Student Halloween celebrations always seem like the best idea until you realise you’re going to have to take out a small bank loan to fund your night as a zombie-fied version of pretty much any character/ species known to man. But fear not! I spent an afternoon on the high street (and well away from the library…oops!) to find the affordable ways to do Halloween this year!
DIY Mummy costume for £5!
I did this in my first year at uni and its super easy!
You’ll need:
- A roll of bandages: 99p for 4 meters at Boots
- Fake Blood: £1 from Wilko’s
- A basic cami dress : £3 from Primark
- Safety pins
How to:
- Stain the bandages with the fake blood a few hours before your night out (Top tip: you can mix the blood with a bit of water to make it easier to spread….also don’t use your hands to mix it, unless you’re aiming for red hands for dramatic effect!)
- Put the cami dress on underneath (I tucked the straps in as well to make it a bandeau)
- Get a friend to wrap the bandages around you, and safety pin them in a few places to keep them attached.
This was my finished product! (Hello this is me), I just did some dramatic contouring with white and black powder, a thick layer of black eye shadow and a helping of fake blood!
Admittedly, the next few ideas aren’t strictly costumes… but they will show you that you probably have Halloween –ready staple items in your wardrobe that just need an accessory to make them costume ready!
The basic black cat (What else)
When all avenues are exhausted, the trusty cat costume will never let you down…as I found out last year! All you’ll need is #AllBlackEverything! Finish with a pair of cat ears, a tail and a black eyeliner of some description.
That’s me (Again), and, for a last minute attempt, I’d say I was pretty happy with it!
H+M: The champions of my trip!
During my escapades around the city centre, I realised items on the high street make it so easy to utilise things we already have at home to put together an outfit for Halloween, and H+M were the outright winners!
Skeleton Sass:
For an easy skeleton themed outfit, pair this skeleton bodysuit with a pair of black shorts, jeans or a skirt, or if you want to go all out, pair it with these skeleton leggings! Want to know the best part about it? – both of these items are just £7.99 each… which compared to the £20-£30 you’d spend on an ‘actual costume’ in a fancy dress shop, I’d say is a pretty good deal!
Better the Devil you know:
For a sparkly alternative to your year 6 Halloween disco devil costume (I’ve looked better), team this horns and tail set (£7), with a red body suit (you can find one on boohoo for £8) and your trusty pair of black jeans!
SPLURGE ALERT!
If you do want to splash the cash for Halloween this year, then team this sparkly red body suit (£25, H+M), with a pair of red or black bottoms – or if you’re feeling particularly daring a pair of black or red tights! Although this would seem like a splurge at the time, if you’re a regular fan of red sequins this bodysuit is super re-wearable for any night out – so let’s call it an investment buy!
Vampire Chic
So you’re attending a house party, and you don’t want to do a Georgia from Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging and go as a stuffed olive – but you still want to fit the Halloween theme – we’ve (more like H+M) got it covered!
Team this £9.00 cut out top with you guessed it… that trusty pair of black jeans/shorts/skirt, a helping of dramatic makeup and fake blood and you’ve got the perfect understated vampire costume!
Accessory central
Everyone knows the first place to go for cut price anything is of course Primark, and I sought out their best (and cheapest) makeup kits and accessories on the market right now.
They have a glitter tattoo set for just £4, and this basic face painting set – perfect for that dramatic contouring I’ve been going on about for again, £4!
TOP TIP! – these kits will probably go further than you expect so share them between 2 or 3 friends – less waste and more money saved!
Primark have got nails covered too, with sets like these for just £1.50! There’s various designs so whether you’re going as a witch or a werewolf there’ll be a design for you!
If all of this fails, and you’re really stuck about what to wear… there’s always this well known alternative
Happy Halloween Her Campus gals!
This article references :
http://thebuzzbug.com/mean-girls-irl/
http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Stretch-Bandage-5cm-x-4m_1121247/
http://www.popsugar.com/love/photo-gallery/11454703/image/11466207/Ex-Wi…
All other images are the writers own.