Cliloopatra: My character for Halloween 2014
I can't tell you for how long I had been wanting to travel to Ancient Egypt and become Cleopatra for a day. I have been putting it for so long, then when Katy Perry released
Dark Horse, I interpreted it as a sign so I had to be the Queen of the Nile this year for Halloween.
I couldn't have made life for difficult for myself choosing to become Cleopatra. Cleopatra eye makeup, in my eyes anyway, is all about intricate eyeliner work, which is the last thing you want to replicate on a person with hooded eyelids like me. And then Cleopatra is famous for her luscious fringe (or bangs as Americans would call it) so began the maniac hunt for a decent looking wig. Now if you thought there were a huge reality gap between advertisement photos of, say, burgers or eyes supposedly transformed by mascara, the gap is even bigger when you buy a wig. The amount of money I spent buying wigs which looked absolutely nothing like the picture is unbelievable. Then to top it all off, the finishing touch for a Cleopatra look is some form of golden headdress which turned out to be the biggest ball ache. Again, an incredible amount of money was spent in buying all sorts of head gear on eBay for nothing. One week before Halloween, I wish I had broken my leg instead of wanting to become Cleopatra. In a nutshell, everytime I was trying to wear a headband over my wig, I looked like an Arabian Sheik, the hair would be stuck to my head, would ping out at the bottom and I just felt very unpretty and unhappy. Then I thought getting a headchain would be a good idea. I purchased this very one actually but it didn't work out. On a wig it would constantly slide about, fluff the hair up and make you nervous the wig would lift off. On my natural mop of hair, it looks actually really really nice but I looked more like Princess Jasmine than Cleopatra. In the end, I wished I just went ahead, bit the bullet and bought a headdress à la
I couldn't have made life for difficult for myself choosing to become Cleopatra. Cleopatra eye makeup, in my eyes anyway, is all about intricate eyeliner work, which is the last thing you want to replicate on a person with hooded eyelids like me. And then Cleopatra is famous for her luscious fringe (or bangs as Americans would call it) so began the maniac hunt for a decent looking wig. Now if you thought there were a huge reality gap between advertisement photos of, say, burgers or eyes supposedly transformed by mascara, the gap is even bigger when you buy a wig. The amount of money I spent buying wigs which looked absolutely nothing like the picture is unbelievable. Then to top it all off, the finishing touch for a Cleopatra look is some form of golden headdress which turned out to be the biggest ball ache. Again, an incredible amount of money was spent in buying all sorts of head gear on eBay for nothing. One week before Halloween, I wish I had broken my leg instead of wanting to become Cleopatra. In a nutshell, everytime I was trying to wear a headband over my wig, I looked like an Arabian Sheik, the hair would be stuck to my head, would ping out at the bottom and I just felt very unpretty and unhappy. Then I thought getting a headchain would be a good idea. I purchased this very one actually but it didn't work out. On a wig it would constantly slide about, fluff the hair up and make you nervous the wig would lift off. On my natural mop of hair, it looks actually really really nice but I looked more like Princess Jasmine than Cleopatra. In the end, I wished I just went ahead, bit the bullet and bought a headdress à la
Moloko.
To cut a painfully long story short, decisions had to be made. On Friday Night, I wore the wig without any form of headgear, which made difficult for people to recognise who I am and on Saturday, I wore a necklace, which I already own, under the wig fringe and it added a little Cleopatra touch to my costume. Without further ado, here are some photos of my Halloween week end. A nice blurry one to start the proceedings…
To cut a painfully long story short, decisions had to be made. On Friday Night, I wore the wig without any form of headgear, which made difficult for people to recognise who I am and on Saturday, I wore a necklace, which I already own, under the wig fringe and it added a little Cleopatra touch to my costume. Without further ado, here are some photos of my Halloween week end. A nice blurry one to start the proceedings…
Last but not least, some snaps illustrating the not so attractive sheikh hair style, pinging out at the bottom, which I talked about earlier on, and why I felt I just couldn’t possibly go out like that.
What I used:
Eyes: Two faced shadow insurance, Nyx Jumbo Pencil Collection (2000) Felt Tip Eyeliner, Gold Eyeshadow in the L'oreal HIP Flamboyant Duo, Dark Blue from Sleek Makeup Monaco Palette, 'Atlantis' Blue Eyeshadow from Milani, Katy Perry Eye Lashes Revlon eyepencil,
Lips: Boring Nude Lip (Mac Velvet Teddy)
Wig: This wig From Ebay.
Necklace: Primark. £3
See? I told you the wig looks shorter in real life! Or maybe it’s just because of the model’s giraffesque neck.
What I learnt from doing this makeup: When you see a wig, reality is that it will be 2 inches shorter on you, use double sided tape to secure your wig, wigs and hair accessories are a nightmare when paired together. I am grumbling a lot, but I really enjoyed wearing this look. Most of all, I enjoyed the makeup challenge and trying to be Cleopatra for the week end. Next year, I fancy being something spooky again though. Wouldn't mind having a dab at special effects makeup.
Hope you have had a fantastic Halloween. If you dressed up and did some fancy makeup, let me know in the comments, I would love to see :) xx
More posts from
