The most beWITCHing time of year is here, and Halloween is afoot. If your Halloween ideas and activities include attending parties, then best come in costume. There’s no better time to get dressed in your spookiest get-up than now. However, if you’re reusing a costume from the past years or just need to up the spook factor, we’re here to help. Read on to find out how products you may have hanging around can help amp up your costume game!
Lifestyle Items
Maybe you have these items in a drawer somewhere or even in your purse. While it may seem as if they’re totally unrelated to dressing up, trust us on this one. It’s going to take your spooky outfit to the next level.
Battery-operated Tea Lights
These safe alternatives to candle decor can also be used to create a spooky glow. All the better if your costume is made of loose, thin fabric. Fasten some of these to your body under your clothes. Once they’re turned on, you’ll have an ethereal glow that looks like it’s coming from within. Many of these tea lights appear to flicker, which gives an other-worldly appearance. Mind that you don’t get wet to avoid injury or damage.
Rechargeable, Portable Fan
With the heat and humidity in Metro Manila, almost everybody has one of these. Wondering how to use it to add spookiness to your attire? Place it strategically to make your hair or clothes move softly. Make everyone wonder what’s making all that material move by keeping it out of sight. Thankfully, it’s size makes that easy to do. Just take care that your hair or clothes doesn’t get caught in it.
Spookify Your Face
If you’re getting into the ghostly groove for All Hallow’s Eve, it’s not just your clothes that matters. You also have to look realistically scary. This is where our next suggestions come in. If you don’t already have these around the house, a quick trip to the grocery or drugstore will solve that for you.
Petroleum Jelly
Did you know that this all-around jelly can also be used as makeup? Melt some old crayons and petroleum jelly together. Stir it well and let it cool. Now you have an inexpensive greasepaint you can use to transform your face. Take it even further and create bumps and scars on your skin. Knead some flour or baby powder with a small amount of Petroleum Jelly until you get a dough. Now you have what SFX makeup artists know as scar paste. Make sure you peel it off completely afterwards and use an oil-based makeup remover to get rid of any residue.
PVA Glue
I’m going to bet you slathered school glue on your hands and peeled it off in one piece as a child. That same idea can be used to give you wrinkly, old-person skin. Dilute PVA glue with some water and mix well. Scrunch up your face and brush the mixture on. Wait until it’s dry and voila, wrinkled up skin. Paper mache your face with the mixture and small pieces of toilet paper. It will look loose and zombie-ish. Scare them even more by peeling off a few parts and tinting it gray, brown, or red. Creepy! You can also safely use this glue to attach glitter, sequins, toys, or whatever to your skin. Beware though, it does smell awfully sour. Thankfully, glue washes off easily with soap and water.
Liptint
If you don’t have one, someone in your household is bound to. Many of these tints come in deep reds and browns, perfect to use as blood. Apply this on your lips liberally and let it drip for a vampy look. Use it to stain your hands and clothes bloody. Pool some in your mouth and slowly let it ooze to scare them witless. If it’s too runny, you can mix it with some corn syrup for a better consistency.
Alternatives for the Alternatives
Just in case you don’t have or don’t want to use some of the products we mentioned above but still want the same effect, don’t fret. You can easily substitute some of them for other more accessible options. For example, you can use moisturizer instead of Petroleum Jelly. It will just take more powder to get the desired consistency. You also need to knead longer. You can use food coloring in lieu of melted crayons and liptint. However, waterbased food coloring will not mix with petroleum jelly. To achieve the color of blood, you have to mix a few drops of black or purple with red.
Ready?
Get your costume out of the closet and prepare to trick-or-treat! We hope you get to try our suggestions and let us know how they worked out for you. We’re excited to be scared!