Here in Las Vegas everything is about the dichotomy. The winning and losing. The hit or stay. The Elvis and Liberace (well, maybe there's not so much dichotomy there). This year we've decided Madame is going to be a duck (it's her favorite animal and the quacking is about the only sound she will make on cue), but what if we were looking for some advice around town? Just like always, we'd have to separate the bad from the good.
On the losing side we've got this costume ideas for kids page from the LV Review Journal. They suggest that instead of dressing your kids up in boring witch or vampire costumes, dress them up like Vegas icons. Sure, there's always Elvis, but why not a showgirl or high roller/trophy wife? The trophy wife thing is outright creepy, and the slot player (pictured) is just too messed up for me to come up with a comment.
On the winning side, one of the modern-day-great-aunts tipped me to a cool article from the makeup artists at Cirque du Soleil about creating a character with your kid for Halloween (OK. I know they're technically Canadian, but they've got like five shows here now so I think they count). They suggest doing some creative research - thinking about what the character will be like (happy or scary etc.) and then they give some tips on how to create it. For instance, here's some advice for making a scary character:
When it comes to selecting scary colors Eleni suggests white, red and black: "Start with a foundation of white, or sculpt the face by making artificial hollows with dark shadows under the cheekbones, around the eyes and under the nose. That can look really freaky on kids, because it ages them. By the way, you don't need expensive professional stage makeup to carry this off. The Halloween makeup you find in stores is good enough. But make sure you really blend the colors well, especially around the eyes."
And if you should happen to need a good supply of fake blood to complete your look, Isabelle Fink has a recipe for you: A mixture of corn syrup and red food dye. "And if you want it to really gross out the neighbors," she adds, "put in a little Vaseline to get that lumpy, clumpy look!"
HOMETOWN FAVORITES: Halloween, Vegas-Style [Las Vegas Review Journal]
Halloween tips from Cirque du Soleil experts [CirqueduSoleil.com via Mary Ellen - thanks!] Subscription required, or use the Bug Me Not Firefox plug in.