This Halloween is not the first time Wicked, the popular novel-turned-musical-turned-movie, has been in the zeitgeist and thus up for grabs in the costume department. The two most obvious looks to recreate are Elphaba, the green-skinned main character, and Galinda, the angelic witch we all know from The Wizard of Oz.
Whether you’re team green or still debating whether Kristin Chenoweth or Ariana Grande was the better casting, we’ve got the details on how you can paint yourself green to paint the town red.
Method Dressing? Method Product Releases
After Blake Lively’s recent attempt to sell haircare products during the press tour of It Ends With Us, Ariana’s brand r.e.m. beauty is making another go at pairing movie releases with products. This time, however, it feels appropriate given the subject matter, since Wicked‘s characters are known for their fantastical and iconic looks.
Witches, though? Sign us up, fill our carts and check us out. The collection features two different sets — one for Galinda and one for Elphaba. Both sets include a full-sized lipstick, a liquid eyeshadow, a lip & cheek stick and an eyeliner pencil. Of course, Elphaba’s is mostly green, and Galinda’s is pink with a baby blue eyeliner.
In addition, you can grab the “Ozdust” eyeshadow palette with twelve shades, Galinda glow drops, ph lip oil, three shades of tulip field lip stain and reusable under eye masks. The colors are all exclusive to the launch.
While they’re not the exact makeup used on set, the colors and concepts of the collection are said to be inspired by Grande and Erivo’s looks in the film.
Defying Budget Constraints: Being Elphaba
What better look to recreate it than the main character of Wicked, Elphaba Thropp? Her wardrobe is the most “traditionally witchy,” and she has a Halloween-y green hue for her skin tone. Whether or not you get your hands on any r.e.m. Elphaba releases, here are a few inventive ways to recreate Elphaba’s look, minus the head-to-toe green body paint.
Calen Mikenzie breaks down the r.e.m. product photo from the Elphaba collection step-by-step in this video. Follow along with the collection or use whatever you’ve got on hand. It’s a very light and everyday makeup look but could work with a costume or at a more casual Halloween event.
Take a cue from Kareem Maliek and play with positions. Using a black liquid liner, draw an abstract shape between the brows, blending into the brows. Experiment with shapes and see what best suits you. Maliek adds the shade “she’s phosphorescent” on the bridge of his nose, but it would be just as good as a highlight in other places or all over the black shapes blended out on the edges.
Not an Elphaba cosplay, but still a good example of her look, Mollie Gloss takes the essence of Elphaba – green — and makes it both wearable and bold. The 20s starlet thin brows give it that extra theatrical touch. To achieve this, you’ll need a good black shadow, a green shadow with some sparkle and a high-impact lip gloss, preferably duo-chrome, with black-lined lips. Wicked.
Popular, you want to be pop-u-lar: Being Galinda
Galinda — or Glinda, as she’s more commonly known — is all about the sparkle. She travels by bubble, after all. You’ll want to make things excessively glittery, extraordinarily shiny, and blinding when light hits you. Oh, and pink.
Jaiden Plamondon uses the Galinda set to add shimmer to her eyes and brighten her waterline with the baby blue pencil. It’s a good idea to use white or another bright complementary hue to open up the eyes for your Good Witch look. Plamondon uses the shimmer liquid shadow as a highlighter as well, which adds to that overall shiny, bubbly feel.
Jackie Wyers took inspiration a step further and recreated Ariana’s Wicked look. The skin is kept natural here and very glowy. With pinky neutral eyes and, most importantly, ample highlighter on the tip of the nose and cheekbones. Add shine to the lips, not necessarily with a gloss, but with a lustre lipstick.
The Wicked Themed Makeup of Your Dreams
For an editorial take on Glinda, this flower princess look by Brit of @glamxbrit is close to R.E.M.’s color story. Instead of the baby blue in the collection, Brit uses a grassy green, which works to tie in Elphaba’s colors into the look. Glinda and Elphaba are best friends, after all! Layer shimmery and foiled baby pinks on the lid, line with a dark or hot pink into a wing and layer green onto the brow. A super glossy lip that could honestly use more sparkle completes this look.
Grab your best friend and head to a Halloween party or the release of Wicked in November as one of these iconic witches. Having the entirety of a limited edition collection (or a movie set’s makeup department) is next to impossible, so take inspiration from colors and aspects of the costumes to create a unique interpretation.
