Happy Feature Friday – Halloween Edition!

This week we were lucky enough to have TWO makeup experts give us Halloween tips and tricks before the big day! Although getting the perfect costume is important, making sure your makeup enhances that look can tie the whole thing together. If you want to transform your face this Halloween but need to know how to do it, Hannah Concannon of The Dress Up Box has you covered! On her Instagram and website she features a Face of the Day, a new creative look done by Hannah on her own face! We love checking out her pages to find out what she’s doing next! She has a lot of experience and great recommendations for products you can use at home, so keep reading to get some ideas and make sure to also check out Part I with Erin Scott Beauty! And Happy (almost) Halloween!

: We love that you do a Face of the Day. What are some of your favorite looks you’ve done so far ?

: This is definitely a tough one. My favorites change all the time, but at the moment here are the ones I keep coming back to:  The Moon, The Blue Fade, The rainbow swirls, and, of course, Darth Maul.

: What tools should every costume makeup artist have in their arsenal?

: The best primer EVER (period. The end.) is Monistat anti-chafing gel. The drag queen who taught me makeup basics in San Francisco swore by it, and it makes your skin so smooth and soft. It’s like magic glue for foundation as well, once that stuff goes on it won’t move for a long time even under stage lights.

I do most of my looks with Snazaroo face paint, which is high quality, easy to use, and won’t stain your skin, not to mention it’s incredible inexpensive. A large cake is $5, but you can get a starter primary colors kit for under $10. It’s my go-to because it dries quickly and you don’t have to powder it like most creme makeup. The only drawback is if you sweat a lot which brings me to…

Kryolan Fixier Fixing Spray: It looks like hairspray. It kind of smells like hairspray. It’s definitely not hairspray. One all-over mist of this magic fixer and you’re set to party all night, and the next day too if you want, in whatever makeup you decide to put on. Definitely a bit heavy for daily use, but when the occasion calls for it, Kryolan spray will never ever let you down. Pro-tip, this is what everyone uses for weddings, especially outdoor summer weddings.

: What’s one easy costume makeup technique that you have mastered. How can we achieve this look for ourselves?

: In concept this is easy, but it took me lots and lots of practice to perfect. My costume makeup secret weapon is being able to block out my eyebrows and then paint over them. It’s amazing what you can do  when you’re able to draw in new eyebrows or just remove them completely with makeup.

The secret? A glue stick. Everyone’s favorite Australian drag queen Courtney Act has the scoop in this awesome short tutorial:

Pro tip, if you’re going for Lady Gaga this halloween, this will totally make the costume. Simply glue down your entire eyebrows and cover with a full coverage foundation and powder. Boom. Yasss Gaga.

: You’re also a costume designer! What popular Halloween costume do you think would be enhanced by adding makeup? (Compared to just dressing up)

: One popular costume that’ll definitely be enhanced with makeup is *drum roll* Donald Trump. Don’t forget to add tons orange foundation and waaaaaaayyyy too much light concealer under your eyes. You’re going for that “Slightly-too-tan-for-NYC/Sun-damage-what-sun-damage?” look . Refinery 29 actually did a great short tutorial back in August.

 Also, if you’re like me and tend to be really last minute about everything, you can definitely pull off a lion or tiger costume with just the stuff you already have at home (or can buy for under $20 at Target or Walgreens). Here is a fantastic tutorial by Marie Jay I found a while ago, and it’s a great costume if you have curly or natural hair that you can tease out as a mane. For a tiger look simply add more orange and a few stripes with liquid eyeliner.

: And finally, what are you going to be for Halloween?!

: Last year I went as a skeleton (inspired by ZombieBoy Rick Genest). This year I’m going to paint the muscles on my face and neck  (ala Heidi Klum). I have some spandex pants with muscles printed on them, so hopefully I’ll have enough time to get all my exposed skin painted on Saturday 🙂