Blogs

I've been dressing up like a zombie for about two years now, and just last weekend I finally managed to scared myself in the mirror without buying any props. If you want to make little children run screaming to their Lily Pulitzer-clad mommies, follow my lead. Being realistically undead is easier than you’d think.

The first step in my makeover was an Internet search for lovely recipes and advice on cooking up a makeshift rotten head. I don’t have the money to get into buying freaky Marilyn Manson contacts or expensive stage make up; but resorting to a DIY costume proved a lot of fun and surprisingly effectively at scaring everyone including myself.

Step 1: Discover the wonders of liquid latex.

Liquid latex is a very useful product in your zombie costume arsenal. It provides a sticky foundation to apply maggots, odd sprouts of hair or pre-formed latex pieces in the shape of knife slashes or oozing wounds. It’s also good for the budget conscious flesh eater. A nail polish-sized tube, available at Party World, costs about $5 and is plenty to cover your face with rot.

I started by painting the liquid latex onto one cheek and down my neck to my collarbone. With a good coating in place, I stuck some uncooked rice, er, maggots to my face. (It’s amazing what regular food items can look like out of context.)

Slowly, I built up latex layers over the rice on my face, but the gradual painting proved tedious. After applying a thin layer, I decided some kind of dough or wax would cover it up better. I wanted the rough matches to blend into my face easily, giving it a creepy diseased or pock-marked texture.

Step 2: Raw dough = acid burned flesh

I found a recipe for a dough online at Zombie Pub Crawl made completely from household cooking products and proceeded to whip a up a batch. I smeared it over my face, so it covered the rice/maggots, stuck to the latex and made craters in my face just like I had envisioned. Continuing to apply the latex is key at this point. Covering the whole mess with latex and filling in the holes between the dough and rice will make sure it all stays put and that you don’t find your costume dripping down neck.

Step 3: Go out in public.

I got so excited with the results of my cooking experiments that I began applying my zombie get up early in the afternoon and found myself with a frightening faceful of makeup a good three hours before finishing my costume.

Soon, I realized that I had to go to the store to get vegetable lo mein for dinner. There was no way I was removing and reapplying my art work, so I headed out with maggots, dough and latex in place, feeling quite uncomfortable considering my frightening, freakish appearance. How could I explain that there was a zombie festival downtown tonight and that no, I don't actually have a deforming disease crawling inside my skin? I skipped the explanation and took the horrified double takes as a hint that my makeup was coming together nicely.

Step 4: Bloody blood blood

Perfecting the recipe for blood was the next step. I found this recipe for semi-coagulated, dark colored “chocolate blood” on Raven's Fake Blood Recipes. Made from cocoa powder, corn syrup and food dye, it looks shockingly real and actually tastes yummy too.

When the blood was fully prepared, I coated my cheeks and neck with the graphic dessert, then started doing eye makeup to recall the hollow, deadened eyes of big screen zombies.

I darkened my eyes with black and dark purple eye shadow and grease paint. Using some blood gel as well, I gave myself a bloody nose and dripped the chocolate blood on my newly constructed face rot to distort the color. Finally, I added highlights with the bright colored blood gel in the crevices of the rot and corners of my mouth.

Step 5: Go scare someone.

When you’re all maggot-eaten and bloody there’s only one thing left to do: Mess up your hair really bad and hair spray it, then go practice moaning and walking stiff and slow.

Good sites:

http://zombies.tomwalsham.com/costume.html

http://www.zombiemaker.com/

http://www.phillyburbs.com/zombies/costume.shtml

- V. Nicole Richards