Halloween is undoubtedly my favourite night of the year. It's no secret that I love fancy dress and everything macabre. It's also the only night of the year I don't pretend I'm too old for nightclubs (no joke, I've not set foot in a nightclub so far this year). Sometimes I wish one of my friends or family members would have a child so I offer to take them trick or treating. But alas, I'm still clubbing it up.

As I get older though, my ethics have collided with my love of Halloween. Whether it's causing waste by buying something for a one-off costume or a culturally appropriated costume - there's a lot to say about Halloween from a social justice angle. Every year I see vegans talking about how they can celebrate Halloween without the use of animals - whether it is cruelty-free make-up, home-made fake blood or vegan candy. I'm not perfect, but every year I try my hardest to make conscious but scary choices. Here's some things I keep in mind.

Colourful but cruelty-free make-up

Illamasqua is by far my favourite make-up brand for off-beat shades. If you don't mind testing parent companies you also have the choice of Urban Decay. I've not personally tried Manic Panic or Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, but they also have a great colour selection if your look requires loud make-up.

Homemade fake blood

Vegan Candy

Halloween Party Treats

Left-over pumpkin

Phobia checks

This will just be a quick one to show you the photos of my Medusa Costume from last night. I spent Halloween in Dundee (and went to Kage, shockingly enough) but only got to my friend's at 7pm so was rushed getting ready (ended up taking my chosen nail polish to the party to do there) and we only took a few quick pics as we had people waiting who weren't too used to my need to document my outfits. So we were out the door pretty quickly.



The black maxi dress I chose was found in the Forever 21 sales rack. I know for most people this is a dress that could be used again however 'black' and 'maxi dress' aren't two words that feature heavily in my wardrobe, so the sales rack was the best place to find something. Maybe I'll wear it again, maybe I won't...

I wasn't able to get a close-up picture of the gold bracelet but it's a wrap around necklace/bracelet/arm cuff. I had originally been looking for a snake cuff for my upper arms and found this one off eBay (similar here) but it wouldn't stay up on my arm or wrist so I ended up using it as a necklace as shown in my Instagram. Though I still managed to drunkenly forget it was on my neck and thought it was lost...



My snake hair clips came from this Etsy shop and were super easy to put in, even if I had been getting nervous they wouldn't arrive in time. My make-up was my normal base and I added some green Barry M eyeshadow to my natural contours using fishnet tights to add a scaley look. The eyelashes are from Illamasqua and, yes, they are meant to point down. I spent ages twiddling with them but they're definitely pointy down ones. The lip colour is Gosh Boheme lip stick with Sleek Phoenix Rising lipgloss on top. I spent ages going round town trying to find a dark gothic purple for my lips but obviously they sell quite well in October (who would you thunk?) so I grabbed a Sleek one trusting other cruelty-free lists (I've never researched them myself as a disclaimer).

I mentioned that I was in a rush which meant my make-up wasn't that tidy but I decided last minute that Medusa required a messy look as she was a bit deranged.

Did you all have a good Halloween? What did you go as? 

Morag x

If you know me personally or have been following this blog over the last few Halloween's (and Eurovisions) then you'll know I take my fancy dress seriously and spend some time brainstorming original costume ideas. I sometimes compare me searching for my Halloween costume to a bride-to-be searching for her wedding dress, and I only stop my search when I get an idea which makes me go "that's the one".

Last year I blogged about my check-list when deciding on a costume and this year I'm going to share where I look for Halloween inspiration.

First off, Pinterest
So obvious, because if you don't use Pinterest for inspiration already then where the hell have you been? Here is my own Pinterest board of fancy dress ideas (and here is my Pinterest board for general Halloween themed fun).

Movies, films, tv
My costume for 2010, 2011 and 2012 were all from films. Think back through all your favourite films and hit up scary film lists to see if there's any characters you can possibly re-create and will be easily recognisable to other people.

Other pop culture sources
Last year, I didn't pick a character from a film but a lady from an iconic album cover. Have a think of other iconic moment in pop culture from musicians to nursery rhymes to comics to games to famous individuals.

Folklore and other fictional works
Urban myths, fairytales, greek mythology, goblins, gods and goddesses. Have a research online and find if there's one predominate enough that you might be able to make an outfit out of.

Vlogger and Blogger tutorials
YouTube and the blogging community is full of inspiration and tutorials for Halloween costumes. My personal favour is Audface (I came up with my Samara costume in 2011 myself but found her channel when looking for inspiration for how to put it together) but Hailey, Catherine and Julia Graf all do tutorials as well (and that's just what I can name off the top of my head - have a search!).

Costume shops
Just like Pinterest, this is an obvious as hell choice. Whilst I am choosing to DIY my costume this year it was seeing a pre-made version of it on Jokers Masquerade which reminded me of the girl I had seen dressed up as it four years ago. And as a tip, small locally owned shops are usually better than the chains.

Other people
As mentioned, my outfit for this year was one I seen a random girl do back in 2010 whilst I was out for that year's Halloween. My Saw puppet costume in 2010 was something I seen on Facebook done by a friend of a someone I randomly went to school with. I'm open about the costumes that weren't my own idea but my tip for directly copying outfits is so never copy outfits from someone you know, or someone who could easily find out you ripped their idea.

Has this helped you pick a costume? Any other places you can suggest to look for inspiration? 

Morag x

Yes, I have a checklist. What do you think I am? An amateur?

I put what might be a little too much thought into my fancy dress ideas, but each year it turns out to be worth it as I get complimented on my choices. I usually sit down to brainstorm months in advanced and normally an idea comes into my head and I know that it is the costume I want to be that year (like a bride looking for her dress, if you will).

1. Be scary
Aside from that time in my first year of university when I borrowed my flatmate's ladybird costume I have always nearly been something that might make a few people shit themselves. I was also an Indian when I was 10 which I won a jewellery box for at the local youth club, but I'm not going to be donning a butterfly costume anytime soon.

2. I'm always a character or person
In the past few years I have always been a scary fictional character, and not a generic witch, vampire, werewolf etc. Last year I was Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, the year before that I was Samara from The Ring and the year before that I was the puppet from Saw. When I sit down to brainstorm, I look through scary movie lists and television series to see what I might like to do.

3. Will people get it?
I've always wanted to dress up as Bellatrix Lastrange but don't feel as though there are enough features to her outfit that people would definitely get it (unless it was a Harry Potter party, in which case, people might get it). There may always be someone who doesn't get my costume (last year I was asked if I was the witch from Wizard of Oz, and the year before that people thought I was from The Grudge) and the idea I'm running with this year will need a lot of details to make sure people don't think I'm a generic goth.

A tip: when putting it together ask what details of the costume need to be present in order for people to get it, and which can be overlooked (shoes, for example).

4. Not something everyone else would do
Slightly contradictory to the point above, but the outfit needs to well enough know that people will get it but not well known enough that everyone will do it. At most Halloween parties there is a cute insect, a Harry Potter, a Disney Princess or someone from Alice in Wonderland. It could even just be something so outrageous no one else would try it - my Maleficent costume was store-bought but not many people would be willing to paint themselves green. Or it could just be something expensive.

5. My rule on copying ideas
Dressing as the puppet from Saw in 2010 wasn't my original idea, but the person I copied was a friend of someone I went to school with who I just happened to have on Facebook. Like she'd ever know.