All About Eyebrows

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Emma Rae
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A well done costume demands a bit of extra attention. This is what every costume aficionado understands. Whether you’re a theater nerd, or just a Halloween enthusiast (like me), the devil is in the details. And what is more prominent a feature on your face than your eyebrows? Whether you’re dressing up like a character from Star Trek or a flapper from the ‘20s, you’ll want to be prepared to cover up your everyday asset to make a much bolder statement.

Here are some of my favorite tips for getting your eyebrows dressed and ready for the show:

Cover up your eyebrows. Not all costumes will require this of you, but if you want to create a different you, than this is the place to start. There are multiple ways to cover up your eyebrows, but all sources agree you’ll need base makeup and powder at the very least. You can follow this explanation of what else you can incorporate to white-out your eyebrows completely, though I’m not a fan of using glue. Once you’ve blended your eyebrows into your natural skin tone you can then begin making new, larger eyes. This is perfect if you want to dress up as a silent movie star.

Cover over your eyebrows with spirit gum and fake hair. If you use this traditional method of disguising your brow, you can do almost anything from a unibrow, to feathered brows, to a Japanese Sensei. All it takes is a little imagination and know-how. I personally like to use this method, but don’t forget to make sure you have enough rubbing alcohol to remove the adhesive at the end of the night.

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Full Face Makeup for Women

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Emma Rae
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There are plenty of things you can do with makeup to give your costume a boost. But sometimes, you want the makeup to really stand out and transform who you are into someone new. With hundreds of costumes to choose from, here are my top 6 favorite female characters found on Halloween night:

  1. Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas. Sally is a great character to really get into. She’s got a great light blue pallor, and the stitches make for some complicated makeup artistry. You can use actual thread and makeup putty to slowly build up the doll like effect on your skin. Make sure to add touches of blue and black along the thread so that it blends nicely. With all Tim Burton characters the sunken eyes are the most important touch, but with Sally you can’t forget her flame red hair or red lips.
  2. Black Swan – Natalie Portman. The scene where Portman becomes the black swan is a sweeping cinematic moment that deserves all of the drama makeup can provide. Make sure you create straight stark black lines to achieve the fullest drama. Don’t use cherry red lipstick, stick with a more brooding palette. Deep burgundy or black cherry is much more appropriate. Using loose pale powder with a shimmer can add to the death like quality.
  3. Day of the Dead Skeleton. A classic Halloween look that can be as fun as you want it to be. Pick a bright accent color and then its time to paint your whole face black and white. Bold skeletal lines, accent by the bright fuschia or lime green behind your eyes.  If you have long locks, pile them on top of your head and accent with matching flowers.
  4. A Leopard/Cheetah. Who doesn’t get excited by a ferocious big cat? Make sure to paint spots all over your face, arms and legs. Any skin showing can be a great place to cover. Use three tones that all complement your skin tone. There’s no need to just paint on solid orange and brown these days when there are so many shimmery skin tones that can be layered in such a way that all you’ll need from the halloween section is black face paint. Make sure you keep your mouth area a more solid white that feathers out towards your face. Brown or light pink lipstick with a brown nose also add to the overall effect. When you’re done all you’ll need are ears!
  5. The Corpse Bride. Another fabulous Tim Burton character with full face makeup. Again, blue, but a more brilliant blue, not as pale as Sally. Beautiful sweeping eyelashes and bold dark cherry lips. You can really get into this character by painting the rest of your body the same color blue.
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Feathers and Costumes. I think yes.

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Emma Rae
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Incorporating feathers into your costume makeup can be difficult. Where do you place them for optimal effect? How many do you need? How do you get them to stay in place?
Feathers tend to look more dramatic if placed around the eyes.

Sure, feather earrings or hair extensions are really fun, but they won’t make you look as exotic. If you want to create a color theme, choose a couple of color coordinating feather styles and match them to whatever costume or outfit you will be wearing. If you only want a slight accent, 2-4 large feathers will probably do the job, however, if you want a more dramatic flair find smaller more dramatic feathers.

Etsy is a great resource for high quality feathers under their craft supplies section. You may need anywhere from 5-20 small feathers for this detailed look.

Before attaching the feathers, you will want to add your base eye-makeup. If you are using fake eyelashes, this will be the simplest time to attach them. After you add the mascara, any fake eyelashes and base colors then it’s time to prep your feathers.

