Try something different this Halloween

For showy make up brands like Illamasqua, Halloween is a dramatic delight to savour.

For showy make up brands like Illamasqua, Halloween is a dramatic delight to savour. The team say it's their favourite time of year and have created a series of haunting face charts with creepy makeovers in store (I think the Soho shop in Beak Street, London is our nearest option). Their accentuated smokey eyes, ethereal skin tones and vampire kisses really get you in the mood.

Lucky Selfridges shoppers can grab themselves a ghostly glamorous limited edition Illamasqua dead vintage beauty kit for £45. It includes bat lashes that are creepily covetable and weirdly cute at the same time. Illamasqua also shares tips for achieving a devastating death mask appearance, with options such as 'dead graphic', 'dead kitty' and of course a Día de Muertos 'dead skull'.

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For me, this season is the time to get more involved in bold lip outlines, to pout through any blustery weather and defy the cold. Of course it is perfectly possible to go large on fright night without the use of any cosmetics at all; local designer Jess Eaton is well known for her conceptual art pieces and Roadkill Couture. Jess used to be a make-up artist (for Nina Hagen and other performers) and has now created a bespoke range of wearable face masks to be enjoyed.

Each one is individually put together and hand-painted. They are all slightly different, with some raw edges. To use, put your chin in first, then wiggle your whole head and arrange the face parts when it is on. You might get a slight tearing when you get it on for the first time, so make it fit to your own look.

There are ghoulish masks aplenty in Poundland - but if you want to channel a Goldfrapp/Leigh Bowery/Lady Gaga vibe then these unique masks will make you more terrific than terrifying.  Wickedly great value for flamboyant party fiends at £25 each via jesseaton.com.

Lastly, MatchNails have just held an open evening to celebrate their expansion. With handbags on the ground floor and a nail salon is at the top, they have just turned the middle floor at 13 Duke Street into a brand new skin salon. The dedicated area will be called MatchSkin. Their anti ageing services go beyond a natural approach to include CACI, Dermapen, IPL hair removal, Skin Rejuvenation and RF Skin Tightening.

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