Seven local makeup artists to follow for Halloween inspiration
image via @seanetc/instagram
words by lara daly
Spooky szn.
It’s Halloween tomorrow and if you’re anything like me, you’re scrambling to find a good costume at the last minute. Last year was exactly the same and I swore to myself that ‘next time, I’ll be more prepared’, yet here we are.
With 48 hours to put something together, you have a few options. You could buy into the consumerism and choose a cheap but effective, all-in-one costume like a skeleton or a traffic cone. You could admit defeat and dress as a normcore TV character like Marnie Michaels from Girls (a peplum top and Keds) or Dwight Schrute from The Office – boring! My preferred route, which has never failed me, is to go all-out on the makeup and wear something from your own wardrobe.
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It’s amazing what you can achieve with some fake blood, coloured contacts and a dedicated hour (or two) in front of the mirror. As long as you have a good reference pic, you can transform yourself into a Black Swan, a sultry Morticia Addams, a lost member of the insane clown posse, the list goes on. Just remember, culture is not a costume!
If you’re after something a little less basic, these six local makeup artists will provide you with plenty of inspiration to do your own unique, Halloween-worthy look.
Alana Lucky
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Sydney-based creative Alana Lucky treats the face as a canvas for her art, fusing elements of pop culture with gothic references and fine art techniques to create beautiful, modern beauty looks. Whether you want to go subtle or bold, her account has no shortage of unique ideas you can attempt to recreate, like the Jessica Rabbit colour palette above, or a batman mask over the eyes.
Sean Brady
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If you’re not already following Sean Brady, what are you even doing? One of Australia’s most creative, boundary-pushing makeup artists of the moment, Sean has countless ideas for you to channel on your own face, from aliens to ‘80s Club Kids, to exotic birds.
Meg McConville
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We’ve been obsessed with Meg AKA Moochi’s work for years, collaborating with her on many Fashion Journal shoots and our Issue 196 cover. A goth girlie at heart, scrolling through Meg’s page will have you ready to embrace your dark side, or go fully etherial à la Julia Fox, even just for a night.
Lochie Stonehouse
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Technically a New Zealand artist, Lochie is a master of embellishments. You may not have his deft hand, but you can still channel his artistic eye and achieve something similar to this Troye Sivan look with a pack of rhinestones and some lash glue.
Eve Louise Gale
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One of the makeup artists behind the jaw-dropping beauty looks at the Emerging Artists Runway at M/FW, Eve is our go-to girl for makeup that feels editorial, with a freaky, eye-catching twist. Like the red tooth paint she paired with a blurred, glossy lip for the ‘Gemini‘ beauty shoot in FJ 197.
Ivy Reynolds
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Melbourne-based makeup artist Ivy always packs a punch with her work. I’ve been looking closely at the scene-inspired look she came up with for a recent FJ shoot, which you could emulate by swapping your eyeliner for a red lipliner and popping in some red eye contacts. If you’re feeling ambitious, her body painting work with photographer Zac Bayly would be an epic (albeit messy) way to wear a superhero costume.
Tallulah McLean
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Aotearoa-born SFX artist, Tallulah aka Look Bomb, has countless ideas for a unique and spooky beauty look, like these etherial silver chains and black contacts. Her weeping corpse bride look would require some serious skills to replicate, or simply pick up some white face paint and start clowning around!
For more Halloween makeup ideas, try this.
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