Friends on the Other Side 👻 (Behind My Galloween Look)

 Hello Little Monsters~

     Today I want to talk more about my look from Papillon's Halloween Lookbook!  (And share snaps of my photoshoot all the while.)  I put a lot of thought into it.  I even had to do a little research!  Since I selected "spooky" as my theme, I pondered long and hard about something cool yet unique.  I figured introducing Voodoo / Vodou "culture would be pretty interesting and different.

     A conventional figure would be Dr. Facilier from Disney's "Princess and the Frog".  Essentially he was a mediator between the living and the spirits.  I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I've always been fascinated with such; the idea of spiritual activity.  And the thought of individuals capable of experiencing that or communicating with them intrigues me.

(s)he's got friends on the other side ~

- Visual Concept -

     I wanted to stand out, I knew that much.  But I also wanted to keep the look to something I could manage to do on my own and shoot outdoors (in the smoldering heat).  I kept referring to images associated with "witch doctors" and "voodoo queens".  Both appearances were appealing to me so I tried to meet somewhere in the middle.  Then came the research.

     I knew I wanted to explain a bit of this on my blog, so I'll try my best to sum things up.  Here are some key things to know.  There's Louisiana Voodoo, and then there's Haitian Vodou.  Both are spiritual practices, they differ in the practitioners' beliefs.  Sometimes black magic is involved (Vodou).  They may practice in healing.  There's the belief in warding off evil or projecting it on enemies.  A person who practices either is like an intermediary, meaning they link the human world with the spirits.  They serve and worship the spirits.  These "spiritual beings" are believed to have personal likes of songs, dances, or rituals that the practitioners will produce.  There's a lot more to it, but I hope this all makes sense.

     I don't want to make this post TOO text heavy, so please enjoy the rest of my photoshoot!

I thought this angle / lighting was cool at the time (^ ^ ;

Day 2 of shooting!! ↓

Let's get into Details ~ ♥

Outfit Rundown

sheer top - ambiance apparel

tank top - ambiance apparel

skirt - poplooks

socks - off brand (amazon)

shoes - H&M

skull belt - hottopic

garter - taobao

hat - forum novelties

staff - off brand (ebay)

collar - forever21

skull necklace - off brand

     Hope you enjoyed this blog post and my photos!  Not sure if it's noticeable but it was a pretty stressful shoot.  Up until the release, I wasn't too happy with myself.  But I was proud of myself for attempting it, for piecing it all together in the end.  And I appreciate the positive feedback that I've gotten so far on this look.  It definitely boosted my confidence, and got me to see I had nothing to worry about.  (BUT boyyy did the rest of the Papillon team bring it!  They did phenomenal!  I couldn't dream of achieving those OTT looks, props to everyone!)

Thank you for reading.

~ Love you x Amiman ~