the best and the worst: week 05

first things first, thanks to all your support and constant readership, it's kept me writing and this post is our 100th post! *claps claps happy dance*

'the best and the worst' post is one of the toughest to write weekly because of the constant change in tally. what do i mean, if you (the reader) decide to tweet about a certain post or share it on your social media platform, it could very well change the rankings which means the best and the worst is never certain till the very last moment.

this got me thinking about the week that went by here on The Online Edition. many days when i put out material, i am highly uncertain if it is going to be a hit or miss, but i learnt that lesson last week. this week is really about the end result. writing this post is much like life itself. we cannot truly conclude till the final moment. i was just at dinner with a teammate, lots of thoughts were exchanged; some confidential, others not so but i really got down thinking on my way home. there will always be a 'best' and a 'worst'. the important lesson is to accept both and then continue growing from there...

well enough of my ramblings, the results are in. here is your best post of the week...

best: spooky clothes

(*shameless self-praise alert*) this was truly expected. in fact, i knew that it was either this post or one of the other two that revolved around the review of sentosa spooktacular (spooky faces or spooky mess) that will become top of the week. in planning the material, i put myself in the shoes of the reader. would i really just want to know 'oh, the event's scary!' or is there a fresh insight? guess i found it and hit the nail on the head. not only did the post make it to best of the week, it is now an all-time favourite too. i'm glad my difference in perspective has earned the validation of readers.

and the worst post of the week is...

worst: pretty bloody

you know how when you have an interesting post before, it is a tad tough to outdo yourself. this is the gist of the struggle i had. coming into this post, it was a difficult game to beat. from reviewing an event to the fashion of halloween and then the makeup, i felt fatigue in putting out so much material about halloween hence i decided to keep it a lot simpler. was it deliberate? partly, i guess. like earlier mentioned, there will always be a post that needs to take the bottom so unfortunately, it's just pretty bloody at the bottom.

usually, in the midst of the best and the worst, i will also make certain recommendations that i think you should read. well, since it's the 100th post, i would ask that you read the very first post on The Online Edition and join me in this moment of reflection.

fash'on... BAM!

spooky mess

no event or production in this world would be perfect. the question is, even when there are flaws, can we accept them and move on? like i promised in my earlier post, i would take this one to talk about things that got under my skin about sentosa spooktacular. after reading this, some of you might say that i am nit-picking and just overly fussy. perhaps i am but i guess, when attention paid to detail, the mileage earned is geometric. just think of the blankets and hot tea that chanel provided during their haute couture show.

so this post is going to be about the little tweaks that can be made to sentosa spooktacular to make the experience truly memorable...

1) getting out of touch with my roots

during any halloween events, there are bound to be the generous usage of wigs. so i would pay attention to the talent's real hair sticking out. this is something that can be easily resolved with hairpins.

see what was wrong? i didn't noticed the bandana during the event because it was dark but in photos, the bandana stood out like a sore thumb. my guess is that the talent was supposed to keep his hat on with the bandana holding up his hair but he took it off and got caught on camera by a fussy blogger.

2) do you see my true colours?

while the hair faux pas were acceptable, i cannot say the same for make-up. one of the biggest rules in the application of make-up is: when putting on foundation, do not end at the jawline. this is even more important when you are creating the illusion of a character. 

compare the two photos (picture on the right is from another halloween event)... one definitely had more attention paid to makeup. notice that you do not see any skin in the picture on the right. you can afford to use a thinner layer when it comes to the neck and body but it is still essential to avoid two distinct skin tones... lots of blending is needed to prevent patches of bare skin (the other way is to apply beyond the costume line.)

next, you will get your best pictures at the beginning of the night because by the later part of the night, most of the make-up on the faces of the talents have faded due to perspiration. i felt bad for the talents because i know how it feels like to have on theatrical make-up in an outdoor event. well, i do have a couple of tips for those of you putting on scary makeup this halloween but i'll share them later in the week.

so my tip for you: if you want to take pictures with the 'spirits' that have elaborate make-up, do it as early as you can... 

3) spot the brand under my costume

generally, the costumes were fantastic and gave a whole list of photo opportunities. but some attention can be paid to what the talents were wearing underneath. there was too much 'sticking out' of tee-shirts for me. it's like 'hey, i know where that is from because i have the same thing in four colours'. the worst part of this undershirt glitch is when one can actually name the brands (and probably the price!)

after all, halloween is the season of creating the ultimate illusion of spirits back to haunt us. i want to be chased by a ghost who wants my soul, not one who is fighting me for the last discounted piece. ghosts were people too but after these people pass on, i would appreciate if we shopped at different stores.

4) land of lost soles

i saved the best for last. after three pointers, i think i'll allow the pictures to do the talking in this one...

not that scary anymore eh?

yes, i'm picky, fussy and every mean word that you can find in the dictionary but here on the online edition, details are important. after all, there is a reason why haute couture is in a class of its own.

fash'on... BAM!

spooky faces

other than taking pictures with all the wandering spirits for the outfits that they are in during any halloween event, another make or break factor is the make up of these characters. many times, a right combination of make up and costume gives the extra oomph factor. so what is there to expect of the make up during sentosa spooktacular? like how the 'fashion' was discussed, expect the same for the make up...

