Ask Seattle A Question
Questions are no longer being accepted in this category. You can read previous questions and answers below.
Halloween
20101007-gpytwp273re9g9m338q68yty5i

This is the place to ask all your halloween questions... be it costumes, places and parties to go to, pumpkin carving ideas, where to buy just the right prop, how to make scary looking treats... you get the idea.

Answers
  • Last minute Halloween costume incorporating a walking boot?
    Rex_racer_small

    Stump Legged Pirate!

    or
    Mad Eye Moody.
    House, MD
    Hellboy with one big foot variation?
    Jacob Marley
    some Dog Humping Your Leg character?
    Put another one on the other side and add some cardboard - be an Autobot

  • What are you going to be on Halloween? :)
    Dinolock_small

    I haven't dressed up for Halloween since 6th grade when I was a red uniformed Star Trek character and my childhood innocence was shattered by going trick or treating with my friends and, for the first and only time, their old brothers. We came across the first lazy neighbor who just left a bowl of candy out that said "Please take one" but they didn't just take one, they excitedly dumped the whole bowl into their bags -- the older kids -- and I was like... think of the children.

    And that was the last time I dressed up and/or trick or treated.

    Now I am a jaded, child-less adult who only celebrates holidays that involve paid time off.

  • Phosphorescence costume?
    Medium_2868373187_b2c11c89cf_o_small

    Well, just glowing isn't going to be enough. You are going to need to let people know that you are somehow underwater.

    Maybe you could do a three part scene -

    Your legs would be the ocean bottom with brown shoes and seaweed or something coming up your legs.

    Your middle would be the phosphorescence area which you could do the broken open glowsticks or whatever other sparkly stuff you wanted to do.

    Then the top you could wear a hat with water lines, and you could even be extra cool and put a mini-sailboat on top of it all.

    I think that would be pretty awesome.

  • in honor of the spooky time of year: Do you believe in ghosts? (...communicating with the living?)
    Medium_2868373187_b2c11c89cf_o_small

    I don't.

    On a scale of truth - with one side being human propensity to make shit up or to rationalize things that happen by creating supernatural explanations - and on the other side is the reality of a complex system of afterlife that can interact with our own, but only in certain rare situations and only to certain rare people- I tend to think the making shit up scale weighs a lot more.

    To me, weighing the two - my understanding of humanity makes it seem a lot more likely that people are just searching for supernatural answers to natural occurrences.

    Like when we see that stranger standing next to our bed, but when we turn the light on it is our coat we hung on the door. The human mind is adept at finding meaning from randomness - like identifying faces of people we know. We look for patterns, and when presented with random things our mind struggles to fit that randomness into things that we have experienced. This seems like an infinitely more reasonable explanation for seeing "ghosts" than creating a massive and complex afterlife.

  • Sexy halloween costume for a bigger gal?
    Hair_hipstamatic_small

    I'm on the curvy side and I'm going as Joan Holloway (from Mad Men). Joan never shows a lot of skin but always wears gorgeous, form-fitting skirts and dresses. In my opinion, that's sexy without being slutty.

  • Finding/Applying realistic horns & red make-up that won't rub off on clothing?
    Sacri_ordines_by_charism_small

    Add Powder. Kryolan and Nye make the best makeup, so start with those brands.

    There's also fixative, which is a lot like what artists use to set a chalk or pencil drawing, which is, in itself, a lot like hairspray. If you apply enough to make yourself colorfast, then you'll likely crack the veneer when you make a facial expression. As you can imagine, this is why there's a lot of masks for creatures in stark primary colors.

    Or, I suppose you could make/use some pre-colored cold foam prosthetics.

    I suppose if you found a flexible enough (and colorfast) liquid latex, you could apply that on top of the red makeup to attempt to seal it that way... (you'd have to use a dry makeup, something dryER at least, like pancake, not creme). Cons: Aside from likely failing and peeling off your skin like a bad sunburn (especially if you're going dancing and sweat), you'd also add significant "age" to your devil, as this (thin layer of latex over the entire face) is one of the classic ways to create realistic old age faces in film/stage makeup.

  • Tips for a Joan Holloway hairdo?
    Tomato_small

    It looks like french twist, with the curls pulled out and pinned. Try contacting a beauty school (like the Gene Juarez advanced training school in Northgate) or hair salon and book an appointment to get an updo like this. I know when the Gene Juarez/Aveda place was downtown, it was just $20 for an updo. Just make sure you don't wash your hair the morning before you have it done - slightly dirty hair will work better.

  • What is your favorite Nosferatu story or movie?
    Avatar_default

    I love "Daughters of Darkness," a somewhat hard-to-find film which features a lesbian seduction and the disposal of an inconvenient and boring husband. It's witty and pretty to look at, plus having something of a feminist consciousness.

    The Underworld movies are also, in my opinion, darkly beautiful. The heroine who is an enforcer for the vampires, only to find out that her loyalty was based on a lie, is hot as anything when she struts around in her catsuit and shoots hapless foes D-E-A-D, dead. The plots are predictable, but the story moves along so quickly that there's no time to get bored. There are only a couple of moments in each of the movies where the viewer gets jolted out of make-believe by a cliche or poorly executed special effect.

    I read Kim Harrison's books for fun. They feature a witch and a vampire pair of roommates who are also private investigators. There's a lot of sexy fun, and the author has created a complicated occult world that is neither saccharine nor compulsively bleak. She is, I think, a better writer than Laurel K. Hamilton, but who can resist that soft-core narrative that she does so well? Bodice-rippers with fangs. Yum.

  • Need help coming up with a clever name for my costume
    Sacri_ordines_by_charism_small

    John Elway.

    Secretariat.

    Ed: That's MISTER Ed to you.

    Jack from Jack in Box's horsefaced/always-a-bridesmaid wingman.

    Elmer (as in, glue)

  • Best way to fill out a beard with makeup?
    Cateyes_small

    I think if you approach your beard the way some ladies approach their eyebrows, you should have good success.

    That is, get an eyebrow pencil (and a pencil sharpener) that's a little lighter than your beard color. (Take a lady friend with you to Bartell's and try out a few different colors. If you go too dark, your beard will look super fake.) Using gentle, short strokes, fill in the beard area, starting from the outside and working in. Once you're done, use *clear* mascara (sometimes marketed as brow gel) to keep the hairs in place. You can also use a toothbrush to groom your hairs while the brow gel is still wet.

    I don't frequently use brow pencils myself, so I find it handy to have some q-tips and gentle facial lotion or makeup remover to fix stray marks. (Lotion works well as a makeup remover, as long as you don't get it near the eyes.)

  • home utensils that can be used to help carve a wicked pumpkin? (besides a knife)
    Sacri_ordines_by_charism_small

    Apple Core-er and a cordless Drill are my go-to pumpkin tools to wow people with. Otherwise, a serrated steak or bread knife or longblade X-Acto knife do great work. Also: leftover chopsticks for poking starting holes.

Questions
Recent Comments