Michelle Castano
Editor-in-Chief
October… The time of the year when pumpkin-everything is trending on the isles of Trader Joe’s, the weather is finally in the 80’s in South Florida, and Halloween creeps up full throttle. At this point, all I am interested in doing is dressing up my Golden Retriever puppy as a lion with a lion mane.
As a college student, I don’t feel like “investing” in a $60 [plus] costume that I’ll only end up wearing once in my life. However, Halloween makeup is currently trending (with the help of Pinterest) and one can essentially decorate their face with makeup items that they already own.
Last year, I was roaming my local Target and found a deer onesie. I assured myself that I’d wear this onesie more than once since it was a “pajama” and I was going to be in New Orleans (colder climate) for Halloween. For the makeup element of my ensemble, I had a bronzer, eyeliner and lipstick that fit the color theme of a deer.
I realized that the overly “bronzed” portions of the deer makeup literally translated to a bad contour job. The practice of contouring is to place shadows in areas of one’s face so that they appear slimmer. With proper blending with a makeup brush, one can achieve an airbrushed look. I basically didn’t blend the bronzer properly and left the harsh lines of the bronzer on my cheekbones. To add more dimension, I grabbed my trusted Urban Decay Naked palette number one (may it R.I.P. since they are no longer making it). I added darker eyeshadow shades of brown to add more definition to my deer look.
Afterwards, I got a white gel pencil eyeliner and added spots on top of my “bad contour job.” I then proceeded to draw a heart on my nose to reflect a deer nose; I grabbed a black pencil eyeliner to achieve the precision of the heart-shaped nose. For my lips, I just grabbed a dark brown NYX matte lipstick (shade name is Beauty Mark) and applied it as I normally apply any lipstick for any occasion (nothing too unattainable here).
The last step to this look is the eyes. Using the aforementioned Naked palette, I created a brown smokey eye with beige tones on the creases of my eyes and dark brown hues to off-balance the outer arch of the eyes. With a waterproof liquid eyeliner, I created an angled winged eyeliner design to mimic the deer’s distinct eye shape. I finished the look with a Too Faced mascara and Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray to lock in my look. And voila! I was free to prance around at last year’s Voodoo Fest in New Orleans.
Another makeup idea in which I will briefly discuss is the makeup application for Willie Wonka’s Violet Beauregarde look when she was turning violet after chewing a mysterious gum. If you ask me, it’s pretty easy and “lazy-girl” approved. All you have to do is dab your nose area and apples of your cheeks with a purple (preferably metallic) eyeshadow and call it a day. If you happen to own a blue tracksuit sweater, you’re all set!
Dressing up for Halloween doesn’t mean that you have to break the bank. In fact, take a look at the items that you already have and get creative. I have a safari hat laying around somewhere in my closet. Maybe I’ll be a lion tamer to complement my dog’s lion costume.
castm46@mail.broward.edu