A guide to fancy dress wigs and look like a star

As you will have seen in the dressing up section, there are a number of extra touches that can make your outfit stand out from the crowd. We've put together a few ideas below to give you an idea of what your options are when it comes to wearing any kind of wig. Just keep in mind these items can be quite hard to find, so we recommend going online or looking at our diagram above for some ideas.

In the picture on the left, we have a classic fancy dress wig for a priest or pope. It's simple but effective and is ideal for dressing up to celebrate a religious occasion.

To go with the outfit above, you may want to buy a bandana. These are great for drawing attention to your face and adding some colour. They usually come in packs of three or more colours so you can mix one with your costume or use different ones every night! You could also wear a ribbon in place of or as well as a wig; these are thinner than wigs and add just as much colour, but are more difficult to pin down.

Or here's a great quick tip...

When going as a dead rock star, or if your look is inspired by the classics like Dracula, you're almost guaranteed to have at least one photo taken of you. This might be with family and friends or in some fancy dress competitions. If you're pulling off the vampire look, then you'll know about the pale skin look - having no makeup on at all and your face looking as though it's never seen direct sunlight. If a photo's taken of this then anyone can tell that you're faking it (unless they've already been told what your costume is). To give yourself that pale skinned look even in photos, just put some white powder make up over your face. Here are a few examples:

Spot the difference!

See... it's pretty easy to do. The white powder gives you that pale skinned look, even in photos and in person. You might not be getting any sun protection but at least your face will look convincing!

A quick tip for when you're wearing a wig...

When putting your wig on, don't just push it onto the top of your head and hope for the best. A good wig should cover all sides of your head, right down to the back of your neck. This means that you're going to have to do a bit of work putting it on. For example, even though you can't see it, the hair on the back of your head should be pushed back a little so that it's sticking out of the wig. Otherwise you're going to look like this...

If you want to know how to put on a wig, just remember these three steps:

1. Push your head forward at an angle and put your hands in the air like you're surrendering! This will push your hair backwards and make it easier to fit into place.

2. Bend down and use both hands to pull up and away from your head a little bit at the back of your neck (make sure not to get any hair between your teeth!). This should expose your neck and make it easier to push your hair into place.

3. Use both hands to push your hair up and back at the front of your head and then use one hand to hold the wig in place while you use the other hand to pin it down at the sides of your head.

You might look a bit strange, especially if you haven't got any hair yet, but it's better than not looking like yourself in photos!

In addition...

You could also buy a pack of fake nails, as these can be worn on any finger or thumb and polished to look as realistic as possible. You'll need to buy some glue as well, so check out the video below for how to put them on. Fake nails can go with any costume and work particularly well if you're a vampire or a rockstar, as they give you something else to do with your hands!

Not only that, but fake nails can be used as weapons - just make sure you don't leave them in place for too long as they'll dry out quickly and could become dangerous.

A quick tip for when you're wearing fake nails...

When putting your fake nails on, always put your finger in the middle of an imaginary line at the base of your nail bed (the part under the cuticle where your nail is attached to the skin). This will make it easier to extend the nail, but only slightly so that you don't have to file away at your actual nail. Make sure your nails are dry too. You might look like Wolverine or like a certain someone off Game of Thrones , but at least you'll still have your own nails left in the morning!

Finally...

You can also buy fake tattoos which are basically just stickers that can be stuck on your skin and then peeled back off again. These work well for any costume, especially if you're dressing up as a rockstar or punk rocker.

If you want to know how to put on a tattoo, just remember these three steps:

1. Apply the fake tattoo to the centre of your back or inner bicep and then do up the top button of your shirt.

2. Using one hand and steady pressure, push the tattoo into place for about 5 seconds until it feels sticky like it's stuck firmly onto your skin. Spread the fake tattoo and make sure all parts are stuck down as best as possible! (This is where you may find that it's best to hold up a mirror so that you can see what you're doing!)

3. Using one hand and steady pressure, flip the fake tattoo over and use one hand to smooth it out by pulling and pushing it as you go.

You can also buy fake blood in packs of varying strengths. These can be used as props or to add some realism to your costume. You can usually pick up a pack online or on Amazon that contains 8-10 different colours and looks convincing enough to be there when you look like yourself in photos!

And finally...

Conclusion

If you're dressing up for a fancy dress competition, or for any other reason, then you're probably going to need to have some fake blood.

These days it's easier than ever to buy fake blood online or collect it from costume shops, as long as you take care not to get any of the adhesive on your skin. Check out this video that shows exactly how easy it is!

Fake blood can be used in a variety of ways - as a prop in photos, out of a toy gun and in this example below where I'm pretending that I've just been stabbed...

If you want to know how you can use fake blood in these ways then just remember these three steps: