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Halloween is an invitation to truly take risks with makeup, wigs and costumes for one evening only (and endless Instagram photo opps). While I find the challenge of assembling a creative ensemble exhilarating, it can also be stressful, not to mention downright expensive. Fortunately, armed with the right Halloween makeup tips and savvy products, it’s actually scary easy to create an envious costume using just makeup. For Emmy award-winning makeup artist Ve Neill, who is highly skilled in SFX—aka special effects and prosthetics makeup artistry—it’s just another day at the office.
After creating aesthetic masterpieces on films like A Star is Born, Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands, Neill was beyond due for her first major beauty partnership. Just in time for Halloween, NYX Professional Makeup nabbed her to conceive the Wonderland After Dark collection: six makeup bundles with corresponding tutorials that help all of us partake in cosmetic wizardry.
For the collaboration, Neill utilized each bundle of NYX products to create whimsical, Alice in Wonderland-inspired looks: Alex (a somehow sweet-looking zombie), The Queen (a sexy vampire), Ace & Spade (a Joker-esque get-up), Bunni (a glowed-up rabbit character), Kitty Kat (a toothy spin-off on the Chesire cat), and Topsy-Turvy (an elaborate skull). While they appear hella complicated because hello, Neill is a legendary pro, NYX didn’t leave the rest of us in a lurch. The brand’s website offers tutorials for each one and even allows you to digitally test-drive them.
If you love to steal the Halloween spotlight, prepare to get goosebumps, because each look seriously glows in the dark. The bundles (which range in price from $21 to $36) all include NYX’s brand-new, blacklight-activated Glow-On Lip Gloss ($8), which can be applied everywhere for a lights-off surprise.
Glowing in the dark was also the theme of NYX’s 2019 Freedom and Artistry for Creative Expression (FACE) Awards, an annual competition to name the year’s best makeup artist, which took place Oct. 18 in Los Angeles. Ve Neill had the honor of announcing Sofia Mirić, the 2019 Global FACE Awards Winner, along with the US FACE winner, Ioana Goodwin. After she congratulated Goodwin on her winning luminescent look, I picked Neill’s brain on how to achieve a Halloween beat that’ll leave you glowing (even in the dark).
NYX Professional Makeup.
Cocktail Your Primer
To ensure your makeup endures a night of overdosing on candy and cocktails, Neill advises to prep with a primer (a hack used by makeup artists on-set before it became a mainstream staple in recent years). The O.G. artist also shared her favorite hack for a natural, no-makeup makeup base: “Mix a primer with a tiny bit of foundation; makeup shows up easily on digital cameras so I like to keep it as sheer and natural as possible,” says Neill. “This is something that can be incorporated into everyday makeup to avoid foundation from looking cakey.”
NYX Professional Makeup.
Extend Your Glow
When illuminated by blacklight, NYX’s Glow-On Lip Gloss imparts a ghoulishly cool glow anywhere you want. “You can really mix it with everything to make your whole look blacklight-friendly, says Neill. “It can be used to accent different parts of the face, outside of just your lips, to reveal a bright neon shade.”
NYX Professional Makeup.
Make It Matte
Lock your look for the long haul with a finishing spray. “This is a must to really help lock in any look and ensure it lasts through the night, setting your makeup with a shine-free, matte finish,” explains Neill.
NYX Professional Makeup.
Accent With Color
Neill recommends using the Jumbo Eye Pencil to add color. “They are so creamy and easy to work with. Apply one as an eyeshadow base to make colors pop, or use it in the waterline or to highlight.”
NYX Professional Makeup.
Detail With Liner
Liquid liner allows you the control to detail any look to your liking. “This is the one liner I use in all my looks. It’s so black and matte. I love it.”
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