October 31 is upon us, collegiettes! Some of us have our costumes, makeup, night out destination and girl group planned and ready to go. The rest of us, myself included, are scouring the internet for last-minute costumes and beauty products that will (hopefully) ship in time. If the latter describes you and you’re on the lookout for makeup, fake blood and other things to complete your look, here’s a list of tried and true products to take your costume to the next level.
Kat Von D Fetish Palette
This palette gives you options with several different color groups and 24 different shades of eyeshadow. The Fetish palette is one of my personal favorites because it has plenty of dark shades for a smokey eye look to go with a scary costume and lighter shades for anyone opting for a less spooky look. The best part is you don’t have to wait for it to ship to you. Sephora carries most of Kat Von D’s products in stores, so if you don’t want to risk spending money on expedited shipping, you could easily make a quick trip to the mall to find this palette.
MAC Cosmetics Eyeshadow Singles
While the Fetish Palette offers a lot of different eyeshadow shades, it can be expensive if you’re only looking for one or two colors to complete your look. Mac Cosmetics offers 106 different shades of eyeshadow in single packages and has just about every color you could ask for. They also have a variety of different textures, from glitter to completely matte and everything in between. These can be found online or in Mac and Nordstrom stores.
Ardell False Lashes
Ardell lashes are great for Halloween because they come in a wide variety of styles (rhinestone, natural, glamour, you name it). I used to wear Ardell lashes for cheerleading competitions, and if they can hold up to a full day of tumbling and stunting, they’ll last for the entire duration of whatever your Halloween has in store. The pictured lashes cost $12, and individual sets are even cheaper. These can be found at beauty stores like Ulta Beauty and Sally Beauty, but they’re most conveniently located in drug stores such as CVS and Rite Aid.
Fleet Street Bloodworks Fake Blood
Choosing which fake blood to use can be difficult for anyone who hasn’t used it before. Fleet Street Blood Works, recommended by Manhattan Wardrobe Supply, is great because it looks wet even once it’s dry. The best part about Fleet Street Bloodworks is you can find their products on Amazon. Unfortunately, since it’s production-quality fake blood, it costs $35. The good news is it’s easy to find good quality dupes, like Maven’s “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Blood” Fake Blood.
Morphe Setting Powder
Nothing is worse than spending an hour on your makeup only to have it ruined the moment anything touches your face. This setting powder will keep your spooky look from smudging or fading, and it’s only nine dollars! You can find it at Morphe and Ulta Beauty stores.
Air Optix Color Contact Lenses
Colored contact lenses are tricky because they can be unsafe and, well, they’re illegal if you don’t have a prescription for contacts. Since contact lenses are classified as medical devices, they are regulated by the FDA and cannot be legally purchased if the lenses aren’t FDA approved and the person purchasing them does not have a prescription. This was news to me too, since decorative contacts are so easy to buy and so common. But, to avoid breaking the law and risking dangerous side effects of contraband lenses, maybe skip this accessory. For those of you who have a contact prescription and want a little extra something to take your costume to the next level, Air Optix Color Contact Lenses are FDA approved and come in a variety of colors. Sadly, you won’t be able to find contacts with cat-like pupils and crazy colors that are legal to buy, but there are options if you want to change the color of your eyes for the night.