The Halloween Post

I'm a bit late with this post (as per usual) but I really love how I dressed up this year so I hope you guys enjoy it regardless! One of my uni friends was throwing a house party and for weeks I and my best mate (pictured, with her eyes closed) had been mulling over what to go as - mermaids, witches and dead dolls all had their moment before being dismissed and deciding that really (in Imogen's words) 'Halloween has had it's day'. A quarter of a century of face paint, hair spray, pom poms and pipe cleaners is more than enough - quite frankly, now we just want to look nice. And a bit spooky. So the final cut was my take on Wednesday Addams' long-lost older sister/possibly a young Morticia, while Imogen went as... a girl who wanted to wear a nice Cos dress and purple roses in her hair (the dress was really long and witchy).

So, what did I use to achieve the super simple goth glam look you see above? Would you believe that is in fact not white face paint but merely a generous application of a-shade-too-pale Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder? (Must have had something with SPF in on that ghostly face). This look was all about immaculate hair and makeup, and a super cute thrown-together outfit (which I drunkenly stupidly forgot to photograph in full). But before I get onto all that, allow me to set the scene - because we really got into the spirit of Halloween this year with trips to Ikea for pumpkin scented candles, coming up with the perfect mulled cider recipe and hunting down the very best of Halloween movies Fopp had to offer. We'd both decided well in advance that we wanted to dye our hair - Imogen because she was bored of her natural colour and wanted a change, and me because I wanted go that bit darker in keeping with my monochrome party ensemble (my usual plain-jane dark brown just wasn't going to cut it). So the night before All Hallows Eve we spent a night in on Imogen's canal-boat-home with a couple of boxes of L'Oreal Casting Creme Gloss, Tim Burton's Frankenweenie (so cute) and some seriously good cheese and date & hazelnut bread from M&S (cambozola, amazing invention). Imogen went for 'Iced Truffle' while I chose 'Darkest Brown' to take my hair from dark brown to almost-black. I haven't dyed my hair in ages but when I have in the past  I've always found that anything that says 'dark brown' on the box more often than not comes out near-black on first application! Which on this occasion was exactly what I wanted - super-glossy, almost-black inky locks for Halloween. The royal jelly conditioner that came in the box is actually really lovely, rich and thick, and I've been continuing to use it since dying my hair and really enjoying how soft it makes my dry, damaged (and now coloured) hair. All in all I was really happy with the Casting Creme Gloss, especially after reading so many horror stories on the Boots website of people ending up with blue/black hair that refuses to wash out! Nightmare.

The day of the party (Saturday) we got into the festive mood again preparing mulled cider (recipe to come) and watching Addams Family Values (the sequel which is equally as good (if not better) than the original - definitely worth a watch and perfect for Halloween). Halloween viewing this month also encompassed the 1995 live-action version of Casper with Christina Ricci as well as Hocus Pocus (of course), and on the day itself I watched (and loved) Corpse Bride for the first time with Dean, and the first few episodes of the new series of The Walking Dead (while eating pizza, nice). Our mulled cider recipe was absolute perfection and dangerously easy drinking. After scouring a few websites and getting a feel for what ought to go in, we decided to loosely base it on this Jamie Oliver recipe with a few of our own ideas thrown into the mix. Dry cider (Scrumpy), fresh cloudy apple juice, (a healthy dose of) brandy, orange zest, clove-studded apples, golden caster sugar and vanilla pod all made the final cut - yum. (We also threw in the zested orange for good measure to infuse slowly). It was so tasty (not to mention intoxicating), I'd definitely make it again - me and Dean already have plans to brew up another batch around Christmas time to sip on while watching the Hobbit! So cosy.

Enough of the festivities - when getting ready time rolled round I began with my nails, filed to a point then coated with my usual base layer of CND Stickey base coat to anchor everything in place, followed by a good two coats of Barry M Hi Shine Gelly nail paint in Blood Orange (the perfect Halloween shade), all topped off with a layer of Chanel's Matte Velvet top coat for that 'dried blood' finish. (If you look closely, you can see my talons in action expertly clutching not one but two drinks. Barmaid skills). Nails done, next came hair which was a quick and easy take on my usual smooth, straight affair, with an extra nourishing hair mask thrown in and some serious GHD action. After washing my hair earlier in the day, I slapped on a generous helping of the L'Oreal Ever Riche Nourishing & Taming hair mask - the first time I've used this and I love it! Really thick and rich, gorgeous coconutty vanilla scent and left my hair soo silky soft making straightening an absolute dream! Before blowdrying I spritzed through the Ojon Rare Blend protecting treatment as usual to detangle, protect from heat and add shine - the result was silky smooth, dead straight doll-like locks. Yes!

Last but definitely not least, makeup. I left this quite last minute and spent ages faffing around with the smoky eye before running for the taxi then having to make an emergency U-turn as I'd forgotten the all-important blood red lipstick that was an integral part of my costume. Totally worth the extra £5 it cost us... not. So for makeup I started with the smoky eye, using the black and grey shades in my old trusty S&G Lid Stuff palette in Smoky Doky, some heavily applied Barry M black kohl, my Shu Uemera eyelash curlers and some serious lashings of black mascara. I also used the black shade from an old Lancome eyeshadow palette as well as several fluffy Real Techniques brushes to blend everything out. The mascaras I used were S&G's Thick & Fast HD and my Max Factor False Lash Effect waterproof (you can tell I had fun trying to get that lot off at half 3 in the morning); combined these created really bold, thick, blacker-than-black lashes. Once my eyes were near enough done I cleaned up any excess with a cotton pad and the Body Shop's Camomile eye makeup remover, then applied my foundation, opting for a generous application of the Bourjois Happy Light foundation for a flawless, airbrushed finish, using the Real Techniques buffing brush to blend it seamlessly with my smoky eye, before setting in place with a good couple of dustings of the Rimmel Stay Matte powder in Warm Beige. Time was running out by this point so eyebrows got a quick brush through with the spoolie end of the Topshop brow pencil and a coating of Anastasia tinted brow gel in Espresso to keep them in place, while Mac's Chili lipstick was applied in the taxi (once we'd been back for it) for a blood red, bewitching pout! Outfit wise it was all very quick to throw on - the same sleeveless £5 lace/crochet/cutout black H&M dress I wore back in the summer, with a sheer cream American Apparel blouse worn underneath, white frilly socks and black chunky Topshop mary janes (all belonging to the lovely Imogen).

The party was good fun but as always the getting in the mood and getting ready was the best bit!

As I said, I feel I've outgrown fancy dress a little now however I really enjoyed getting into character for this and wouldn't say no to doing it again - or  something similar - where I get to experiment
with makeup that's a bit more 'out there' than my usual minimal approach!

Happy Halloween Bonfire Night and I hope you all had a great one!

Did you dress up for Halloween this year?

Chandra

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