1) the white face

these are a given. not having the white painted faces at a halloween event is like a birthday celebration without the birthday cake. why the obsession with white faces? think of phrases like 'white as a sheet', 'turn pale with fear' and you'll get the literary references. medically, blood is the thing that gives your skin the pinkish and radiant glow. so after a person dies and blood has been drained, the person is 'turns white'. that said, some of the white are too white for me... but i'll explain it my next post. i'll keep this post more objective.

2) the rotten face

another given. these, i must say, are fans favourites. it shows the efforts and prowess of the make-up artist at transforming a human face into something else. the duration of make-up is usually an hour and a half or upwards. i always give a distinction to both talents and artists for executing this look perfectly. these are the real scary faces. by the way, i'm not certain if it was deliberate but the dead soldier had flaps of skin flaking off the neck area as well. let's just assume that it was meant to be that way.

hence when you do visit sentosa spooktacular, do take pictures with these faces. if possible, do close-ups with them. just be mindful not to touch their faces by accident. their make-up is sure to stain (careful as i was, i did find make-up on my hoodie when i got home.) 

3) the covered face

i'm mixed about this group. the mask in the centre worked for me (it was in the doll house so it suited the theme) but the other two, i'm divided, divided not due to the poor make-up. in fact i thought the make up was brilliant, like the veins on the face of the last picture but i got those shots after much hunting. 

for the first, that was the best shot i got out of three. i was trying so hard to keep the hair up and in the end i gave up. (tip: do a group shot if you spot her, get the bravest one amongst the lot to hold her hair up) the hair just kept blocking the face, so when this old lady pops up in front of you, the scare factor is weakened because the hair is in the way of the face.

the third picture was taken when i went under the straw hat to see the face. it was a great pity because this was, and still is, one of my favourite spooky face. it had a right balance of every element that makes a face scary. i won't tell you where to find this man but look out for the straw hat. it's going to take a lot of convincing on your part (i had my way because of the media pass) to get him to pose for a picture.

my take for these looks: you need do hunt them out to get the shots (that is if they don't spook you first!)

4) the human face

no surprises from this group. basically it uses your own face as the basis, after which, you add on an element of spook to it. in terms of scare factor, it's much lower but it works as well. i mean, too much rotting flesh can smell. so if the rotting flesh look was the strong, pungent durian, this would be the sweet nectarine.

the dashing gentleman is just there for show. he's not at all scary, pretty friendly guy. he's placed there because if you see him, you are in for a good time. (yes, every pun intended. haha) i had the most fun on the trail he was stationed but i won't give it away though most other bloggers would have revealed it anyway. all in all, as you go through all five different trails of sentosa spooktacular, do take time to look at the make-up of the 'ghosts'.

fash'on... BAM!

spooky clothes

it's finally my turn to talk about the sentosa spooktacular. yes, it is no longer news that i went to the media preview with some members of the staff. (my apologies to those who had to wait in line while i waltzed through trail after trail) so having gone through the entire experience with five ladies, i'm not going to sell you the event. many other blogs would have done that by now and seriously, the online edition is only interested in the fashion aspect of it.

so here's a look the spooky clothes that you will see.

the culturally dead

the ethnic: this is a sure-win for me. i am all things asia and i do take a lot of pride in my asian culture (just look through the posts of week two). sick as it may sound but i rather be spooked by the ghosts from my own backyard than by a spirit with an accent. (think spider spirit calling 'lai ar, lai ar' as opposed to female vampire saying 'come to me darling so that i can devour you and drain you dry of blood') the familiarity factor is always an intimate touch. so it was nice to see how asian culture, myths and legends were infused into the fright fest. when i saw the ancient guards at the walkway, i was sold (not fully though).

the shiny and feathery dead

the sequins and feathers: the pictures were taken at two different venues, far from each other. 

the first set of feathers and sequins for the cross-dresser, that i understand, for its reference to thailand and the cross-dressing shows they stage. 

however, the sequins and feathers on the left were a tad out of place. they were  located very near the ancient guards and the monkey god (who will be featured in the final post of this series). so it took me a long time to figure out why they were there. unless they were showgirls but showgirls, along the street with other characters that had a distinct ethnic or cultural reference? if the entire walkway was to be a presentation of the 'asian nightmare', this touch of modernity pretty much ruined the authenticity of asian superstitions.

the simply dead

the dead-something: air stewardess, man off the street, schoolgirl. frankly, these ones are the worst of the lot. if i were to take wet wipes and clean their faces, their outfits would look like my nieces and nephews after a day of rolling in the mud. as halloween fashion, it does not give me the 'wow' factor. but that's the problem when you have to cater for two hundred talents, you cannot put everyone in a fanciful and elaborate outfit. so i chose to believe that they were more the 'talents' than the 'costumes'.

