Release Your Inner Witch
Wouldn’t it be great if you could trick or treat for lipgloss? Halloween is almost upon us and thoughts are turning to beauty of an altogether darker sort. But don’t let a love of the ghoulish get in the way of looking good. The last thing you want to do is scare the neighbours as you head off for a night out, and yet a sultry nod to the season of ghosts and things that go bump in the night is more than appropriate
Some ranges have given new products suitably seasonal names – such as the genius Venomous Villains range by MAC, which includes a surprisingly user-friendly get-the-look for Cruella DeVil and the Evil Queen from Snow White – Dark Deed Lipstick or Vainglorious Eyeshadow anyone? Or simplebeauty.co.uk offer their Twilight make-up – which include Team Edward and Team Jacob kits, £28.
Us sophisticated Belles should choose one or two darker elements and keep everything else as upmarket as usual. Take Christina Ricci and Kristen Stewart as your inspiration but add a lighter touch and a smile.
We present a top-to-toe of easy to apply spooky beauty:
Dark Roots
Isn’t it time to go a little darker? Hair that has been highlighted all summer may be looking a bit straw-textured by now, and it’s always a good idea to take it down a shade or two down as autumn closes in. “Goth is a strong look this season,” says Sienna Miller’s hairdresser Mark Woolley, director of Electric Hair, in Marylebone. “It’s all about muted tones and richness. Not many people can carry off black, but a deep chestnut or mahogany might be just right for you.”
Beware of the psychological impact though. “Going darker means you may be perceived as more serious,” says Woolley. “I’ve had clients say that they were more sombre people after losing their blonde locks.”
Neville’s Hair and Beauty in Belgravia has developed a brand new technique that’s a half-way house for hair change. Ombre Highlights takes your hair down a shade in the most natural way possible by blending highlights half-way down the head to provide a natural-looking and low maintenance style. “It produces a great natural look with much more texture and movement than flat blonde, and is incredibly popular this season,” says Neville.
What’s good enough for Katy Perry… If you admired her hair on last Saturday’s X Factor, then invest in some Stargazer Hair Extensions (from £2.50) for a trick or treat quick-fix. We recommend Flame – for a subtly Satanic party touch.
Cats Eyes
“To create a smoky eye, you need three shades of shadow and eyeliner – black, slate and light grey or silver,” says top make-up artist Sophie Oliver, who has worked on beauty shoots for such up-market magazines as Tatler and Hello. “Smudge a kohl liner around the eyes and outer lid. For an extra feline look – sweep it up from the corner of the top lid. Then use the dark grey on your eyelid and up to the socket – graduating it up into the silver or lighter grey.”
Run a little dark powder under the eye and dust it with silver. “For the finishing touch use black mascara of course – I recommend anything by Lancome – for a defined frame to the eye.” Use a little highlighter on the brow bone. Belle recommends Cream Eyeliner in Black by Elf, (£3.50), Colorsport 24 Hour Eyeliner in Black, (£6.99, from Superdrug and Boots) Diorshow Iconic High Definition Lash Curler Mascara, (£21.50, from Boots), or L’Oreal Paris Super Liner, (£4.99, from Boots). Silky Eye Shadow in Flannel Perle By Terry, (£22, Space NK), is a shimmering veil of colour.
Vampire Lips
Blood red lips are very fashionable this season. “Make sure you colour red lipliner over the entire lip to define it and help the lipstick stay on,” says Sophie Oliver. “Then use your red lipstick. If you can afford it, Chanel have the best ones.”
If you want to look extra vampish, add a slick of clear lipgloss. Brand new Rouge Prodige, (£16, Clarins), is a rich red slick that will last for hours. Top it off with a dab of the glassy Gloss Appeal in Crystal, (£13.99, Clarins). Rouge Allure in Audace by Chanel, (£22.50, from Boots), will give your lips the satiny gleam of expensive underwear.
Not just any vampire, but a Marks & Spencers vampire – try Perfection Perfect Moisture Lipstick in Red, (£6, Marks & Spencers), for a startling finish to the simplest of black dresses. And it would be criminally insane not to mention DuWop’s Twilight Venom – a shimmering crimson lip stain, suspended in a venom-laced lip gloss, for the ultimate swollen and sexy bee-stung effect, (£14.50, simplebeauty.co.uk).
Talons
Create spell-binding and eye-catching nails in a range of garishly terrifying colours. Call Me Pumpkin and Black Matrix are the orange and black offerings from Precision Nails, (£5.99, call 0208 885 2555). Thought Marks & Spencers is just for good girls? Think again as you slither on their new nail polish in Black or Silver, (£2.50, Marks & Spencers) for a lady of the night look.
