Kostume Girl's trip to HAuNTcon in Monroeville, PA in May was terrific. I returned to NYC triumphant with a suitcase STUFFED (I had to sit on it in order to zip it closed) full of new makeup, catalogs and oddities. The Halloween fans I met were enthusiastic, creative and just super nice.
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| Halloween Booty from the first day of Hauntcon |
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| The couple that collects roadkill together... |
I knew Halloween is a huge industry but I had no clue the vast arrays of technical equipment and scare products out there. Take for instance companies like Frightprops and Scare Products. They sell huge animated spiders, motion floors, air blasters and latex props that can be installed in your haunt to ramp up the screams. I'm a notorious wuss when it comes to haunted houses. Being in the dark with the very real possibility of something jumping out to scare me around every corner makes my heart rate increase to dangerous levels. When I tried explaining to the people I met that not only do I not run a haunted venue but in general I do not visit them, there was a lot of laughing at me, not with me. Its ok though I love Halloween for the spectacle and the costumes. I know scary business comes with it too so I'm working on embracing the holiday completely and facing my fears head on!
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| RJ Haddy turns good looking Martin into Creepy Ghoul But Still Kind of Good Looking Martin. |
One of my goals while at Hauntcon was to learn as much as I possibly could about airbrush body paint. As part of a plan to up my kostume game, I've been entertaining the idea of purchasing my own airbrush system. It turns out this was the perfect event to do just that. I attended a hands on workshop taught by makeup artist RJ Haddy, best known from the reality TV show Face Off. With only an hour to do so, he showed us the basics on how to apply a foam latex appliance and blend it into the skin fairly seamlessly with airbrush techniques. For most haunts, speed is the main concern since you are trying to prepare a multitude of actors or volunteer haunters for your event. An airbrush can really help facilitate a speedy application of all sorts of scary OR SEXY looks. Personally I cannot wait to try out my new airbrush set for Mermaid Day parade. No more painting my entire body with a sponge for 2 hours. No wonder I'm always late to the parade!
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| Sexy leopard spots sealed the deal on my airbrush purchase! |
The final straw that really made me believe I had to have an airbrush was when one of the guys from Evil Twin FX painted sexy leopard spots on me. I was in love. Imagine doing that to your whole body! Shortly after, I bought an airbrush from the knowledgable guy at the Paasche booth based on the fact that all the pros there seemed to be using his airbrushes for their demos. He patiently showed me how to put it together and what never to clean it with. Big thanks to Chuck! Hopefully you have started me off on a path to a new way for me to elevate the caliber of my costumes.
Leaving the trade show on Saturday it was time to wash off my day makeup and get ready to put on my zombie makeup. The highlight of Hauntcon was that night, The Dawn of the Dead Costume Ball! Time for all the attendees to show off their costume and make up skills. They did not disappoint!
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| How to freak out your roommate. |
After you are happy with your now damaged garment, hang it on a hanger with a garbage bag inside of it and hang it the bathtub or shower. The garbage bag prevents the paint and dye from bleeding through to the back of the garment. You want the majority of the "blood" on the front since you are a zombie gorging on brains all day. Start by dripping the paint from the top down. If you want, splash a small amount of water to help it drip down the dress. Use gravity to your advantage and don't forget to do this in the bathtub! Once you have added enough blood, let it dry and clean the bathtub right away. The dye does stain and you don't want to end up scrubbing grout for hours. Once your garment has dried, try crunching it up in a ball and stepping on it a bit to add some wrinkles and to loosen up the painted part as it can get a little stiff once it has completely dried.
Here is my finished zombie dress and make up. I did the make up using the same techniques as in my Zombie Make up tutorial but I really laid it on thick! I ended up bustling the dress a bit cause people were stepping on it at the dance. This is probably my new favorite wig. I bought it at a Halloween sample sale. It's similar to my real hair but thicker and with dramatic bangs.
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| Thank you for the sweet pic, Doreena! |
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| Do NOT come and play with them! |
As I said in the beginning of this post everyone at Hauntcon was so friendly. At the ball I got the chance to chat with two lovely girls from Las Vegas named Doreena and Tabitha. Their twin zombie girls costumes were great. Love the wigs and those matching baby dolls! These ladies have been working on a Halloween photo book for the past year documenting the many Vegas Halloween events and the people at them. They were obviously VERY busy girls for the month of October. Look for their book Halloween In Vegas Coming Soon!
I will be doing some more posts about the cool people and products I discovered at HauntCon, especially as Halloween draws closer and closer. We are past the half way point people!
Love,
Kostume Girl
PS. Follow me on Twitter @Kostumegirl
