No, really, that was the theme.
Anyway, after well over a month of putting on and washing off crazy costume makeup, finally on Halloween I started washing my makeup off and my face just came right off with it:
OK, OK, obviously that's not what actually happened, but I thought it made for a pretty funny explanation.
I went simple on the clothes-- a set of skull pattern pajama bottoms and a black t-shirt-- and put my hair in a simple bun to keep it out of the way.
I wanted something a little bit spectacular to finish the challenge off, and when I found the tutorial I used I knew it was the perfect look. As it happens, I was really scraping the bottom of the barrel of my cosmetics by the time I got here-- I'm out of a lot of things now-- but I think I still managed to pull it off.
The basic idea is to have one part of your face made up nicely, then use eyeliner to draw the drips and black spots to make it look like the skin is starting to decay. Then on the rest of the face I went for a slightly more realistic approach to doing a skull than my Day of the Dead makeup (which was more stylized and ornate). The teeth came out kind of funny, I'll have to practice those more.
Time: 45 minutes
Unexpected or Notable Reactions: This didn't get a huge reaction at the thrift store, but I did wear the makeup for the rest of the day-- and this led to one of the best reactions I've gotten this whole challenge. I was at the grocery store, looking for something in produce, when one of the other shoppers turned around and saw me. He gasped a little and jumped about two inches. Then he laughed and said, "Oh, right, it's Halloween today."
Would I Actually Wear This For Halloween: Um...
Most Appropriate Halloween Song: Look What You Made Me Do, by Taylor Swift. (Though, really, what you should be watching is the Hocus Pocus Version: Look What You Made Me Brew. Just trust me on this, you need to see it.)
The old Jennifer can't come to the phone right now.
Why?
Because she's really tired.
Follow Up:
Well, it's been a couple of days since Halloween now, and I'm kind of sad that the costume challenge is over. I had a lot of fun doing this, and I learned a lot of techniques for hair and makeup that I can use even in regular, non-costume styles. I got lots of compliments (always a plus) and all in all had one of my best Halloweens ever. Now that it's over, my thrift store job is quite a bit less fun. Also, I keep having to remind myself that it's OK to scratch my face.
So would I want to do this again next year?
Hahahaha--NOPE.
I'm glad I did this. But I am also very tired of dressing up, of getting up early to do insane makeup, of trying to figure out how to work in impractical clothes-- it's been a lot. And now I have a lot of cleaning up to do: my bedroom is littered with costume accessories, I have a lot of borrowed items to wash and return, and my bathroom currently looks like the site of a chalk-and-glitter explosion. My current acne level is roughly high school. Long story short, I'm ready to be done.
I am desperately hoping not to have this job come the next fall-- because while the thrift store job really isn't a bad gig, it's definitely not my dream. Or what I got my degree in. No, that's my music therapy private practice, which isn't exactly thriving but is still (somehow) managing to stay afloat. You know, the kind of afloat like an iceberg where it's mostly sunk but there's just a tiny part still above water. We'll see where it takes me, but hopefully it takes me somewhere a little different from here.
Anyway, before I head out, I've got a follow up to my Halloween edition of "Strange Things You See In A Thrift Store".
They all came back.
...
I'm really glad that I don't have to work at this place after dark.
Anyway, I hope you had an enjoyable Halloween. Probably there will not be any blog posts for a few weeks because 1) sleep, and 2) November is Nanowrimo and apparently I have a death wish. But failing the chance of me falling victim to a hostile store takeover by demonic porcelain figurines, you'll hear from me again soon enough.
