We all know that feeling of anxiety you get over what you’re going to wear on Halloween night – that “my costume isn’t working out/isn’t cute enough/doesn’t look like I tried enough/isn’t original enough” feeling.
I think what stresses us girls out the most is that we’ve got to come up with a costume that is super cute (or sexy), super clever, super in, all while making sure we’re still recognizable! I mean, we definitely don’t want to follow in the footsteps of Cady Heron (aka Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls)
For this Halloween, I’ve come up with a few looks to get you ladies over the pre-Halloween party stress! You can use makeup you already have for these simple but stylish looks, and clothes you’ve probably already got in your closet! This way, you won’t have to buy a costume that you’ll only use once in your lifetime, or a makeup palette too out there to use every day.
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Katniss Everdeen
I’ve got to admit, I’m not the biggest fan of the Hunger Games series – but I absolutely adore J.Law and her style! Makeup wise, you can just follow your normal makeup routine. In the movies, J.Law sports a very natural, dewy look.
For the Makeup:
- To get her look, apply some concealer to cover up any dark areas or uneven skin tone.
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Next, take a foundation brush and use a powder foundation. Liquid might look a little cakey, not in line with the natural look Katniss has.
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Then, fill in your brows!
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Running around in the wilderness, Katniss definitely gets her share of sunshine- so apply some bronzer in the ‘3’ technique I talked about before (You can find it in my Beauty Crime Blog here http://www.hercampus.com/school/u-toronto/frequently-committed-beauty-crimes-and-how-avoid-them)
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Instead of eyeliner, curl your lashes and coat them with black or brown mascara
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Finish off your look with some clear lip gloss- or a pale pink gloss for that classic J.Law pout!
For the Costume: you know that green drawstring fall jacket every girl (even you) owns? Or that brown leather jacket you’ve been saving for the cooler fall days? Pair that with a black cami or a black tank, black leggings, and a leather boot (a riding boot or one with laces).
For the Hair: If your hair is long enough, part your hair just a little off centre. Leave some pieces of your out in the front to frame your face. Then, put your hair in a low, side pony and braid away! Use a clear elastic to secure the braid, and let if fall on the side of your shoulder.
For a finishing touch, print out The Hunger Games crest and pin it to your jacket. You can also make a short trip to the dollar store for a bow and arrow. Now, you’re pretty much set to compete alongside J.Law, I mean Katniss, herself!
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A Leopard
Even though a leopard costume isn’t exactly as popular as Katniss Everdeen, I’ve got a pretty awesome makeup tutorial for this look- you can even use products that you already own!
Makeup Wise:
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Start off by applying concealer and foundation in the way you usually do.
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Then, fill in your brows as per your usual makeup routine
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For this look, you might want to do a light powder contour- but applying bronzer using the ‘3’ technique will work too!
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Next is to use liquid liner and create a fierce cat-eye! Here’s a step by step pictorial by yours truly!
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Just so you know, I’ve got somewhat hooded/small eyelids so creating a cat-eye is a little difficult for me, but this only means I apply more liner to get the look I want. If your lids aren’t hooded, it’ll be a lot easier for you.
STEP 1:
Hey y’all! So this is me, just your average asian girl. For step 1, start off with a blank canvas, just your regular foundation/ concealer routine, with some contouring if you want, filled in brows, but no eye makeup yet!
STEP 2:
Take your liquid eye-liner, I’m using Loreal’s Telescopic liquid liner, and make a line from the inner corner of your eye stopping just shy of your nose. Make sure it’s pointed because this will be the starting point for our cat-eye.
STEP 3:
Because I’ve got hooded lids, I made the wing of my cat-eye extend over my lid. Otherwise, you probably won’t need to make the cat-eye as bold as I have. You basically want to make a a very thick, overexaggerated wing on your lid, starting from the inner eye to your outer eye. Fill everything in nicely, making sure the liner is dark and completely filled in.
STEP 4:
Next, you’re going to take a handy Q-tip. To make the dots along my temple, (which will become my leopard spots), I’ve dipped the Q-tip into the golden shade in the middle of the eyeshadow palette. I love this palette for the neutrals- the lighter shades are great for daytime looks, while the darker shades are fabulous for nightime looks.
STEP 5:
So after you’ve made the dots, they should look something like this! I hope you can see the dots I’ve made! They start just about the arch of my eyebrow, and go along my temple onto my cheeckbones.
