Quick & Dirty - DIY Halloween Costumes for procrastinators

If your planned costume proved far too involved for your timetable (or skill set), or you just never got around to figuring out what you wanted to be for Halloween, you may find yourself scrambling at the last minute to find something, anything to don for that weekend party.

We usually seek to post things of beauty and grace on this blog -- not so today, where we offer a hodge-podge of ideas for the truly desperate.  Should such desperation apply to either you or your man, we hope that these wiki DIY ideas will inspire you to come up with something of your own. You may not win the costume contest, but you'll avoid having Halloween tricks played on you for being a costumeless party-pooper.

Umbrella Girl

Fighting crime & staying dry

Quit your wining, grab some balloons, greenery 

& a bottle of vino as a host gift. Boom! 

Easy-peasy scarecrow

Your local chain store already has their Christmas stuff on display.

Wear something green and decorate yourself!

Comic relief

(if it doesn't work you can always claim you were going for 'chicken pox')

Snakes on a Head

instant Medusa

Go to closet, take out TLBD

transform into Holly Golightly 

The Brawny Man

what guy's guy could object to this?

Lady Bug Lady Bug

just add black dots

Don't throw out those old gloves.

Turn them into antlers

Nuff said

Drug Kingpin 

Still Cool... Heyyyyyy

Tourists, and proud of it!

Apps! 

How to Make a Magnificent Maleficent

Many a mental wheel is spinning as Fall begins to insinuate itself and awaken our base Halloweeny instincts. This year's coup de costume is that of Maleficent, the maligned, mistreated, misunderstood, and mostly beneficent protagonist in Disney's live action fantasy twist, featuring the perfectly cast Angelina Jolie.

Let's start with a few of her various looks — from the ingenue protector of the moors to the brazen baddy out to curse the king's infant daughter.

Now... for the makeup... and those lips.. those glorious lips!  MAC makeup wings to the rescue with a delightful and fantastical arsenal of products to give you that gorgeous classic look: smokey eyes, porcelain skin, red red lips.

Here's a thorough tutorial that will help you get the look, and most challenging, the cheeks

Available costume looks:

Should the Mac shade not work magic with your own coloring, here are a few other rich and lush options as seen in Harper's Bazaar:

Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lipstick
in Diva Red, $7, walgreens.com

Revlon Colorstay Ultimate Suede Lipstick 

in Boho Chic, $10, available in October.

Lipstick Queen Silver Screen Lipstick in Have Paris, $50, 

available in September at lipstickqueen.com

Now go look magnificent! And by all means, share with us your pics!!

Burlesque for the rest of us

Grace incarnate

Social Grace, Flirtation & even Tease for the Modest

When we hear the word burlesque most of us picture women clad only in g-strings and pasties, performing bumps and grinds to a crowd of strangers, spotlights bringing every curve into sharp relief. And most of us wouldn't be caught dead in that situation!

So what about the woman who wants to feel confident and alluring in the dining room as well as the bedroom? In the absence of finishing schools, where can she learn social graces? Even more challenging, where can she learn the seductive arts in a playful yet classy, and decidedly non-tawdry way? 

Siren School now offers a pair of classes designed to answer these questions and teach women how to feel fabulous in any situation, social or romantic.

Siren Soirees' Charm Class goes back to the basics as well as adding instruction on more delicate topics. Teaching includes:

• Posture
• Elocution
• Conversation
• Dining
• Personal Presentation
• Body Language
• Out in Public
• All alone -- setting the scene for romance

Tease for the timid -- Have you ever wanted to do something a little extra special for your man as a birthday or anniversary gift?  Have you ever wished to feel like a tantalizing tigress behind closed doors?  Fantasy Fitness' Burly-Q Tease class can teach you how. Instruction includes:

• Managing girly-wear and accessories such as stockings, corsets... even boas and gloves
• Posture and Poses -- standing, seated and supine
• Peeling & Teasing
• Classic Bumps & Grinds & Shimmies (and how & when to use them)
• An easy-to-follow routine intended to be performed for & with your sweetheart

Regardless of your relationship status or performance goals, both of these classes will increase your poise and comfort in your own skin.