"I am a hairstylist and makeup artist currently based in Minneapolis, Minnesota," Michelle told Bored Panda. "I have been in the beauty industry professionally for 7 years now. I specialize in styling and makeup, but since the pandemic started, I've been home with my family."
"When the pandemic forced Chicago into lockdown back in March, I decided that I wanted to keep my hands busy. I was very anxious when this all started and wanted to keep practicing my craft since it was therapeutic for me," Michelle explained to Bored Panda about how the challenge of 31 days of makeup came about. "I actually did a series earlier this year with a look a day for 74 straight days on my daughters. I kept seeing signs online that said to stay inside to save Halloween later this year, and that's where this idea originally started. When October came around, I wanted to try another round of 'Quarantine-O-Ween' since my husband is high risk for Covid (asthma) and we decided to stay home for the holiday. I wanted to make October extra special for the kids since we had so much fun together back in March. We made a character list together and set up a dress-up corner in my living room and went for it!"
We asked Michelle whether her daughters enjoyed participating in the challenge. "They did! I wanted to make sure that they also enjoyed what we were doing before we committed to this challenge," Michelle told us. "My oldest, Lily (11), is amazing at sitting through the application and she loves to see the process unfold. My little one, Ellie (6), absolutely loves to dress up and wear makeup. She loved having a big reveal after each costume and would wear them all day long. We love Halloween, it's very special to us. My birthday is the day before, and my wedding anniversary is the day of. We also celebrate Dia de los Muertos," the artist explained Bored Panda. "We make it a whole month of celebration and remembrance. Adding this project was so wonderful to add to our festivities, especially this year. It was just great to spend time together each day being silly."
Like any artistic endeavor, doing makeup has its own challenges. "Sometimes looks go as planned, and sometimes they flop," Michelle told us. "31 detailed looks straight is quite challenging itself! Most of the items used were found around my home. Some days I'd ask the girls, how can we make this or that part of an outfit? Their creative minds would help so much, using tissues as ruffles on a shirt or dryer sheets as the white streak in the Bride of Frankenstein's hair. I'm so proud that we pulled it off together!"
Bored Panda was eager to know which looks were Michelle's favorite ones. "I loved doing Winifred Sanderson! I can't believe how popular Hocus Pocus is now, I used to adore that movie as a child. I'm so happy I got to bring her to life!" she told us excitedly. "I've also always wanted to do Miss Argentina from Beetlejuice, that makeup application was so fun!"
As for Michelle's daughters, "Lily's favorite was the Lady Gaga look from the Telephone music video. She absolutely loves her!" the artist told us. "Ellie's favorite look was Sally from the Nightmare Before Christmas, one of her favorite movies ever!"
"This project brought us so much happiness and we created great memories," Michelle revealed to Bored Panda. "When we started sharing the photos, it was wonderful to receive messages and comments of positivity in such a dark time. I'm so thankful for the support and love that resulted from these looks. Being able to be silly for just a moment each day has really helped during this time. I really am so grateful for everyone who has shared this with us! I'm so glad we could share smiles in return!"
