DIY Feminist Halloween Costumes

Happy almost Halloween! I have always loved Halloween. As a kid I wanted to be an actress when I grew up, and I loved  fashion & makeup (as I do today) and so Halloween was the absolute best. A chance to pretend to be someone or something else and play with clothes and makeup?! Winning!

I fully support women wearing whatever they want from Halloween; including being ‘sexy’ if that’s what they want to do. However, I think we can all agree that we have gone off the deep end as a society when it comes to making “sexy” costumes. Case and point? I’ve come across both a ‘sexy pizza rat‘ and a ‘sexy Donald Trump‘ costume for sale. *I have no words*

So; today I am beyond excited to be bringing you 4 DIY feminist Halloween costumes. This post has taken weeks to create and I’m really happy with the result. These 4 DIY feminist Halloween costumes are ones that you can easily pull together in a day or two.

I’m also sharing the makeup for each costume; thanks to London Drugs for collaborating with me on the makeup front. You’ll find a YouTube video at the end of this post to see me actually do the makeup for all 4 looks. (Ps. subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already!)

Last thing before I get to the costumes – I still haven’t decided which of the 4 I’m going to be for Halloween myself, so let me know in the comments below which you think I should be!

DIY Feminist Halloween Costume Ideas:

1. Leslie Knope (Parks & Rec)

Leslie Knope has become a bit of a feminist icon. Really, the creator of “Galentine’s Day” and the phrase Ovaries over Bro-varies” kind of had to be! This is also probably the easiest of the DIY Feminist Halloween Costumes I’m sharing today.

Costume Components:

• Grey Blazer
• Blue Button down shirt
• Black Pants
• Vote Knope Pin
• Pawnee Magazine Cover
• Blonde curled wig (if not a blonde)

If you don’t have a grey blazer and blue shirt in your closet, really any blazer and button down shirt will do. As far as the ‘accessories’ you can google “vote knope pin” and simply print out the pin shape and tape it to your blazer (that’s what I did here). No actual pin needed! For the pawnee magazine, again google the image of the magazine cover and print it out. Tape it over top of an actual magazine and carry it around with you. Easy peasy – DIY feminist halloween costumes for the win!

Makeup:

• L’Oreal Infallible Foundation & L’Oreal Powder
• Burts Bees Blush
• Rimmel ‘Brow this Way’ Fill & Sculpt Eyebrow Definer
• NYX ‘Away We Glow’ Eyeshadow Palette
• Rimmel ScandalEyes Waterproof Pencil Eyeliner
• L’Oreal Mascara
• Annabelle Edge Lipstick in “Iris”

The makeup for Leslie Knope is quite easy. Leslie Knope had pretty much the same makeup every episode of Parks & Rec, and it was quite natural- which is what I love about the makeup for this costume. Everything used here is makeup you can continue to use in your day to day life.

Start with getting a matte complexion- not trendy dewiness or highlight here! The Infallible foundation from L’Oreal gives amazing coverage, and the powder sets it to a complete matte finish. As far as eye makeup, the character had a light smokey eye, sometimes in greys, sometimes in browns, and black cat eye. I used the NYX palette because I love the colors. I used the Rimmel eyeliner because – protip – this is the BEST eyeliner for any non-makeup experts that want the look of a liquid cateye. This is a pencil liner so it’s easier to use, but it goes on as smooth and saturated as a liquid. Finally, the lips! Leslie Knope most often has a pink lipstick- the Annabelle Edge lipstick in “Iris” is a great color match (and I love the moisturizing feel to this lipstick.)

As a reminder, all of the makeup for these 4 costumes can be found at London Drugs! For those of you non-Canadians that don’t live near a London Drugs, you can shop the makeup below:

Leslie Knope Makeup Items:

2. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg

Supreme Court Justice RBG has, likewise, become an iconic representation of bad-ass independent women. Dressing like the notorious RBG for Halloween is sure to get you some major props from feminist women everywhere. Now, as you can tell I’ve done some old age makeup for this look and i just want to be clear that RBG looks incredible for her age- but she is still a solid 40 years older than I am, so aging makeup felt appropriate. You can skip this part though if you want and the costume will still be quite recognizable.

