Last minute DIY Halloween costumes

There is no other holiday as fun to celebrate on a night out as Halloween.

It gives us a chance to dress up in crazy costumes knowing we won’t look silly because everyone else will dress up too, and get stupidly drunk while doing so. While there’s nothing wrong at all with some cute cat ears and a black dress, you’re unlikely to get buckets of praise on your efforts unless you showcase some mad DIY skillz.

Skeleton

Just skullking around

Bonus: you don’t even have to wear any real makeup

This look is perfect for a house party. Combined with the usual black high-waisted jeans and a crop top, it’s a subtle but scary costume that’s more cool than crazy.

Start by painting your face and décolletage white using face paint, then sketch out your skull and bone design using a black eyeliner pencil. Fill in the blackest parts – such as the eye sockets, nose, and between the teeth – with black face paint, and then use black or grey eyeshadow to carefully shade between the bones on your chest and neck. Use a similar technique for a highly exaggerated contour along your jawline, temples and cheekbones.

Devil

Demon eyes

Devilish

For a simple but effective look, combine devil horns with a showstopping red dress and heels. Play up your look with some elaborate red eyeliner – trace spiral designs across your forehead and cheekbones, add some firebox red lipstick, and you’re good to go.

Zombie cheerleader

Drop dead gorgeous

NEED. BRAINS.

Cheerleading costumes are easy to find on eBay, and you can up the spook-factor easily. Use an extra pale foundation for a deathly pallor, then do your usual Kim K-style contouring: just exaggerate it a lot more and blend a lot less, and zombify it by using a greenish-grey eyeshadow rather than a bronzer.

Sweep the same shade all around your eye socket, and top with lots of smudgy eyeliner and mascara. For once, the worse your makeup looks, the better. Add a scar or wound to really drive home you’re dead, and if you want to go all out, rub your costume (or yourself) around in some dirt for that apocalypse-chic vibe.

Queen of Hearts

Off with his head

Queen of posing

If you want the fear-factor but you still want to look glam, choosing a fairytale villain is a great way to go. The Queen of Hearts is a bloodthirsty murderer, but her style is always on fleek. Find a white top and stick or draw some red hearts on to it. Combine with a red skirt and add as much netting and corsetry as you want to really play up that Victorian-glam vibe. Apply your usual makeup, but add some Tim Burton-esque blue eyeshadow and red lipstick in the shape of a heart. Top with a crown and you’ll look regal and ruthless.

Pumpkin

A work in progress

If you want to stick it to the man and completely disregard the sexy Halloween cliché, why not go as a pumpkin? Paint large segments of cardboard orange, and attach them together to form a pumpkin shape. Paint on a scary face, and some straps to keep it on. Stick on some green tights, and if you really want to commit to the costume, paint your head green too. Everyone will love this Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging-style funny girl costume.

Corpse bride

Coming 4 u

If looks could kill

If your goal is to go all out terrifying, this costume’s the one for you. Find a poufy white dress, and cut up the hem until it’s ragged and torn. Make a veil from net and a hair band, or buy one online. Lay down a sheet on your floor, and go to town splashing the dress and veil with fake blood, red paint and wine, creating a variety of stains. Make sure to splash your legs and arms too, and don’t bother washing your hands – the more blood the better.

Apply a pale foundation, and do some incredibly exaggerated contouring around you cheekbones, jawline, temples, and eye sockets using black and grey eyeshadow.

So realistic

The secret to this costume is a product found on Amazon called “rigid collodion”. When painted on in lines, it tightens your skin, forming a scar-like indent. Sketch out your scars with red lipliner on your neck, chest, cheek and eye, then paint layers of the liquid on until it looks like you have been cut and scratched all over. You’ll look bloody terrifying.

Go to town with your Halloween costume, and Snapchat us your best pictures: thetabbrum