This year I wanted to venture a little more into special fx makeup rather than 2 dimensional face paint. I also recently had ankle surgery, so wanted to choose a costume that I could incorporate my very sexy walking boot into. I also scoured the internet and sadly didn't find many female takes on Frankenstein's monster, only the bride of Frankenstein, so it was decided.

Some things went really well, other things not so much. I started out wanting to do a much more traditional Frankenstein's monster, but because of the things that didn't go well, it ended up being a more glam, less "original Frankenstein's monster look.

I'll try to be as detailed as possible and also tell you about what DID NOT work and what went pretty alright.

Step 1: Oh, the Failure.

Ok, so originally I wanted to sculpt something and wear an appliance to have a large squared forehead. I definitely failed at that. I even made a plaster sculpt of my face from another instructable!

The instructable was great, but I just couldn't pull this off. It didn't work out due to the fact that I just couldn't get the sculpt to sit on my face properly and couldn't get that forehead to stay up. I also didn't want to spend any more time on this. Whomp. Here's a pic of that sculpt though.

Step 2: But Now, for the GIANT Hair.

My hair is basically flat. Like really flat. So, I needed a little assistance with volume. Enter- BLOCK OF STYROFOAM! Yep. I covered the styrofoam in black felt (which just sticks to it with no adhesive) and used bobby pins to get it to stay on my head.

My goal was- get that hair as square-looking as I could and cover up the block of styrofoam. I think I succeeded, and it wasn't terribly difficult. To be honest, this hair didn't move all night- or the next day- or the next night.

Yep, I slept in it. I threw a towel on my pillow, terrified my boyfriend in the morning, and wore it out again the next night. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Products used include dry shampoo, the block of styrofoam, bobby pins, hairspray, and black hair spray.

Step 3: Skiiiiiiiin!

Ok, so I scrapped that sculpted mask idea, but was then stuck the night before my first party with no idea about what I was going to do.

Crap.

Cue me frantically googling DIY scar wax like a mad woman. Turns out that the internet is a wonderful thing. I might just create another instructable for it, but it's almost too easy. All you do is mix 1 part Vaseline with 2 parts flour and some concealer. Easy peasy. I tried it out on my hand once I made it and it seemed like it would work!

So, I outlined the part on my face where I was going to lay the "scar wax"- I just used a brown lipliner, but you could use anything that draws on skin and can easily come off.

To apply the wax and keep it looking like it's sticking up on the outside, you roll it up, and blend the bottom of the wax roll into the skin. You've got to be kind of gentle with the blending otherwise you're going to have chunks of it falling off.

Next, you decide where you're going to want the staples around the face and on the part where you're going to paint green, lay down some little bumps of the scar wax so that the staples have a base to stick into. Pictured in the last photo on this step.

Products: Some sort of drawing instrument for the face (lip liner, eye liner, etc.), vaseline, flour, cheap concealer.

Step 4: Setting the Skin.

So, one you've got the skin layed down, I found out pretty quickly that it wasn't going to stay on. Enter some liquid latex. I threw that stuff everywhere! On top of the fake skin and a thin layer all over the skin that I was going to paint green. This is a secret that really brings that green skin to a new level- it creates textures, it makes the skin look all stretchy, it's awesome.

You can also see the neck area that I applied here. Sorry I didn't take any more pics.

I also realized a couple of things on this step.

1. That crap was NOT going to stay on my chin. Every time I talked little chunks of skin were crumbling off. Adorable. I ripped that part off and decided to paint green over it. This happened around the time I started adding the green pain, so there are some pics in the next step with it still on.

2. Samesies with the neck. Basically, don't put this stuff where your skin regularly moves. I kept the neck skin on the first night, but decided to go with a little fleshy heart on the second night that stayed in place the whole night and didn't flake on anyone. Fleshy heart was the same scar wax/ latex combo.

Step 5: Green Paint Time.

I used snazaroo water-based face paint. It's my go-to because I'm not a professional, it's cheap, and it gets the job done. I mixed their green, yellow, and brown to create this green swampy tone (which I know looks different in every pic- sorry for the lighting). I applied the paint with a sponge and it took about 15 minutes total. I had to have a friend get the back of my neck and ears.

In these pics, you can also see the different shapes I used between day 1 and day 2. This was mostly for functionality. Also, somehow it was easier with the green paint all over my check because I could move my neck around.

This is also around the time that I did the regular makeup- black eyeliner, gold eyeshadow, mascara, and black lipstick.

Step 6: Details, Details, Details.

Outline the outside of the "skin" with black face paint to create more of a contrast and make it stand out a little more. also apply little black dots to the places where you'll be applying the staples as well. This defines the area and also gives you a template to work with.

Using bronze wire and some wire cutters I made around 20 "staples" that I stuck into the latex/ scar wax spots around my face and then set with more liquid latex. I suggest applying the staples after you've painted everything, since applying after may smear your work.

Ok, now the bolts. I painted some old screws gold and wrapped them in the bronze wire. I curved the bronze wire so it would just hang from my super-hairsprayed hair. DONE!

Step 7: The Outfit.

I found a cheap blazer with super high shoulder pads to give that Frankenstein's monster-esque stature.

I created the shirt myself using a long golden zipper sewn onto a really old tank top that I had and cut down the middle. Nothing too difficult, it was basically sewing two straight lines.

Lastly, I threw on some pleather and cotton leggings.