By: Alison O'Neill

When it comes to creating the perfect character costume, it’s all about the preparation and the subtle touches. Whether you’re looking to knock the socks of the competition, or to simply turn heads at the next costume gathering, you’ll need to master your make up and accessories! About a week or so before your big event gather up all your make up and accessories and have a trial run. This will allow you to practice and perfect your techniques; it will also give you an opportunity to pick up last minute additions, if you feel that your costume is missing something. Don’t wait too long, or you might find that everything you’re looking for is sold out!

So let’s get started: First and foremost, scan through the magazines, and search online. Unless you’re a makeup guru you will probably benefit from having useful points of reference for how you would like to look. Once you’re ready to begin you’ll need to tie your hair back. If it’s not long enough to tie into a pony tail, you can use bobby pins or a hair band to keep it off your forehead. This would be a good time to put on your wig cap, if you were planning on wearing a wig. Now that you have a fresh clean canvas, take a good long look in the mirror and study the contours of your face. If you have a few mirrors, even better; this way you can see both sides of your face at once. Be thoughtful, and methodical. Imagine the make up on your face, and compare yourself to the pictures that you have gathered. So here are some character specific ideas, but you can take them on yourself and evolve them to fit your own costume:

Marie Antoinette
Usually you would have a very pale (nearly white) face, but to look more "pretty" and less "costume-y" let’s get going. Start by mixing a white pigment makeup with translucent powder, and dusted this all over your face, neck and into your bust line. If you are unable to come up with a white pigment, you can use a foundation powder which is much lighter than your natural skin tone. Now to get your rosy pink cheek bones, use a bright warm pink blush, and apply it using a tight circular motion right on the apple of the cheek bone. Blend this out with a sponge, so that it keeps a rich rosy colour in the circle, but it doesn't look messy or clownish. For the eyes, use a pale pink for the eyelids, and highlight the brow bone with a copper colour, and blend well. You want your eyes to look lighter than your face, but warmer and romantic. You can always switch these colours up to match your own skin tone, but avoid cooler colours, because you want to look more neutral. Next apply jet black mascara. For extra va-va-va-voom you can use false lashes to really add to your doll like appearance. For the perfect pout, sweep on some red lipstick, and blot it out on a tissue. You want a nice red stained lips – for glassy lips, you can add some gloss on the pout of your bottom lip. Last but not least, you'll need to draw on a Beauty Mark. You can use the traditional small circle, or you can switch it up with a small star or heart. I most often use liquid eyeliner to draw this one, but even a small black sticker would work. Now slip on your wig, and you’re ready for a Masquerade Ball! Variation: Use smoky blacks, silvers and greys to be the Ghost of Marie Antoinette, or to attend an Evil Court. Add a laceration to your neck with a scar kit, so that it looks like your beauty has been decapitated.

Mermaid
Set your basic foundation as you normally would. If you’re not use to using foundation, focus on covering any dark circles and blemishes to give you a clean, fresh palate. To start out, mix some Aqua Blue pigment to crème foundation, and apply it along the entire hairline, temple to temple. Using a sponge, blend this out and sweep the colour over your forehead down and out from the hair line. You can have this blue colour as light or as dark as you wish. The subtler use of colours is usually more romantic, while the darker tends towards a more sci-fi look. On your eyelids use the Aqua Blue make up that you used on your forehead. Apply the makeup heavily all over the lid, and sweep it up to the eyebrow, and out to the temple. Now sweep some of the eye shadow under the eye to give a blue smoky feel. Apply a softer blue or silver overtop of the bottom sweep, and up into the corner of the eye, near the bridge of the nose. This will soften the look, so it doesn’t look like a blue mask. For a glittery eyelid: mix together aqua or silver glitter with eyelash glue, and paint it on the eye lid. The sparkles won’t stand out immediately, but as the glue sets the sparkles will shine and they’ll stay put! If you would like extra drama, be sure to line the bottom of your eye with a black eyeliner right at the base of the lash-line, and add a clean sweep of black liquid eyeliner across the lash-line of the top lid. For nice rosy cheeks, apply a soft pink blush to give yourself a sun kissed look. Not every mermaid stays underwater forever, remember! To give yourself the bejewelled look, use eyelash glue to apply sequins and small crystals along your temples – or really wherever you would like them. Some people prefer just a small star, while others like to shimmer and sparkle from every angle. You can get these gems from a craft or dollar store. Last but not least sweep a soft pink, shimmery translucent powder over your whole face to soften everything up. Your lips are up to you – whether you want a glassy pink pout, or if you’d like to sweep on something more dramatic – like blue - It’s your choice. Variation: Hold the sequins, use greens, and highlight your lips with a deep red colour for a Medusa-esque look.