Cut the feathers to the desired length. Check them against your eyelid. Are you going to cover your eyebrows? What is the overall shape you are trying to make? Semi-circle? Wave? As you cut your feathers to shape make sure to take off any quill or unattractive portion of the feather as it will keep the feathers from lying flat.

Using a body adhesive with a roller like Jobst’s, “It Stays!” apply glue to the desired area around your eye. Note here that you’ll need baby oil at hand to remove the glue later, so make sure you have some before you start gluing anything onto your skin.
When you’re done attaching feathers, you can add any additional makeup. Or perform touchups.

If you like rhinestones, this might be the perfect moment to add some sparkly touches.

Oh this makes me wish it were Mardi Gras!

Emma Rae Curtis writes and researches everything Halloween. Costumes, party ideas, baby costumes and makeup.

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Makeup is forever

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Emma Rae
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Costume makeup is a subject near and dear to my heart. While I love Halloween, I don’t think we should isolate dressing up or being fancy to just one day out of the year. That’s why I find excuses for practicing my makeup artistry throughout the year and this year Valentine’s is no different.

Just check out this new line of makeup from Illamasqua. A sort of “Femme fatale” look but with Valentines dripping from every line. The shades of red are wonderful and could double for amazing vampire blood later on in the year.

Turning the woman’s face into a heart is such a wonderfully playful way to reference the holiday while not overdoing the holiday’s innate glamour. And what better way to reference the past than to add a heart shaped beauty mark? A little french courtesan, a little 1950s pin-up girl. I couldn’t be more excited for Valentines now!

Emma Rae Curtis writes and researches everything Halloween. Costumes, party ideas, baby costumes and makeup.

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How to Make an Authentic Looking Costume on the Cheap

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Emma Rae
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From Cityrag.com

Make Your Own Bat Wings

Buying premade Halloween costumes can be expensive, and there is always the chance that someone else at the party will have the same one. You can avoid potential embarrassment by making your own costume from clothes you already have or by hitting up the local thrift store. But to complete the look you are going for, you can accentuate your get up with some store bought make up and accessories. These are usually pretty cheap and will really pull your costume together.

The best part is that there are hundreds of options to choose from so no matter what your costume, there will be an accessory option to match it. Costume shops have everything from fairy wands, to eye patches, to laser guns, to cowboy hats. They also have canes, chains, knives, swords, fake noses, wigs, hook hands, and fake teeth. The possibilities are really endless. Mix and match and think outside of the box. Why not be a zombie fairy or an alien pirate?

Make up is a good way to punch up a home made costume as well. Fake blood goes with everything, after all. Also, do not forget about fake gore or a festering wound, you know, for fun! And unless you have never seen the sun, you need white make up to be a proper vampire (and glitter now, apparently). Do not forget about nail polish, glow in the dark body paint, and eye shadow.

So get creative as stretch your dollar without sacrificing realism for your next costume. Just accessorize properly and you will be surprised at the results.

Emma Rae Curtis writes and researches everything Halloween. Costumes, party ideas, baby costumes and makeup.

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Give Yourself an Edge in Your Next Costume Contest

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Emma Rae
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Creed from the "Office" in a funny mummy costume

If you plan on entering a costume contest for Halloween or any other reason this year, you can give yourself an edge over the competition by following the tips in this post. So read on to give yourself the best chance of winning your next costume contest.

When it comes to costumes, there are two choices; buy or rent a premade costume, or make your own. While spending a bunch of money will get you a nice costume and give you a good chance of winning, there is always the chance that someone will have the exact same costume. Making your own costume out of clothes you have or buy, or sewing your own can involve a lot of work but you get a more one of a kind costume. But this route can be time consuming and, depending on your skill and budget, can have a less than finished look.

Whichever of these you choose to do, you can give yourself an edge by making good use of make up and accessories. Smart use of make up and accessories can set you apart and really put your costume over the top. The best part is that they are usually fairly cheap compared to the cost of the costume. Costume stores have hundreds of accessories to choose from, you can get creative, and mix and match for best effect. Make up when well done can be a costume all on its own. A good tip is to buy extra and buy early so you have time to practice and experiment to get that perfect look. By the time the contest rolls around, you will have perfected your make up and will have every detail in place. So it will not matter if you are one of three Captain Sparrows, you will look the part down to the last detail and have an edge over your competition.

Emma Rae Curtis writes and researches everything Halloween. Costumes, party ideas, baby costumes and makeup.

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