*Editor's Note: This was written early in the day on Monday. Unfortunately, the editor was well in the car, on her way to deliver tricks or treats, when it dawned on her that she had completely and totally forgotten to post her blog. She is an idiot. Please use this as a reference for what to look up on Hulu or YouTube in the future. Our apologies, The Management.
Happy Halloween!! I know everyone is super busy finishing their
costumes and...oh, who am I kidding? It's Monday, and we're all at work.
Because of that, as far as I'm concerned, 5pm is the new "Witching
Hour". My costume (#2 o' the day. See below.) is hanging on the closet
door, the jewelry is laid out, and the makeup is packed up to take to my
Mom's. I am ready and rearing to go!
So...did anyone remember to set the DVR?
Here's what I'm recording tonight (all times Central):
6pm: SyFy, Ghost Hunters Live.
This year, the TAPS team investigates a former asylum, Pennhurst State
School and Hospital. Online viewers can help with the investigation via a
"panic button"--see something? Hit the button! If enough people hit it
at one time, the team'll go check it out. The show runs until midnight,
so you can watch other shows and catch up as needed.
7pm: Fox, Terra Nova. I love this little show. It brings back fond memories of Jurassic Park,
and mixes them with a sweet family drama. If you haven't watched it
before, I urge you to give it a shot. While it's not specifically
Halloween-y, this week's episode features a murder mystery...murder by
dinosaur!
11pm: Nickelodeon, Cry Baby Lane.
Honestly, I have no idea if this is going to be any good or not; I'm
just curious. See, the only time this has ever aired was October of
2000, and, according to urban legend, parents were so outraged by the
scary content (on Nickelodeon? Really?) that it was never re-shown,
never released on video, and only recently made it to the Interwebs. The
film has developed a cult following online, so Nick has decided to air
the movie one more time. According to a synopsis on Wikipedia, the basic
storyline concerns conjoined twins--one good, one evil--who were left
by their parents to die. Now, thanks to a seance (those are always a
great idea, right?), the evil twin is possessing everyone in sight. If
nothing else, a banned Nickelodeon show should qualify as an oddity. It
might be fun to check out.
Alrighty. So, I mentioned above that tonight's costume would be the
second of the day. The first came early this morning, when I went on a
local morning show to give some last-minute Halloween costume and makeup
tips. Talk about an honor! I'd do that again in a heartbeat! Anyhoo,
since we were discussing things that could be thrown together in a
minute, I went as an 80s High Schooler, and my friend and model, Soren,
was my zombie companion. I tell you, it's a good friend that will let
you put zombie makeup on them at 6:00 in the morning.
In case you're still fumbling for ideas, here's what went into each costume:
80s High Schooler: I already had a second-hand letterman's
jacket from 1984, and that's where the inspiration for this costume came
from. It's not the greatest costume in the world, since it had to be
put together with stuff from my closet, but I did the best I could with
what I had to work with. I wore the jacket with a jean skirt (Old Navy),
white t-shirt (Mudd), bright blue tights (Missoni for Target), black
legwarmers (gift), silver sequined belt (not a clue. I'm sorry), big
hoop earrings (Target, but ages ago), and purple Converse tennis shoes
(Ross, actually). I curled my hair with hot rollers, then teased as high
as I could and sprayed. The humidity killed it by the time this picture*
was taken, but for a while, I was hot. (No, not really)
*A picture was supposed to go here, but it refuses to show up. Should I ever get it to work, I'll add it and a picture of the zombie makeup. Sorry for the inconvenience. (Blogger! I give up!)
*A picture was supposed to go here, but it refuses to show up. Should I ever get it to work, I'll add it and a picture of the zombie makeup. Sorry for the inconvenience. (Blogger! I give up!)
Makeup was baby pink and plum shadows from Smashbox (Burlesque collection),
and holographic lavendar (Desire) from LORAC. Liner was the plum
Smashbox on bottom, and a deep black with purple (After Party) from
LORAC on top. Black Buxom Lash on top and bottom lashes. Hot pink blush
(Delight) from LORAC (all LORAC from the Be Mine collection). Hot pink
lipstick (Mauvelous) from MAC.
Zombie: For the show, we did easy peasy zombie makeup. I
used all Ben Nye products, since that's what I had on hand, but the
entire look could be achieved with drugstore foundation and eyeshadows.
Basically, I brushed on pale foundation (one shade lighter than actual
skin tone), then used a plummy brown in the eye sockets and hollows of
the cheeks. I also applied a little white highlighter to the cheekbones
to help them stand out a bit more and make the hollows look more sunken
in. The same plummy brown was then layered on to darken the eyelids and
define the most sunken areas of the eyes. A little red was used as liner
under the eyes and blended. Then I stippled a little of the plummy
brown (very little), along with some ice blue and pea green onto the
face with a sponge, then blended lightly with a fluffy brush. This was
to add a little texture and create some discoloration from decay, but
that's a very optional step. The lips were colored in with the ice blue,
then layered with plummy brown. I finished the look by creating a
bruised cut with smeared blood on the forehead, and another blood smear
at the lip. The bruise was created by blending red, purple, plummy
brown, dark blue and lime green into a circular pattern (start with the
red in the center, and blend in the other colors as you move out. Kind
of like a warped rainbow). Then the cut was made by drawing a gash with
black eyeliner. The smeared blood was red that I, well, smeared on.
Finally, I sprayed a little silvery-gray hair paint (Not Ben Nye!
Walgreens!) onto a messed up hairstyle, to create the illusion of dust
and dirt. This looks crazy hard written out, but I swear, the whole look
took 15 minutes, and I made up most of it as I went along. As long as
you look sick and gross, you're probably doing just fine. The costume,
itself, was a plaid shirt, blue jeans, and an undershirt made to look
like a skeletal chest cavity. All came from Soren's closet.
Good luck, and I hope you end up with tons of candy!