Costume Components:

• Black Blazer, Black Overcoat, Black Pants
• White ‘Lace’ Collar
• Green Earrings
• Black Rimmed Glasses
• Brown Wig

Being a lawyer, this one was a bit easier for me than for any of you non-lawyers, since I was literally able to wear my court robes. That said, a buttoned up black blazer with an overcoat would totally do the trick. **Update: one of my amazing readers just suggested in the comments below that you can also check thrift stores for a graduation gown! Thanks to Virginia for this great idea.**

To replicate her lace collar I just grabbed some white doilies from the dollar store which I cut in half and ‘hollowed out’ so that I had only the lace trim part. I taped that down to my robes and voila. In the most iconic RBG photo she is wearing her statement green earrings and black rimmed glasses so top off your outfit with these. You can find fake glasses at any dollar store or thrift store – and same with green earrings. I found the ones I’m wearing at a local Dollarama for $2.

Makeup:

• Rimmel ‘Brow this Way’ Fill & Sculpt Eyebrow Definer
• L’Oreal Powder
• KISS Contour Kit
• Rimmel Stay Glossy Lip Gloss

For the RBG makeup, if you want to do the aged look, start by powdering over your brows. They grey’ish, more faded look is what you want. Then, create wrinkles and fine lines with a contour kit and eyebrow pencil. (Check out the video below to see exactly how to create this look). RBG seems to love a pink glossy lip with some sparkle, which for some reason I find beyond endearing and adorable. The Rimmel stay glossy gloss is the perfect way to top off this look.

Shop Ruth Bader Ginsberg Makeup:

3. Rosie the Riveter

The war time feminist icon makes for a classic but fun Halloween costume. And again, it’s one of the easiest DIY feminist Halloween costumes!

Costume Components:

• Denim Shirt
• Jeans (I like the vintage look of flares, but clearly anything works)
• Red Shoes
• Red Polka Dot Scarf
• Brown Wig (if not a brunette)

If you don’t have a denim shirt in your closet, they’re easy to find in a thrift store. I headed to my local Value Village  for all of the costume pieces I didn’t already have. The hardest part of this costume, as far as the clothes go, is the red polka dot scarf. If you have one, or see one in a thrift shop, perfect! If not and you are in a pinch, like I was, get creative! My “scarf” is actually red polka dot napkins folded and taped together lol. You can likely find red polka dot napkins at your local dollar store or Michaels craft store. Either way this is one of the easy DIY feminist halloween costumes you can do this year!

Makeup:

• Rimmel ScandalEyes Waterproof Pencil Eyeliner
• Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Lip Color – in ‘Fire Starter’
• L’Oreal Mascara

I love that this makeup is dramatic, but again consists of products you can wear again and again. Basically all you need to do is create a dramatic black cateye (again I recommend the Rimmer pencil liner!) and add a bold red lip. I love the Rimmel Stay Matte in Fire Starter because it is the perfect shade of red; but also because it really does stay well throughout the day/ night.

Shop the Rosie the Riveter Makeup:

4. A “Liberal Snowflake”

This is my favorite costume of the bunch because I am a sucker for play on word costumes. The alt-right has been lobbying around the term “liberal snowflake” to insult democrats, but really just anyone who seems to care deeply about human rights and protecting them. A lot of people have spun this around (much like they did with the Hilary Clinton ‘Nasty Woman’ debacle) so that they now proudly identify as a liberal snowflake. So, this year for Halloween, embrace the play on words and be a ‘liberal snowflake’.

Costume Components:

• White Top & Bottom
• White Shoes
• White headband or earmuffs
• DIY white snowflake headband
• optional: add a democratic party symbol or logo to the costume

The costume for this really up to you- which I love! All you need is to wear all white- so be as covered or as open, as dressy or as casual, as you want! Then the snowflake headband. I found these white earmuffs at Value Village and knew I wanted to wear them for this. I then picked up a plain headband and taped cardboard cut out snowflake arms(?) to it.

Makeup:

• White Eyeshadow (I’m using the white in my Lise Watier smokey nudes palette)
• Makeup Revolurion Liquid Highlighter – in Unicorn Elixer
• NYX Glitter Primer
• NYX Glitter – in ‘Lumi Lite’
• NYX Liquid Highlighter – in ‘Moon Glow’ (worn as lipstick)(used as lipstick)
• L’Oreal Double Extend Mascara (use only the primer)
• Self-Adhesive Rhinestones

This is the boldest, most-time consuming makeup of the list, but it is oh-so-much fun. The video below will make it really clear, but basically just create the whitest sparkliest look you can!

Shop the “Liberal Snowflake” Makeup:

Thanks for reading! I hope you love this list of DIY feminist Halloween costumes. Let me know which is your favorite and which I should be this Halloween!