---
title: How Can a Glue Stick or Fabric Softener Level Up Your Halloween Look?
date: 2026-10-29T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/how-can-a-glue-stick-or-fabric-softener-level-up-your-halloween-look"
section: Articles
---
# How Can a Glue Stick or Fabric Softener Level Up Your Halloween Look?

*October 29, 2026* — by [Karen Shih ’09](/author/karen-shih)


> UMD costume design student shares makeup and hair tips.

*Halloween Makeup Tips 10232026 SC 7688 1920x1080 — MFA student MJ Kelly applies the finishing touches on skeleton face paint. (Photos by Stephanie S. Cordle)*

<span>From a weathered and weary Odysseus to the glam leads of “The Devil Wears Prada,” there’s plenty of Hollywood inspiration for Halloween costumes this year. Or maybe you’re a fan of old-school monsters, from fanged vampires to cauldron-stirring crones.</span>

<span>Whatever you pick, getting your makeup and hair just right will complete your look — and a University of Maryland graduate student from the </span>[<span>School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies</span>](https://tdps.umd.edu/)<span> is here to help.</span>

<span>First-year MFA in costume design candidate MJ Kelly has loved stage productions since they saw the chandelier crash in “The Phantom of the Opera” as a child. When they’re not working behind the scenes on shows like the recent “</span>[<span>Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play</span>](https://today.umd.edu/doh-the-world-ends-the-simpsons-bumble-on)<span>” or dance showcases at </span>[<span>The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center</span>](https://theclarice.umd.edu/)<span>, they’re experimenting with hair and makeup. Oct. 31 is the perfect time to showcase those skills.</span>

<span>“Halloween is the one day a year when you can put on crazy makeup and costumes and go out and no one looks at you weird,” they said. In recent years, Kelly’s covered themself in blood for Carrie, donned sleek black hair and dress for Morticia, and created a cozy, bespectacled Velma for a group costume of the Scooby-Doo gang.</span>

<span>Whether you’re chaperoning trick-or-treaters or heading out to parties this weekend, check out these tips:</span>


## To get started:


*Makeup palettes*


<span id="docs-internal-guid-20fb3adc-7fff-91a3-b289-0051f39f8a77">Invest in some face paint. Kelly likes Ucanbe’s Athena Painting Palette, which not only has the full rainbow of colors, but also triple portions of white and black. For those who want to splurge on higher-quality, longer-lasting makeup, theater products by Mehron and Ben Nye are good options, they said. To ensure the makeup stays on point all night, use primer like Nyx’s The Face Glue to create a smooth base. After you’ve finished your look, follow with pressed powder and setting spray, like L’Oreal Infallible.</span>


## To become undead:


*MJ Kelly with white face paint and fake bloodstains on mouth on neck makes a growling face*


<span>Create the pale, translucent skin of a vampire or zombie by mixing white face paint with your existing foundation on a palette or paper plate, with a tinge of gray or black (Kelly’s inspiration is the goth-looking lead vocalist for My Chemical Romance, Gerard Way). “You want a bit of, ‘I’m not fully alive and still gray and ghostly,’” said Kelly.</span>

<span>Use a brown eyeshadow or contour powder with cool tones to bring the shadows back to your face, creating hollow cheeks and sunken eyes. For prominent veins, draw “little lightning bolts” with thin purple face paint.</span>

<span>To add a bite mark, dab a bit of red paint on your finger and draw two little circles, about the size of your finger. In the middle, add a little yellow, then a small, black dot where the fang sunk in. Dab some fake blood (pros use the brand Kryolan, but a party store option could do) to complete the realistic puncture wound. You can also add a drip of blood from the corner of your mouth, but check the packaging to make sure it’s safe to ingest (the right kind sometimes tastes minty, said Kelly).</span>


## To go glam:


*MJ Kelly wears a red curly wig*


## To age yourself up:


*MJ Kelly wears a gray wig with old-age makeup*


## To fully disappear:


*MJ Kelly applies skull makeup to their face*


## Hair care:


<span>While your party store wig won’t be as high-quality as the ones used in stage productions, you can rinse it with fabric softener to make it less stiff.</span>

<span>But if you splurge on a lace-front wig from a beauty supply store, make sure to trim the lace down to about half an inch. Most wigs will come with a cap, but the net kind can allow hair to stick through. For the best effect, get a solid one (the texture of thick pantyhose) – and bust out the glue stick again to get any sideburns out of the way.</span>




**Topics:** [Campus &amp; Community](https://today.umd.edu/tags/campus-community)


**Tags:** [Theatre, Dance &amp; Performance Studies](https://today.umd.edu/topic/theatre-dance-performance-studies), [Arts](https://today.umd.edu/topic/arts)


**Units:** [College of Arts and Humanities](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-arts-and-humanities)