STEP 6:
To make these golden dots look like leopard spots, take your eyeliner, and make little black blotches/spots around the golden dots. Don’t fully outline the golden dot, and don’t worry about making perfectly circular dots around it. The more imperfect, the better! Once you’ve finished making the spots, you can decide whether or not your want to add more, or if you want to do the same on the other side of your face. It’s looking pretty fierce right?!
For the Costume: Leopard print shirts are everywhere, and when I say everywhere, I mean EVERYWHERE (even in your closet!). If you don’t have one, you might have a pair of leopard print shoes, a belt, – and if leopard print is your thing, you probably have matching leggings. Halloween is the perfect time when wearing all these leopard print clothes (at the same time) is fashionably acceptable! But if you don’t have any of these things, finding a shirt will be easy-peasy!
For an Extra Touch: You can pop over to the dollar store for a black headband with kitty ears on them- you’ll be 10x more fierce than a Pussycat doll anyday!
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Tris from Divergent/ The Black Widow
Like Katniss, Tris and the Black Widow (Shailene Woodley and Scarlett Johansson) are the badass leading ladies of their movies Divergent and The Avengers. They also seem to share the same stylist!
For the Makeup:
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Follow the Katniss makeup tutorial, but add some liquid eyeliner on the top of your upper lash line, with a small wing on the outer corner of your eye.
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On the lower lash line, line your lashes with a soft brown eye shadow
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Since we all can’t have luscious lashes like Shailene or Scarlett, you can put on some falsies. Coat them with mascara and your eyes will definitely pop!
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If you want to go for the Black Widow look, you could also add a bold red lip to your look- nothing says badass than a red lip! (Plus, red lips can be a stand in for red hair if you’re not a natural red head)
For the Costume: I have two words for you ladies: Black, and Leather. If you have a black leather jacket (which I’m sure you do!) wear that baby with a black cami or tank underneath. Pair this duo with either black leggings, leather like pants (which were in style last time I checked) OR my personal favorite, leggings with leather panels on the side, like this:
To pull the look together, put on your black leather boots (heel optional) and you’ll be looking like a super sexy superhero, or secret agent!
For an Extra Touch: For Tris, you can try getting a temporary bird tattoo like the one she sports in the movie, or try your luck with a sharpie or liquid eyeliner. For The Black Widow, get a group of your friends to go along with you as Captain America, Iron Man and the rest of the gang. You will definitely win the best group costume prize!
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My version of a Zombie Bride (A kind of homage to Cady Heron’s Zombie Ex-wife!)
I know what you’re thinking, “this isn’t easy!” But oh, it is! Well, as long as you’ve got black eye shadow (or a black eyeliner pencil), white eye shadow (or a white eyeliner pencil) and dark red/burgundy lipstick. You won’t scare your friends as easily as Cady did, but you’ll be the belle of the ball!
Make Up:
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Like the other looks, go through with your normal makeup routine making sure to skip the concealer (dark under eyes are a plus btw!) and also remember to fill in your brows a little darker than usual.
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You won’t need blush for this look, but doing a liquid contour under your foundation would really make your bone structure pop- which is definitely the best feature of a zombie bride if you ask me!
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Apply your lipstick (use the tutorial on lipstick in my Beauty Crime blog)
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For your eyes, here’s another pictorial!
STEP 1:
For your Costume: No matter where you are, what age you might be, or what your style is like, you have got to have a little black dress! It’s the staple to every girl’s closet, almost like a rite of passage into womanhood! Pair your little black dress with some black or red pumps, and you’ll be one gorgeous zombie bride! If you have a white floral hairband or want to splruge on a costume piece, Ardenes and Claire’s is always a cost efficient choice.
I hope I’ve helped you ladies figure out what your Halloween look might be like and at least given you some inspiration. At the party there might be 10 other Elsa’s, but who knows how many leopards or zombie brides there’ll be? Happy Halloween lovelies!
Photo Sources:
http://www.solbrazil.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Solid-high-waisted-le…
http://www.ukleatherjackets.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9d…
http://stylepantry.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Riding-boots-frye-blac…
http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=27504182
http://media.giphy.com/media/t6AqqyzcJTc64/giphy-facebook_s.jpg
http://jackflacco.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/katniss-everdeen-in-the-hu…
http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/a9/c9/50/a9c95053f155a8aac6306e4f…
http://img004.lazygirls.info/people/scarlett_johansson/scarlett_johansso…
http://dy6g3i6a1660s.cloudfront.net/bzWa1uoEkx0vHwZjQvgtBgJYAW0/lb-d8/la…
http://voguemagz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Kim-Kardashian-Leopard-H…
http://media1.onsugar.com/files/2013/05/06/889/n/1922153/21bf051a7a8a95c…