Black Swan is one of those movies that I tried my best to avoid watching because I am easily scared. However one fateful night I stumbled on to it on HBO and couldn’t stop watching. It was truly a horrifying movie.
But as someone who grew up watching All About Eve (to be thrilled by the short appearance of Marilyn Monroe) and White Nights (to watch the scene with Baryshnikov and Hines dancing together), the combination of dance with psychological thriller was just too intriguing to resist.
Black Swan definitely doesn’t disappoint and Natalie Portman’s descent into madness is so compelling and visual that I thought this would make for the ultimate Halloween costume. As a make-up artist the transformation from white swan to black was so thrilling in the movie that I wished I could have been part of the team that came up with the look! Here I will talk you through the components of the make-up only but I assume the costume, too, should be easy enough to achieve.
Here we blackened a tiara, pulled the hair in to a tight ballerina bun and we were done. For your costume you could wear any kind of a ballet costume, be it a full on leotard and tutu or a simple plain swimming costume paired with tights and a dancer’s wrap (these are like wrap around dresses, but a little sheer). Finish it off with a pair of ballet pumps and most importantly a huge blossom of blood on your stomach, to give a ‘stabbed yourself with a shard of glass’ effect! With the availability of tailors this shouldn’t be too hard a costume to pull off.
The make-up
Eyes:
The eyes are less complicated than you think. Make an outline with black eye liner in the shape indicated. The messier and crazier you are, the better! It is supposed to look like feathers, so an organic textured feel is the way to go. Once you have filled in the outline turning your whole eye black, drag it down your nose and sweep it in to feathery points from above your eyebrows. Now randomly apply some white eye shadow over the eye in thin streaks. Just make sure the streaks are all in an upward motion. I have lined the eye from underneath with red lipstick (make sure you are just a little outside the waterline, as lipstick will annoy the inside of your eye). Add loads of mascara for finishing touches and there you have it!
Face:
Use white face paint all over the face ending at the jawline. Add a layer of white face powder on top of the face paint. You can also substitute the white face paint with a white foundation if you wish to go for a less extreme look. Sweep some pink blush on your cheeks, throw on a maroon lip stick and you are done!
I hope you have enjoyed our Halloween series as much as I have and I hope I have inspired you to be creative this 31st! Either way, always remember make-up is fun! So get out there and enjoy yourself!
Bina Khan is a make-up artist, photographer, skin technician and writer who owns a salon and photography studio in Karachi.
*This image is the property of Bina Khan. Any unauthorised use of the same is illegal and liable for prosecution.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 27th, 2013.
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