Preparing for Halloween in Spain

Halloween is pretty new in Spain, adopted from American pop culture. It’s a bit more popular for adults to dress up and go to parties, but some very young children do go trick-or-treat-ing.

The costumes are a little different – almost everyone wears something scary! Zombies, vampires, witches, nurses drenched in blood, you name it. High-quality rubber monster masks. Aprons with guts spilling out through a cut mark. Scars. Diseased limbs. You name it. Funny costumes, celebrities, or pop culture references are a lot less common. You might see one or two sexy cats or sexy police officers all night. But if you count zombies or witches you’ll lose count before the clock hits 9pm.

This year, I’m going to Barcelona with my friend Joanne who is coming to visit from Seattle! Woo hoo!

I was trying to decide on a costume – I thought maybe a vampire or a generic dead person. But I didn’t have any appropriate clothes, and I couldn’t find any at the costume shop. What I did find was a witch costume, so I bought that. It’s actually a quality costume! It’s made of good material and it feels like I could wear it for several years in a row. And best of all it’s not a sexy witch costume. It has long sleeves, almost no cleavage, and it hits just above my ankles with a slit up to the knee. It’s almost all black, with red on the collar, the hat, and around the bottom hem.

Now I need your help!

What kind of makeup should I wear with it? I’m considering buying fake eyelashes for the first time ever. Maybe just hugely emphasizing my eyes and go easy on the lipstick? Or the other way around – basic mascara and then wow lipstick like bright red, or a darker maroon, or a bright pink? Halp!