What: Corporate zombie

Why: Well, I had just taken the CAT, so “corporate” was kind of on my mind.

How: The credit for the zombie look goes to my women friends, who decided it was their mission to create a face that was sure to scare little kids away!

They used stuff that was already available in their make-up box. First they powdered my face vigorously, till it appeared almost bloodless. Then, they dabbed the area from under my eyes to my cheekbones with purple eye shadow and gave a faded effect with some cotton wool.

Next, my eyelids were completely darkened with kajal, which gave my face a gloomy and eerie look. My lips were painted black, on top of which they added a few lines of red paint, to make me look bloodthirsty. They painted a few red lines on my face too and smudged them, so that they looked like old, decaying wounds.

Along with this make-up, I put on a basic corporate outfit: white pressed shirt, black blazer, black trousers and black tie and voila — there was one more corporate zombie in the world!

Ritwik Sen

What: Poker face

Why: I was trawling the Internet for interesting Halloween costumes and I came across this look on Pinterest. It caught my eye and I decided that’s what I will be this Halloween.

How: The look is heavy on make-up. So you need regular make-up stuff (kajal, eyeshadow, foundation, compact), red and black fabric colours, a brush and a steady hand (and a friend attached to that hand!).

First I applied a generous layer of foundation all over my face and lined my eyes with kajal. Then I painted my eyelids with red fabric paint and put glittering eyeshadow on it once the paint dried. After that I asked a friend to use black and red paint to create the stems coming down from the eyes, at the bottom of which she drew the four suit signs.

Finally, I painted my lips black, leaving a strip in the middle, which I filled with red paint.

To complete the look, I used some more kajal to create the winged effect on the edges of my eyes. To complement the colours on my face, I teamed a plain black T-shirt with a red skirt, picked up playing cards as accessories, and I was good to spook!

Disha Roychaudhuri

What: Undead gypsy

Why: The world of the undead has always fascinated me. Also, I have always wanted to look like one of those exotic, beautiful gypsy women. Therefore I chose to be a zombie gypsy for Halloween.

How: The clothes were easy. I brought out a long skirt with a tribal print and with that I wore a white, off-shoulder blouse and a black spaghetti strap top above it. Gypsies are usually big on colour but since I resembled the undead, I stuck to black and white. You can use other dark shades too, like midnight blue or deep purple but avoid pastel shades.

For my headgear, I wrapped a printed black scarf around my hair and for a dash of colour, slipped on a long multicoloured neckpiece.

Doing the face was simple too — lots of eye make-up using a kohl pencil and black and purple eye shadow all over the eye area and upper cheeks. For my lips, I chose black paint. It took me just about an hour to put this look together. What was difficult was getting rid of it all later! So, do keep a bottle of baby oil and lots of cotton balls ready for after the party.

Abhinanda Datta

Tips for the Halloween host

Decor: Buy pale-blue toony lights and cover them with dark blue Cellophane. These can be placed along the sides of the floor or on the walls. For added effect, bring out those glow-in-the-dark stars and moons that we had in our rooms as kids and stick them on the walls in the party area.

To scare your guests when they are least expecting it, take a cue from Hollywood and paint scary messages on the bathroom mirror and behind the bathroom door with a red marker.

And if you really wish to follow Halloween tradition, evil pumpkins and painted eggshells are a must.

Music: We suggest the Requiem for a Dream theme song, Late Night Lullaby by Kevin Packard, Paradise Circus by Massive Attack, Singin’ in the Rain (those who have watched A Clockwork Orange will appreciate it) and, of course, Mozart and Beethoven, since classical music is very big in horror movies.

Sip & bite: Bloody Mary is always a huge hit at Halloween parties since it looks like you are drinking pure blood. Also try: Black Martini (blackberry or black raspberry juice mixed with vodka) or regular vodka martini with black vodka (Blavod). For something slightly more elaborate, there’s Blood Sucker Cocktail and Liquefied Ghost Cocktail (recipes available online).

To dress up the glasses, stick black duct tape on them and draw out easy patterns like spider or evil grin (in picture).

A Halloween platter should have creepy-looking food that’s also finger-lickin’ good. Our picks are eyeball pizza, zombie-brained jello shots, cheese fingers, french fries and grilled sausages that can be made to look like actual fingers with ketchup (in picture) and cupcakes shaped like fingers, toes, eyeballs, bones and whatnot!

Activities: Get hold of a projector and screen Hitchcock movies, documentaries on all things supernatural or Holly faves like The Blair Witch Project, The Exorcist, the Paranormal Activity series and our recent favourite,

The Conjuring. Or sit in a circle with only the toony lights on and share spooky stories. For inspiration,  -16.

Costumes: If you’re making all this effort, make it a rule that NO ONE can enter your party without a Halloween costume. For inspiration, look left.

Compiled by Sanjana Ray
Pictures: Rashbehari Das

What did you dress up as this Halloween? Tell us in 50 words and send us a picture at t2@abp.in