'Tis the season to be ghoulish
Ya-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da
Cowboys and princesses are foolish
Ya-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da
Ghosts and goblins, I hold dear
Ya-da-da, ya-da-da, da-da-da
Post your monster make-up tips here
Ya-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da
(Where the hell did that come from? :eek: )
Just to get the ball rolling, here’s my favourite blood recipe (I think it’s a variation of the one Dick Smith uses, but I’m not sure.), and a couple other things.
White Karo syrup (white corn syrup) and red food colouring. Add a little green to darken it. You’ll have to play with it a little, but don’t go overboard on the green. Use it sparingly or you’ll get brownish “blood”. At this point it’s edible, but you can also add some “photo-flow” to make it the proper consitencey and some zinc oxide powder to make it opaque. (DO NOT ingest it if you use the chemicals!!!)
For nasty skin appliances, lay out a sheet of aluminum foil and pour some liquid latex on it. As the latex dries, use a “popsicle stick” or something similar in a tapping motion to give it texture. Put a very thin sheet of latex on the aluminum foil and when it’s pretty-much dry roll it up for use as a “vein”. You can also add food colouring to it to make it more realistic. The “vein” can be added to the “nasty skin” appliance before the latter dries. Use spirit gum or a little more latex to attach it to, say, your cheeks.
“Mummy” make-up can be made by attaching paper towels (or “kitchen paper”, if you prefer) to your face with latex or similar adhesive. Then use make-up to make it look as if it’s your own parchment skin.
Want a ghoul? Try coating your face with latex and then patting on ordinary bread crumbs! Use make-up to get the colour you want.
I like being a “zombie”, mostly because it doesn’t take long to get a fairly decent effect. First, I use Ben Nye PC-1 “clown white” cake makeup on my face, hands and arms. Then I use PC-81 “cadaver grey” on my cheeks to give a sunken appearance. (Not an easy task on my round face!) I also use it around my eyes. CL-23 “blue-grey” creme colour liner makes nice dead lips. I use the red from Ben Nye’s WK-5 “character wheel” to line the very edges of my eyelids. (Be careful when you’re doing anything around your eyes!) It gives a very creepy, menacing effect, and is a nice contrast to the white/grey/blue scheme. Powder everything with talcum powder to “set” it. Dust off the excess with a “blush brush”.
For the rest of the costume, I use hair gel and just sort-of muss up my hair. Talc makes good “graveyard dust” on the black clothes I wear. Store-bought “cobwebs” are then put over my head and shoulders. Don’t over-do it, and try not to get them to thick. You want them to look like cobwebs, not clouds. There’s usually a plastic spider in the bag, so you can add that too. Now all you have to do is grimace!
Okay Dopers, let’s hear your make-up tips! The creepier, the better!
Powder in your hair does well. I usually combine some kind of powder with silver hair spray. Too make my face look older, I use very light colored pancake foundation (as light a color as you can get and still look natural)and apply it thick. Then I apply pale face powder to set the foundation. For wrinkles, I use a dark brown or gray eye liner pencil. I frown or grimace or anything to make lines appear on my face and then trace those lines with the pencil. I then smug the lines until they are just traces. I put too much rouge on my cheeks and only apply lipstick to the inside of my lips. I have won money and fooled older folks with this. I usually have a walker or a cane that I use.
For cobwebs, I like to use a webshooter. No, I’m not Peter Parker; I’m talking about a drill attachment that fires fine filaments of cold vulcanizing fluid. They look just like real cobwebs and stand out beautifully on a black outfit. It really helps to have a friend apply them–it’s hard to get good coverage by yourself.
If you’re going for a vampire look, don’t use any makeup labeled “Vampire”. It’s almost always a yellowish, cheesy old movie type vampire color. Use a slightly bluish base, then run a light streak of charcoal under your cheekbones and your jaw, then smear it evenly downward–this gives a nice hollow, sunken look. You can heighten the effect (“really hungry vampire”) by highlighting the cheekbones with a tiny amount of white. Use a touch of slightly bluish-brownish lipstick as well. For a neat effect with a date, carry along a bit of white base, some bright red lipstick, and some blush. Let everyone get a look at you, then vanish with your date for a while, then come back with him/her looking pale and wan (white base and take off any red lipstick/add bluish lipstick). Also replace your lipstick with red, and flush your face with the blush.
I worked at a halloween shop for 5 years and picked up a few tips. Almost as important as putting the makeup on is the ability to get back off again.
Get the cheapest cold cream you can find, generic Ponds type stuff. Make sure it is cold cream, not lotion or oil. Secure hair back and apply cream generously. Apply make up as desired. It will go on easily and blend really nice. When all done, set it with baby powder, dip a cotton ball in powder and pat on, don’t rub or it will smear. Next dip the same cotton in ice water and pat on top of the powder. Let air dry. the color will be bright and will not rub off, you can smoke and drink if you desire. the best part is that it is just as easy to get off. take the same cold cream and apply rubbing in circles, wipe off with a warm washcloth.
Also when assembling your costume, give some thought as to how you are going to be able to go to the necassary room. I once had to have my sister get a knife to get me out of my leotard, tights, costume combo. But that’s another story. I was in the bathroom hollaring BRING ME A KNIFE AND HURRY!!!