Fairy Face
Do your foundation as usual. Start with a charcoal coloured shade stick, and sweep it over your entire eyelid (lashes to crease), and out to a point at the edge. Don’t go beyond the brow, just a nice tiny point (think cat eye, or old glam). Use this same shade stick to create a smoky line under the eye, along the bottom lash-line. You don’t want it too heavy, but it doesn’t have to be perfect. Now you can choose your own colours, to match your costume – but I’m a fan of blue, silver and purple, so those are the ones that I’d use. Once you have your eye shadow colours (shimmer is best) – choose one and sweep it all over the charcoal base you created, and right up into the brow. Now on the inside corners of your eyes, of your eye, choose another of your colours, and sweep it from the inside corner up into the crease. With your third colour, dab it along the bottom of the eye – you can either cover the charcoal line you created earlier, or run along tandem beside it. If you’d like you can also sweep a little of your third eye shadow colour into the crease at the outer edge of the eye. Using either your liquid eyeliner or a sharp pointed black eyeliner run a smooth line across the top eyelid, right along the lash-line and out like a little cat eye as far as your original point went. Apply your mascara now, to the top and bottom lashes. Now the creativity really takes off! Pick up where your little black point left off and create tiny swirls coming out – or maybe little vines or whatever you’d like – you can draw it here. I often like doing a few swirls, and edge it with stars. Do what you’d like with your lips – but I often like a bright pink pout, glassed with clear or sparkled lip gloss. If you’d like, at this time you can brush on a translucent pink powder over the whole face, to give yourself that soft sprite look. Variation: With and pale foundation and using grey, silver and black you can give yourself sexy Grim Reaper eyes – or maybe you’re the Fairy of Death – just trail your eyeliner spirals into tear drops. If you’re artistic enough, maybe you can even draw a small skull and cross bones.

Fighter’s Eye
For a nice Shiner, take creamed yellow face paint, and using your finger sweep it all over the eyelid and underside of the eye that got “punched”. Don’t be too heavy on the application; you want the skin to be transparent through the makeup. Using a roan colour (brown-red), smooth it on the inside crease of the eye, and along the side of the nose bridge. Wherever you’d like to highlight the swelling, add a bit more of this roan colour there … under the outside of the eye, and maybe above the eyebrow at the very edge. Blend – blend, blend! With a makeup sponge or your fingers smooth these colours together. Now with a dark brown, blend it along the eye lash line and into the crease. If you’d like some added depth, dap on some black along the lash-line and into the crease/hollow of the eye. Don’t use too much black – and be sure to blend it in. Using your ring finger, dab on some more red makeup to your “swollen areas” to finish up your injury. You can use this same technique to add bruises to other parts of your face. For a bloody nose, rim the inside of your nostril with red make-up; draw a drip of blood flowing out. If you have gel blood makeup – this would be the time to use it! Make sure your blood drop goes all the way to your lip, to make it look real! Remember that the best makeup plays on subtleties. For a deathly face use dark makeup to hollow out the cheek bones. Never rely on just one colour. Even if you’re going for a Frankenstein look, make sure to blend two or three shades of green, to give yourself more depth.

On your big day, start a few hours before you need to head out and take your time. Set all your materials and makeup out to make sure you have everything you'll need. Give yourself time to wash your face and start over, if you’re not perfectly pleased with the results. Also, decide if you should put your makeup on before or after getting in costume. If your costume is one that can be stepped into, or has a wide neck, then leave it till last. If it’s tight or difficult to wriggle into, put it on before you start your make up, and just use paper towels along the neckline to keep everything clean. Remember that a lot of powder make-ups can “dust” everywhere, so be aware of this especially if you’re wearing a velvety costume. Good luck, and be creative – I know you’ll look great this Halloween!