Listen up girls and ghouls, it’s my favourite time of the year. My personal mantra for Halloween is that the scarier you look, the better; it’s an occasion when make-up and special effects can have a real scream. Take inspiration from some of Autumn/Winter’s eeriest look to combine the spooky-shock-factor with the beauty-x-factor. Also, try some of my personal tips for something really gory (and Insta-worthy).
1. Queen of the Underworld
Dorhout Mees Autumn/Winter’16. Image: IMAXtree.
TOP TIP: Sclera contact lenses are not for the fainthearted, especially as they’re extremely difficult to insert and deprive your eyeballs of oxygen. Stick to the unbelievable hair – part braided devil horns, part plaited crown – but try another look for the eyes. I recommend thick fake blood dripping from your lower lashline (as if they’ve just been gouged), and/or using watered down black paint to draw fine veins from the hairline as if you’re possessed or newly drowned; think Samara from The Ring.
2. MALEFICENT
Haider Ackermann Autumn/Winter’16. Image: IMAXtree.
TOP TIP: You might not be able to get as couture as the velvet ribbons from Haider Ackermann’s womenswear collection, but you can wrap your hair around pipe wire before using any scrap material you have to recreate these antlers (copious amounts of texturising products and hairspray also involved). To really add that Halloween vibe, go overboard with the contouring – chisel those cheeks to a ghostly degree, and shade your eye sockets with a dark colour to make them more sunken and gothic.
3. SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
Gareth Pugh Autumn/Winter’16. Image: IMAXtree.
TOP TIP: A Hannibal Lecter mask might not be your thing (and it would really inconvenience sipping on those cocktails) so you’ll need other ways to exude that murderous genius vibe that also includes cannibalism. On your cheeks and your neck, layer liquid latex and facial tissue (give time to dry between each layer) before making little tears and painting in your wound with a mixture of black, red (use lipstick!) and thick fake blood. Next, dab the inside centre of your lips only with a deep crimson shade. The result? Someone might have eaten your flesh, just after you’ve tasted theirs.
Happy Halloween!
