I used to have a job working as a character in a costume, and though it was difficult at first, I learned to love talking to people using only body language. So this year I decided to be a mime to relive those days of talking with only my hands. This was the perfect idea since it fit me, and because I didn’t have much money or time. It was really easy to put this homemade French mim costume together, and it’s perfect to have in the Halloween box.
For the outfit: I already owned the black pants and shoes. I bought a long sleeved turtleneck striped shirt at the thrift store, and the red clip-on suspenders at Wal-Mart. I found the white character gloves and the French beret at the Halloween store, along with a Japanese Geisha makeup kit. I found the red flower hair clip at the grocery store and decided on the spot that it would look perfect clipped to my suspenders.
I owe my sister for the finishing touches. She came over and French braided my hair, pinned the hat to my braids, and did my makeup. The makeup was the crowning achievement, everybody commented on it. I looked up pictures online of mime makeup designs and chose all the elements I liked for the my final design. I also watched some mime makeup tutorials on Youtube to learn how it was done.
For the makeup: I created the white face “mask” by spreading on 2 coats of the white Geisha makeup and then covering it with baby powder to seal it. The Makeup kit had a black eyeliner and lipstick but they didn’t work very well. I ended up using my liquid black eyeliner for all the black outlines on my face. I simply removed the white makeup from my lips with a q-tip and put on my own red lipstick.
The makeup was cheap and did crack, but it stayed pretty much intact all night, even when I ate or drank. Even the beret stayed in place with only 6 bobby pins through 2 hours of dancing.
This homemade French mime costume was very comfortable and striking. Unfortunately I didn’t win the costume contest, but everybody said I got brownie points for commitment: I didn’t speak a word all night.
Your comment has been sent successfully.