Make the Halloween Costume that Will Guarantee a Costume Contest Win

I'm a Halloween fanatic, I try to get to all of the contest party's, I want to win, I want money! I deserve it!

Halloween is the best time of the year, aside from fall being my favorite time of year, it's also the best time for my creative juices to begin stirring. I begin thinking about Halloween in June. I'm that hooked, the thoughts race through my head, what the hell can I be this year that will knock onlookers off of their feet? Shall I be a princess, or a disgusting creature that children will go running from?

Ah yes, the disgusting creature...my specialty.

Last year however my budget was tight, and I had to really get to thinking about how I could pull together a creepy look and still win in the costume contest.

My brain began to think, I already had a fake prosthetic chin and a few hairy warts, and a bald head cap. Grand total was about $20 for those cheap props. But now I needed something to get these prosthetics to stick to my own face. I knew spirit gum would do the trick, but I wanted something more, something new, cheap and effective.

I went to a local party supply store, that sells Halloween costumes this time of year. I wasn't looking for a costume though, I wanted to be original, unique and delightfully freakish.
While browsing the makeup section I cam across liquid latex. It was a small 3 ounce jar for $8. I knew I could probably work some magic with this, so I bought it, having complete faith in it. I didn't have much of a choice, it was about all the money I had.
I also bought another container of spirit gum in case all else failed.

Next was to create my look. The Halloween party was in about 8 hours. I had to get working, and fast. Everyone else in my family already had their expensive yet un-original costumes all picked out, but me...the creative one. I knew I could work with the little materials I had.

First came my bald cap, and thank GOD i bought 2 of them. I have a lot of hair, so tucking in came to be no easy task. I had to improvise. The first cap ripped, so I used the more sturdy cap the second time around. I was able to get it to somewhat stick, but it was still too tight.

I decided if I cut sections off of the other cap to cover up any tight spaces it would work. I spirit glued some small strips of the other bald cap onto loose spots to conceal my hair completely. It worked like a freaking charm!

Now I have my bald cap on, and I am looking pretty freaky. Next was probably the most interesting concept. I had read online about using food on your face for a unique scab like and wart appearance.
I went into the cabinet and pulled out some cornflakes and rice crispies. I placed them to the side for later use.

Next I had to attach my $3.99 chin. I honestly did not see this working out well because the chin was thin cheap and flimsy, so I stuffed it with tissue paper to give it a tick look. Now it wasn't floppy. Perfect! I then put a few dabs of spirit gum around the inner edges of the chin, and it stuck on without an issue.

Next I began putting makeup on. Cheap makeup and even old makeup I had from years past. A cheesy collection of cheap clown sticks will work fine. You can buy them for 99 cents in a dollar store. I began by coloring my eyes in first. Black mixed with green, purple and white gave me a nice bruise like look.

After applying makeup I now had to figure out what the liquid latex was all about. The whole thing though was a lot easier than I thought. I applied dabs everywhere on my face, large dabs and small ones. Once the liquid began to dry I simply rubbed my finger around the, to give it a ripped or peeled skin like appearance. I then colored these scabby cuts in with some red and green makeup to give it an infected look.

As good as this looked, it needed more. This was when my food came into the picture. Yep, my edible costume. Haha! I then dabbed a small amount of spirit gum onto my face and quickly began to apply the cornflakes and rice crispies. The rice crispies gave me a neat scabby like wound appearance, while the cornflakes amped up the appearance of ripped skin.
I colored the cereal in by blending in red, and green, with a little bit of white to give it a pussy like appearance.

I was amazed, this looked fantastic. 5 hours into my creation I looked at myself in the mirror and knew, I had this contest in the bag. My $25 creative investment would ensure a 1st place prize. But I had a few hours left, and I knew I could do something else.

Now I know you can't see it well in the photos of my creation, but I added hair. I ripped some hair out of doll we had in the basement, I then applied some spirit gum to my bald cap, and flowed the hair onto my head.

My final step was the easiest one. I had to wisp a small layer of transparent oil free powder onto my face. This ensures that the makeup does not leak or get greasy looking as time goes by.

I could pretty much wear anything and still win. I choose an oversized victorian looking green dress I found in a local thrift store years earlier. I applied some fake cobwebs to it, and my look was complete.

My final creation, is shown in the picture. Even I was shocked. I totally stripped my face from a nice looking girl to a zombie that had risen from the dead. Well done!

So did I win?
You bet your arse I did. I got first place, and my competition was left in the dust. My costume amazed and frightened people all throughout the night.

It just goes to show that you do not need a lot of money to create a top winning costume. A little bit goes a long way.

The steps are simple.

1. Buy some cheap $3-5 prosthetics for your face, which include a chin, and 2 bald caps. You may also add long ears and horns if you find them.
2. Buy some clown makeup at any local dollar store
3. Buy a jar of liquid latex

4. Make sure you have at least 2 small containers of spirit gum. ($2.99 each)

5. Have some cereal on hand.
6. Be creative, you only get great results when you put in the extra effort.
7. HAVE FUN!!! That's how you get noticed most at costume contest.

My look took me approximately 5-6 hours to achieve. It was well worth it, and I won a cruise trip for 2.

For a larger photo visit this link http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a3/dimeuhday/HalloweenWinner.jpg