Halloween Make Up Tips

Almost every day of the year, most adults and children are required to look and dress a certain way between Monday and Friday, usually for school or for work. Sometimes these requirements bleed over into the weekend for familial obligations, religious engagements, and other assorted events that are good at taking away any semblance of creativity and personality most of us would have regarding the way we dress on a day-to-day basis.

Then comes Halloween, one of few times in an adult’s life where they are allowed — and sometimes encouraged — to be just as carefree as the children who the holiday is now geared towards. So while children are dressing up as their favorite cartoon characters and an assortment of generic Halloween favorites — vampires, ghosts, nerds, cheerleaders, etc. — adults are doing the same thing.

The whole point of dressing up on Halloween these days is to be something we aren’t already. So with the right clothes and the right application of make up, we can be just about anyone we want to be.

First, you have to know what you want to be. Going about making a Halloween costume takes planning, and depending on how intricate the costume is, beginning weeks or months ahead of time can be to your benefit, especially in the case of someone who is constantly busy and doesn’t have the time to sit down and make an elaborate costume in one stretch. So once the idea for the costume is set, decide what — if any — makeup will be needed to finish out the ensemble.

Bruises, nasty wounds, and blood stains are common, and can be made using a kit found at any supermarket or costume shop. For the more adventurous, it is entirely possible to make your own fake afflictions using household items or different kinds of eye shadow. It is also possible to make a fake skin color with a few simple ingredients such as cold cream, corn starch, water, and food coloring (for those who do not want to have stark white skin).

There is also often the matter of fake teeth. Many costumes are made even more wonderful or realistic with the addition of fake teeth, whether the teeth are used individually and are adhered to a tooth or two, or whether a set of fake teeth shaped almost like a mouth guard is used.

For vampires and werewolves and other pointy-teethed monsters, single teeth are most common, though there are plenty of top-and-bottom teeth sets in use. The quality and price of fake teeth is widely varied, depending on materials used to make them, how real they look, and how long they will last comfortably in the mouth.

For those looking to pull off a realistic look, single teeth are generally a good idea, as they are often designed to fit securely around one or more teeth and tend not to restrict talking very much, as well as drinking or eating. Those with a tighter budget or looking to be more humorous than authentic, sets of fake teeth are the way to go. The only real downside is that it can be hard to find a good fit — most are “one size fits all” or close to that — and usually requires taking them out frequently to avoid drooling and spitting while talking, not to mention being able to eat and drink without getting food all over yourself.

Aside from teeth and bruises, most other Halloween makeup is considerably more normal in application. The main difference between Halloween makeup and non-Halloween makeup is often the intensity: people are willing to look more severe and outlandish on Halloween than they are allowed to during the average work week — unless they work at an all-year-round House of Horrors. But, as most of us do not, we are apt to put on extra eyeliner, use foundation that may be too pale, lipstick that is entirely too bright, and just about anything crazy…and why not? It’s the perfect night for it!

Posted in Halloween