Are you dead yet?

Hello everyone!

Halloween is in roundabout a week. So, there are seven days left to get a nice costume or to apply scary make-up. Sounds like much time for organizing a costume? Well, it isn’t. 

To start with I had several problems with organizing my costume. At first I wanted to dress up as Red Riding Hood (a bloody version of course!), but I couldn’t any affordable costume off this. Then I decided to make one myself, because you don’t need that much stuff: a red skirt and cape, a white blouse and maybe a black or brown belt around the waist. Too bad I had nothing of those things in my closet and no time to go and get them at a shop. So I had to switch to the next plan: a piratess costume. I found a nice one on Ebay and insta-bought it. After a day I got a message. They said they were terrible sorry, since this item is not on stock. Jesus. So my final plan is plan c and I really hope this one will turn out good. The upcoming costume will be a little secret until next week, because I want to take some pictures and maybe make a small make-up tutorial. It’s nothing big, but I hope you will like it nevertheless. So keep your fingers crossed for me. Otherwise…  I’ll have to take a bath in fake blood. Or something like that.

You see? Spending a couple of thoughts on a Halloween costume – it can never be too early! For next year I want to start at the beginning of October. Or even better: September. So you can make sure that you won’t end up costume-less.

When thinking about a good Halloween costume my first thought is always “What make-up should I use?” I spend some time on YouTube and found those great tutorials I want to show you. Essential for most of the tutorials is latex. You can buy it on the internet, get it in crafting shops and sometimes even in building centers. The German equivalent to “Kryolan” (which you can also buy on the internet) is “Eulenspiegel”. Every “Askania” or “Idee” shop has it :)

By the way, this is my favourite tutorial of this year. It is very easy to do. Everything you need is a zipper (dry goods store or 1-Euro-shops), latex, make-up. Maybe I try to do a make-up like this at the weekend. Just for testing. Don't you think trying different make-up looks like that one is fun?

 

Here is a make-up tutorial that pay attention to the beauty aspect, since there are a some people that surely are not keen on looking like 'crap' ;)

Oh- and if you don't have an idea for a creepy costume yet, watch this video.
I love the "ring" movies! In my opinion there is no scarier character as the drowned girl Samara. Years ago this movie scared the shit out of me. Watching it made me think I would die within a week. Oh, I was so sure of it... it's a miracle I survived ;) 

I think this costume is a great last minute solution. All you need is a worn out dress, a black wig and matching make-up. A good addresse for wigs in Germany is Kalz shop. Usually they send the goods after 2 or 3 days --> http://kalz-shop.de

Fun fact: Every time I watch this movie, my phone rings.

Coming up next: My costume for Halloween and some more tips and tutorials!

Frankfurt Bookfair: The Aftermath

As stated on Twitter a few days ago I went to Frankfurt last Sunday. Since I love writing and reading – journalism student and wannabe author detected! – it was quite obvious that I had to go there. And it really was a great experience. So many books and stuff! But before I get carried away I want to tell you something about the costumes I saw there, in the end it is the topic of my blog ;)

This year’s host was New Zealand, so it was obvious that there were many booths and contests dealing with NZ’s most popular saga: The Lord of the Rings. Or rather The Hobbit, because there will be a movie in the very near future. Unfortunately I was only there on Sunday, so I missed the Hobbit Look-a-Like contest they held a day before…
But I am not sad at all. When I went to the bookfair on Sunday I saw a bunch of kids, maybe around 7 or 8 years old, dressed up as little Frodo and Sam from LoTR. So cute! They even had some wool glued upon their feet matching the typical hairy feet of a hobbit. When I was rummaging around in my bag and looking for a camera, they already have disappeared in the very crowded area. So I decided that my following ‘phototour’ had to be more organized. I never let go off my camera from that point.

When wandering around the exhibition grounds I saw many people in costumes and they told me that they are waiting for the DCM to start. So I became curious. They explained that the DCM is short for Deutsche Cosplay Meisterschaft, in English: German Costume Play Championship. The people participating have to sew their own costumes according to a reference of an existing fictional character. Video games, movies, cartoons, bands and comic characters are allowed. Later the participants had to perform on stage. And they also can win nice prizes: coupons from several publishers and crafting materials, tickets to conventions including the stay at a hotel and stuff. The first prize is a trip to Japan (since the contest is strongly related to Japanese comics as well).

Here are some photos I took during watching the contest:

Two girls dressed up as characters from the Japanese comic "Trinity Blood"

As Katniss and Cesar from the Hunger Games series

Bubble Head Nurse and Pyramid Head from Silent Hill

 All in all it was a quite interesting experience. The participants put so much effort in their costumes and at some point I couldn’t believe everything was self-made (but it really is – they have judges who check this very strictly), all of the participants looked stunning. Sometimes I wish I could be as skilled as they are. I’m sure I won’t have a problem finding a good costume for Halloween then… which will be by the way one of the following entrys! <3

Love,

J.

P.S. If you are interested I can upload some more pictures of the contest - so please tell me! :)

The Birth of a Blog

Hello everyone!

Thank you so much for having a look at my new blog. It's still a bit blank and the design is not final - aside from all the lacking content. But I eager to fill this site pretty soon with some useful information.
This blog will deal with:
- costume tips i.e. concerning Halloween, Christmas or the German carnival season
- make-up tips (of course no "how to apply concealer?", rather "how to create wounds or scars?")
- easy to understand tutorials when it comes to DIY stuff

Feel free to contact me for critics, feedback or even suggesstions you want to see on this blog! :)

For news and some random but entertaining blah check out my Twitter account:
http://twitter.com/keytoneverland
So you can make sure not to miss an entry

Well~ thanks for reading this very first posting and please stay tuned for the interesting stuff.

Kindest regards ♥