Costume Creations/Frugal Friday: Frankie Stein from Monster High

My little niece, Tempest, is big into Monster High. It's my fault, too. I got her a Frankie Stein rag doll for Christmas one year, and that was it. To her mother, I apologize.

Last year, Temp went as Frankie Stein for Halloween, and was so darn cute it hurt. In her honor, I thought I'd do a costume look for Frankie Stein, and I wanted to try to do it with all drugstore products. This is not intended to "transform" you into Frankie, nor is it meant to be a "going out" look. This is just to show that you don't need to buy the overpriced makeup kit that is sold alongside the costume to get a Frankie Stein look for trick-or-treating. If you want to see me do a Frankie Stein-inspired "going out" look for adults (since those costumes apparently exist. Who knew?), let me know in the comments, and that can totally be arranged. This one is more "stage makeup" inspired, and intended for ten to twelve year-olds.

For the uninitiated, this is Frankie:

Frankie Stein (Credit)

And here's what I came up with:

I know, the stitches go on the other cheek. Whoops. You'll also want to do your neck and ears, but this was for demonstration purposes only. I love you guys, but Supernatural was coming on. I have priorities. Jensen Ackles is cute.

I'm not a tween, nor am I a model, so this looks silly as heck. Plus, I blinked every darn time Thomas took a picture. As a stage actor, I can tell you that this--every bit as much as the whole "the actors could get distracted, fall, and die" aspect--is the reason they tell you not to take flash photos at theatrical productions. It's because we're unaccustomed to the flashes and make stupid faces. THIS is the picture I look the least stoned in, so here you go. 

Alrighty, I (not being a twelve year-old with perfect skin) started out by applying a moisturizer, then used Maybelline Age Rewind concealer to cover any blemishes and dark circles. Then, I used a NYX jumbo pencil in Milk to prime my eyelids, all the way up to the brow. The white base will help keep the L.A. Colors mineral shadow in a purple color nice and vibrant. Next, I mapped out the shape I wanted for the eyeshadow, then filled in the entire area with purple,including under the lower lashline. After that, I took the pink shadow from the L'Oreal HiP duo "Reckless" and defined the crease area. Then, I grabbed my NYX liquid liner (though a black pencil would work if you're not comfortable with liquid) and created a winged cat eye on the top lashes, then lined the lower lashline, as well. We'll come back to the eyes a little bit later.

For the skin, I used a small, dense powder brush to apply the green side of the L'Oreal HiP duo "Perky" all over my face. This will take you a thousand forevers, but it's a sheerer effect than greasepaint, and easier to find in a close-to-accurate shade. If you have trouble keeping the brush out of the dark navy shadow that makes up the other half of the duo, try carefully covering that half with a little masking tape until you finish with the green. Once you have your face (and neck and ears) covered, take an even smaller brush (like a lipliner) and the same green (the smaller brush will help concentrate the color) to map out the places you want contoured, like the cheekbones and around the nose. Use the bigger brush to blend out the lines. Then, uncover the navy blue side and lightly go over those contoured areas with the bigger brush and the blue. You'll also want to go into your hairline and around your jaw. Next, take a blush brush and a hot pink blush, like E.L.F.'s Pink Passion from the Studio line, and shade the apples of your cheeks. Use the same brush to pop a bit of the purple eyeshadow over the pink, to tie the colors together. Dust a sparkly white shadow, like L.A. Colors mineral shadow, onto the cheekbones to highlight.

Back to the eyes! You're going to have to do a little clean-up, now that the green is in place. I found it easiest to do this with the NYX jumbo pencil in Milk, because it's super creamy, opaque, and you can just draw it wherever you want it. I didn't want to lose the eyeshadow shape, so I used the white pencil as a highlight for the brow, inner corner, and brought it down below the lower lashline. I also used it on the waterline. Then, I applied two coats of black mascara to upper and lower lashes. You could use false lashes, but I know a lot of kids won't sit still long enough for that, so I just went with the mascara.

To finish things up, I used a black pencil to darken my brows and to draw on her stitches. Lastly, I applied Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Romantic to my lips for her signature glossy red pout.

I hope you enjoyed this. Again, if you want to see a more grown-up version, let me know in the comments.

A Little Bit Zombie, and a Little Bit Rock and Roll

I have a quart of mint-flavored fake blood and a snappily-dressed skeleton torso in my closet. The highlight of Thomas' night, last night, was finding a fake severed tongue for five bucks on ebay. We're not exactly normal people.

(I assure you, we're perfectly nice. Okay, maybe not perfectly, but nice. We're definitely nice. Just odd.)

Photo Credit: Mattel

So, a couple of years ago, we ran across this rag doll in a new collection called Monster High, we had to pick one up for our niece (she's not normal, either. She's just plain awesome). Niece went nuts for it, and even went as Frankie Stein for Halloween last year. Now, since she enjoys the brand so much, I tend to keep my eyes peeled for anything new and cool, especially with her birthday creeping closer. That's how I discovered that this existed:

Photo Credit: Walmart

Forget the munchkin; I want this one!!

She is Operetta, the daughter of the Phantom of the Opera (a mystery never fully explained). I promise, I will keep her in the original packaging, and place the box in a place of honor on the shelf in my office! She can keep me company while I practice singing! Please, please, please!! My birthday's first, you know!

*ahem*

Excuse me for that sudden outburst. My love of the Phantom goes back a long, long time, and runs deep. I apologize. 

The doll is gorgeous. She's styled in rockabilly fashion, which I think was a bold, amusing choice. Considering she's supposed to be a teenager, it makes sense she'd rebel against her father's love of classical music by embracing a wildly differing genre. Rockabilly is also so stylized that it borders on theatrical. A lot of careful thought went into her look, and it shows. 

I'm a fan of Monster High. The dolls are cute without being cookie cutter, and I feel like it teaches kids to accept each others' differences. It's those differences that make us special. There's also a coordinating book series, and I'm always up for anything that makes a child want to pick up a book. Plus, there's always a chance that they'll want to read about their favorite character's dear old Mom or Dad when they get a little older. Somewhere, I think Mary Shelley and Gaston Leroux are smiling.

Monster High dolls are manufactured by Mattel, and can be found at Toys R Us, Walmart, Target, Amazon, and many other retailers. For more information, click here, or check out this forum here. If you want to lose a day, click here for a downright addictive dress-up game.