fortunately, most of these simple dead-something fashion are found in the dim and smoky parts of the trails so you will have no time to be spooked by their plain outfits because they are busy scaring the living daylights out of you. so it worked out well. it's true: out of sight, out of mind... you won't see them much hence a lack of opportunity to b***h about what they're wearing.

the bodily dead

the 'gym rat by day, roaming spirit by night': or also known as the group of 'i forgot my costume so i'm just going to rub on body paint and bare my torso' halloween costumes.

before i critique this 'collection' on their clothes, or rather lack of it, most (if not all) of the talents are students hence baring their bodies take a lot of courage. they do not have the time to spend hours at the gym to tone and sculpt the muscles so kudos to the boys! (the girls played it safe...)

that said, this series is almost expected at any scare fest. they will make one (especially ladies) go weak in the knees from their well-toned bodies. in fact, for just one moment, the joke's on you because you will wonder if they are the damned ones with the pecs and abs or are we the ones cursed because we work so hard just to shed a few pounds.

(sidenote to the organisers: a friend went through my pictures and asked that the talent from the middle picture can be brought out into 'light' cos he has probably the best body but no one can see it through all the smoke. haha!)

so what my verdict in terms of the fashion / clothes / costumes / outfits? i understand the concept but the execution feels disjointed. the uniformity of fashion and ideas on the trails were almost seamless but once out in the open, it was like a dress held together by hot glue... messy and on the brink of breakdown. true halloween reigned and the spirits roamed in every direction they pleased.

fash'on... BAM!

hello-outfit

as adults, we celebrate singapore's halloween in a couple of ways... either we turn up at a club or event, dressed up in costume and party the night away. or we buy tickets to some local attraction and get spooked out by part-time (sometimes, full-time) actors or talents. both ways, it is pure fun and a great opportunity to take pictures.

so keeping both the elements of fun and photos in mind, for the last two halloweens, i went for the non-dress up option. primary reason? this is what i do for a living...

another day in the office

the idea of dressing up as a character and putting on make-up really does not appeal to a performer during his down time. being the practical money-grabbing person that i am, unless i'm paid, chances are i won't don a costume out of my own accord. 

i remember being invited to a 'skin' party where you were supposed to go in revealing outfits showing off some skin. i turned up, covered head to toe in cow skin (leather). the host was not too pleased but hey, i did technically dress to theme. so excuse me for my blunt ways but if i am here to party, i need to be comfortable and comfortable was i when i showed up at last thursday's halloween event for the media (shall not do any plugging for them today since all posts tomorrow will be devoted to them)

couple of notes when planning your outfit:

1) know where you are going... if it's a fully air-conditioned venue, then you can dress in a few more layers and don fabrics that do not 'breathe'. if it's an open air event, then you might want to scale back on the layers. personally, i went for a pair of bermudas because walking around in jeans is way too warm for me. however i did layer my top and i'll explain why in the next point.

as for shoes, i went for one of my favourites, puma (think this was alexander mcqueen collection), because if there was one thing to expect, it was walking.

the shoes

2) know what you are going to do there... if your intention is just to view attractions, then it's fine to wear anything. after it's halloween, no one will fault you for looking hideous. however, if you are going to be taking lots of photos OR people are going to take photos of you, then please do yourself a favour and wear something decent. 

the outfit

i wore a basic red tee layered it with a hoodie. the red was just for that pop of colour and the tee that i selected was one that is highly absorbent so i won't feel sticky even after perspiring buckets. the hoodie was to cover the sweat patches that will probably appear on the red tee. also, with the hood, you can have more outfit options! slip the hood over your head and you can mimick the traditional black hooded death.

overall verdict? i did perspire a lot throughout the evening from the weather and all the walking around but i'm pretty happy that the outfit i selected did not disappoint in photos while keeping me comfortable the entire night. while you prepare for your halloween night out, do take a couple of moments to plan your outfits for a great evening of fun and a fantastic album of great memories.

fash'on... BAM!

hello-win

halloween is not till the next weekend. so why is the online edition covering this theme so early? well, i believe in preparation and also i don't fancy being the last on the bandwagon to cover the material... haha.

anyway, if you are one of those who 'liked' my facebook page, you would know that i was on sentosa last thursday for the media preview of sentosa spooktacular. my guess is by now, you would also have read up on the media reports by the mainstream media and multiple bloggers. expecting me to not cover the event is like giving me cash and telling me to not spend it. hence, expect coverage on the event here as well but it is your choice whether or not to attend. 

like mentioned by sherlyn, i plan my material way ahead thus i would encourage / plead / beg / bribe / coerce / threaten / (insert your own word) that you come back daily to look at my coverage of halloween. i'm not going to give any more content away because i want you to surprise of the quirky posts and weird angles that i will come up with over this week. 

after all, halloween is when all hell breaks loose and i can lift the reins off my creativity to let it run amok. 

in closing, here's a link from my good friend, wikipedia, on halloween and pictures of scantily-clad chiseled bodies that i did (and will be) putting on every week's opening post just to shamelessly drive up blog traffic.

the Pussycat Dolls celebrate Halloween

courtesy of JustinTimberlake.com

fash'on... BAM!