Maleficent

Maleficent is the first villain I ever loved. Sleeping Beauty was a movie I watched repeatedly as a child, and Maleficent’s color palette (black, purple, lime green, and a pop of hot pink) might be my all-time favorite. I love her entire aesthetic.

While I appreciate that she got further screentime with Maleficent and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, I’m not super into the backstory where her heart was broken by a man who betrayed her trust (it’s BEEN DONE) and she ended up loving Sleeping Beauty/Aurora like she was her own child. Like if one of my ex’s had a kid with someone else and I spent all my time watching that child, that would be stalking, not some wonderful Fairy Godmother relationship. When I root for villains, I’d prefer they not be child stalkers. Curse a MFer all you want, but don’t waste your time watching them and loving them. lol

This is probably the most costumey outfit that I’ve done. But sometimes instead of buying something new or repurposing things you already have, you could ask your mom (or friend or whoever) if you can borrow the awesome costume they wore a different year. My mother was Maleficent for a couple of different Halloweens, and I asked her earlier this year if she was going to be her again this season or if I could use the outfit. Of the items she sent me, I only ended up using the headpiece for this look. However, there are some simple tutorials on how to DIY horns that I would have turned to if I didn’t already have a sweet set.

A black high-low keyhole dress on a dress form. A pair of knee-high fur-lined boots with chain detail are in front on the ground.

Outfit: Black Voodoo Vixen High-Low Keyhole Dress I believe I inherited this from a friend. Am I going to let the fact that I can’t button the top button of the chest bit stop me from wearing this fabulous dress? Hell no! I just tucked that bit into my strapless bra and kept it moving.

Shoes: Black Faux Fur Lined Knee-High Boots that originally came with round laces wrapped around them, but I altered them years ago with some chain instead. (*Note to self: Take some links out to pull them tighter now that the chains have settled.)

A black high-low keyhole dress with a thick black corset belt and black cape are on a dress form. A pair of knee-high fur-lined boots with chain detail are in front on the ground.

Outfit #2: Last minute, I pulled out this black (unbranded, possibly homemade) cape (that I think was my sibling’s at one point in time), but if I had thought it through, I would have stitched up the edges and at least ironed it. 😬

A person dressed up as Maleficent in all black with horns on their head. In one photo they are in a dress; in the second, they also have a black cape. Both are facing away from the camera with the emphasis on the horns.

Hair: Because this specific set of horns is a complete headpiece that straps underneath the chin, I just braided my hair into two braids and clipped them up on my head to hide underneath. The high neckline of the dress and the collar of the cape really helped ensure that no hair was showing.

A selfie of a person dressed up as Maleficent with a horned headpiece, lots of makeup, and a high collared black dress.

Makeup: I kinda used this tutorial, but just did what I could with what I had.

Face: Tone Adjusting e.l.f. Face Primer

Porcelain e.l.f. Flawless Finish Foundation

Fair Beige Wet n Wild Mega Last Incognito Concealer

FIC-004# Fall in Color Contour Makeup Stick

When the Nude Strikes Wet n Wild Megaglo Highlight Makeup Stick

Eyes: Gin White Eyeshadow from The Equalizer Volume 1 Sample Beauty Palette

Ginger Eyeshadow from the AVON For The Love of Makeup Artist Palette

Toast Eyeshadow from the AVON For The Love of Makeup Artist Palette

Black Perfect Wings Eyeliner Stamp and Liner

Very Black Covergirl Lash Blast Volume Waterproof Mascara

Lips: Kitten Heels Bright Red NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick with some Bloodstone NYX Glitter Goals Liquid Lipstick on top in the middle.

A black high-low keyhole dress with a thick black corset belt are on a dress form. A pair of knee-high fur-lined boots with chain detail are in front on the ground.

Accessories: Black Game of Life Oversized Akira Corset Belt which is one of my favorite pieces right now. I want to wear it with everything.

A closeup of two costume jewelry rings. The one on the left is a large green oval on an adjustable silver band. The one on the right is a rhinestone bird head silver ring with blue eyes.

Accessories: Green Adjustable Large Costume Ring and Rhinestone Bird Head Ring

Prop 1: A hand puppet that I inherited from someone. Unsure if it is supposed to be a Crow or a Raven, but it is definitely a corvid. This is my Diablo/Diaval. I had it clipped to my sleeve for a few photos, but when it didn’t stay on my shoulder, I just put it on my hand for some photos too.

A two photo collage. The image on the left is some brown yarn, a yellow tennis ball, a tiki torch, and some brown packing paper. On the right. those items have been combined to create Maleficent's staff.

Prop 2: So one or two nights before I was planning to do this photo shoot, I ~~realized~~ freaked out that I didn’t have a staff for Maleficent. I almost talked myself out of doing her entirely because I didn’t want to recreate someone so dear to me without such a crucial prop. In my brainstorming on how I could whip something together, I pulled a tiki torch out of my garage. I initially wanted a greener ball on top, but I couldn’t find one in my house. Then, my partner suggested a tennis ball. Depending on what version of Maleficent you are rocking, her staff has been represented in various shades of green and some even go as light as yellow especially when it is glowing. I was considering using some of my hemp to wrap up the staff, but once I saw that I had brown yarn, everything came together. I used some brown packing paper from one of my recent deliveries to put in the top bit of the torch part to keep the ball high enough to show instead of falling deeper down. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.