. All over contact lenses by Sclera- Available in store
Love this look, all it takes is some face paint. I would exaggerate your features, use white liner to make your eyes look bigger (like a doll) bring the lower lid as far down as you dare with black eyeliner and draw on your lower lashes.
Highlighting your chest adds all over impact to your look
Van Gogh Self Portrait, very clever and not too difficult either.
Great impact, not too tricky. Use coloured hair sprays and contact lenses to make your hair and eyes an unnatural shade
Game of Thrones White Walker. Ok not an easy one, but impressive no?
GENDER SWAPPING IDEAS
To avoid looking too generic, swapping genders is always good for a LOL
Here’s two ways to achieve the Pumpkin Queen with makeup
Nothing beats a gender swapping couple’s costume
Certainly brings life to the oh so tired slave Leia look
Daenerys & Drogo from Game of Thrones is getting old fast, here’s a way to inject some humour
Harvey Two Face
TinTin ❤
And just for LOLs
Please someone do this!
QUICK AND EASY DOCTOR WHO COSTUMES
I ❤ Doctor Who so hard but the aliens are ridiculously hard to do justice, and dressing as the Doctor doesn’t quite do it for me. Here’s some subtle nods to the show you can do super easily.
Amy in her kissagram outift
Mark yourself for every time you’ve seen the Silence, creepy and CHEAP
Glue on a wee eyepatch and wear a nice suit, this way you will never forget the Silence 😉
For River Song: Jazz up your hair and attitude, make yourself a wee tardis book and this dress was actually common in Primark at one point you may still be able to find it on ebay by searching “Military dress” if not I have one, hit me up yo 😉
NODS TO AN ERA
For some costumes you kinda had to be there, but if you were there, seeing these will make you smile…
Charlie Chaplin is my hero, I would certainly run up and hug you…
If you are planning Betty Boop, PLEASE do her in black and white, waaaay cooler
Great group costume, simple but effective!
It’s a nod to 90s kids and older yay, make your fave tape growing up
It’s Ferngully OMG
Fairly Odd Parents, if you are the appropriate age to have seen this it was utter genius
Timeless, what should be a pretty crap film has somehow gone down as a Cult Classic
If there are any Trekies in the house they will pee their pants at this one
ANIMAL! ANIMAL! ANIMAL!
If you can pull off the Goblin King, I will at the very least, buy you a drink
Ace Ventura 😀
This is CLASS Rufio! Rufio! ROOF-EEEE-OOOOOOH!
GENIUS!!!!!! Wayne’s World! Excellent! Party On!
GAMING COSTUMES
Usually tough to do right and make sure you don’t pick anything too obscure, bear in mind typical girls might not be familiar with Gears of War 😉
Portal, awesome game, not so easy to recreate which is why I love what these guys have done
Dragon Age – my favourite game so would quite like to see some tributes to it. Morrigan is easily the most recognizable character
Ok Internet you win! Guybrush Threepwood from Monkey Island done to absolute perfection ❤
FOOD FOR THOUGHT?
Hell I would wear this anyway, looks cozy 😉
Spaghetti Monster!!!!
Coz LOL
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you MUST do something obvious i.e. Game of Thrones, do something different with it
The moment she has to eat a heart, gore tastic
Zombie Joffrey, because we all LOVE that he’s FINALLY dead!
Do something that will get people excited, either because it’s geek-tastic or because you did it so well.
If you’re not sure how to achieve any of these looks or you want help with yours, feel free to get in touch, I am massively into Cosplaying (in case you haven’t guessed) and have experience coming out the wazoo. Check out my blog detailing my favourite cosplays if you haven’t already
https://damienandlilith.wordpress.com/2014/10/02/its-halloween-time-to-round-up-the-best-and-the-blurst-of-my-costumes-and-how-to-achieve-them-d/
If you still need inspiration, come on down to our sister store Lilith & Damien on Queen street, they have about a gazillion costumes. We also have tons of contact lenses, face paint, coloured hair sprays, liquid latex, fake blood, horror teeth etc. and the friendliest, most helpful staff on hand to steer you right.
http://www.damienandlilith.com – Here you can buy contact lenses online
https://www.facebook.com/DamienandLilith/timeline – For a sneak peak at a small selection of the costumes we have in store.
http://www.pinterest.com/damienandlilith/ – Follow me for great Halloween & Style pics
Damien & Lilith 