dress up, spend down

I got a voice message this morning from a reader looking for costume suggestions for partiers short on time and money. I feel his pain. Details on my costume conundrum will follow.

As far as low-maintenance costumes go, never underestimate the power of a mask. Lemondrop has this piece about easy last-minute Halloween costumes. And here's a gallery of cool face makeup options courtesy of M-A-C Cosmetics.

I think people tend to stress a bit much about Halloween getups, especially since partiers tend to get so drunk that the entire night becomes one foggy memory defined by fishnets and black lipstick.

Still, it's always good to refer to lists like this collection of 7 costumes you should not wear for Halloween. My personal pet peeve is when a costume requires a 10-minute explanation.