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Last year we saw less masks as cute kids wearing Halloween costumes trick-or-treated in their favorite haunts–community downtowns, trunk or treats and neighborhoods. Youtube videos have helped average people create dynamic effects with how-to instructions on applying makeup and commercial websites such as Party World also offer useful videos showing how to mix and match costume props and use makeup.

2012 Halloween costume trends:

• Girls still want to be princesses and Disney characters such the brave, skilled archer, Merida(Disney/Pixar), who wears gowns.  Butterflies, angels with wings and lots of sparkly, magic wands dominate the girl scene.
• Pre-teen to teen girls: Monster High- Frankiestein, Draculaura and Clawdeen Wolf offer great starting points for costumes, plus Lady Gaga and other female celebrites.
• Boys can become classic action heroes such as Batman, Spider Man, Superman, Transformer or Jake and the Never Land. They also continue to like Ninja and karate style costumes.
• Pre-teen to teen boys like ghosts, goblins, pirates, vampires and monsters. They’re pretty easy to please when it comes to costumes.
• Women  this year will continue to pick costumes to accentuate their best assets by choosing sexy vixens, bar maids, cats,  and form fitting costumes. Other options include being a board game such as Twister, or female vampires, witches and costumes that make use of incredible makeup designs.
• Men who go beyond the Mitt or Barack mask continue to like pirates, zombies, decades (50s-80s), horror, and lots of leather and daggers. (Be careful when and where you unveil your outfit. A costume shop employee in San Mateo last week  was pulled over by police because he was wearing a gas mask and camouflage costume. His fake grenade was examined and he was let go. Happy Halloween!)
• Group or couples costumes include movies such as Wizard of Oz, gods & goddesses, hippies, pimp,and era themes such as Sony & Cher–a couples collection that appears nearly every year!