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THE ULTIMATE
VAMPIRE COUPLE |
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CONTACTS
 The Ultimate Vampire would most
certainly have mysterious and strange eyes, and the only way to accomplish this is with a
set of special effects contact lenses.
We were not about to trust our
precious eye-sight with anyone, and after doing some research, we found
FX Eyes. They have fast service and a great selection of FDA approved lenses to
choose from. What sets them apart is that they can create custom lenses that will meet
your specification if they do not have what you want in stock.
Their lenses are made with the
highest quality FDA approved contact lens material. These lenses are specifically designed
for theatrical purposes and can be worn up to ten hours. They are the same type you've
seen in motion pictures and television like Interview with the Vampire, Lost Boys, Blade,
Bram Stoker's Dracula, John Carpenter's Vampires, Practical Magic and many others.
MAKE-UP
 We wanted the
make-up for our Vampire Couple to look exactly like the real thing, and since all of our
local blood suckers were in Las Vegas at a convention and not available for
consultation, we turned to those creepy guys at
The ScreamTeam.
Their "Undead"
prosthetic appliance looks great and is easy to apply. Made for both men and women,
it was the perfect choice for our Vampire Couple, and for only $49.95
each you get their
professional foam latex vampire prosthetic and detailed, easy to follow instructions.
 In addition to the foam
appliance, there are a few other things you'll need to apply and paint the prosthetic.
Spirit gum for attaching the appliance, various colors of rubber mask grease paint to
paint it, translucent powder to seal it, brushes and cosmetic sponges.
You may already
have these in your make-up kit, but if not
The ScreamTeam also carries a make-up kit specifically equipped
for use on their appliances.
FACIAL APPLIANCE
 The first step
is to attach the ScreamTeam appliance to the face using spirit gum. This should be done
nose first, you will get a better fit that way. From there your go up to the forehead, and
then down to the chin. Use a liberal amount of spirit gum as you go along so it all stays
attached. It will easily come off with spirit gum remover or alcohol when you want it to.
Smooth the edges down with liquid latex, you'll need to use a couple layers. Let dry
between coats. Using a blow drier on low will help to dry it faster, just be careful that
you don't burn the person you are working on!
 When it is all attached, apply
a base coat of grease paint in the desired color, we used a mixture of white and a touch
of flesh. Use a cosmetic sponge to apply to latex then work out to skin. Always pat the
makeup in, never rub.
Next you'll want to start adding low lights or shadows, darken
all recessed areas. The latex appliance is great for this, as the creases are in it
and
that makes shadowing so much easier for a first time user. Used your finger tip do
the eye sockets and add extra shadowing, it works better than a sponge. Finish it all
off with translucent powder to set the make-up, making it smear free.
EAR TIPS
 To further enhance the sinister
look of our vampires, we added pointed ears. For these we chose the Small Space Ears from
Cinema Secrets. They are inexpensive, easy to apply and when done properly,
look devilishly realistic.To
apply the ear tips you first trim off any excess latex so that the appliance will fit the
ear snugly. Next, you apply spirit gum to the ear and carefully place the ear tip over the
ear, pressing into place over the spirit gum. Be careful not to get hair stuck in it our
you'll have a heck of time!
 The edges of the appliance are
now stippled with a coat of liquid latex to blend the edge with the real ear. Once
it is
dry, a second coat of liquid latex is applied and allowed to dry. Now the ear is ready have the
same grease paint you used on the face be applied. Use a foam wedge to get into the folds of
the ear. You might want to darken the color a bit so you won't have to completely cover
the ear, it'll bend in.
FANGS
Every vampire needs a good set of fangs! You
can buy the inexpensive ones you see sold in little coffin boxes at this time of year
but they are hard
to fit and messy to work with. Custom fangs are the way to go, if you can afford them.
There are quite a few places out there on the internet that make them if you search for
them. Just make sure that you give them a call and talk to them before you buy. Fangs are
usually a big investment and you want them to be right. Make sure that they use the
highest quality dental acrylics.
Find out what their turn-around time is, how long will it
take to get your fangs? Make sure they know exactly what you want so you aren't
disappointed when they arrive, if you asked for bicuspid fangs that attach to the
individual tooth and receive a full set of uppers that don't fit properly and hurt when
you put them on, you'll be very disappointed! We have found that if you check with
local dentists in your area, you'll find at least one that is willing to make you a set of
fangs in their office. You can get impressions made right there, they can color match your
teeth and you'll get exactly what you want.
What
would any Vampire be without a great set of choppers?
 If you buy on-line, you'll need
to have a dentist make a set of dental impressions made from your teeth. This is a simple
process and only takes about fifteen minutes. We found the charge to be around $45.00.
These impressions are then sent to the tooth maker so they can cast them to fit your
teeth. This way, you won't have to use fixative to hold them in place, they should snap
right on your teeth and stay there until you take them off.
 We've gotten fangs from a
couple different places over the years. The first place took a while, but they sent us
some very nice fangs that were so sharp, you could literally bit through an aluminum can
with them on, eat, drink, smoke with them on. The second place took quite a while and sent
us a longer set of fangs than we had asked for.
Although they were nicely made, they were
hard to wear because of the length. We asked again for shorter ones and after a year long
wait, received a full set of uppers that didn't fit correctly and pushed the upper lip out
so much that we looked like hillbilly vampires. They weren't what we wanted or had asked
for and we were very disappointed.
Now you have the basics down for
a vampire. All you need to do is pick out a great costume to
go along with the make-up! Check out our selections
here.
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