The countdown is on&mdash;we are officially less than 10 days away from 2022. If a costume party is on the agenda for New Year&rsquo;s Eve, and you&rsquo;re drawing a blank, help is at hand. We got four masters of disguise to share their ensemble ideas, easy to throw together, and guaranteed to make you stand out in the crowd.
Become: Daayan from Aahat Demonstrated By: Aatisha Gupta, structural engineer
<img title=" Aatisha Gupta, structural engineer" src="http://origin.mid-day.com/images/2021/dec/Play-dress-up-b_e.jpg" alt=" Aatisha Gupta, structural engineer" width="1280" height="720" />
Santa Cruz resident Aatisha Gupta&rsquo;s avatar tips a hat to the classic chudails of Bollywood. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s something so simple, yet spooky about them. My look is inspired by the daayan from Aahat, the iconic horror television show from the late 1990s. I believe it&rsquo;s one of the easiest looks to pull off, especially if you have curly, messy hair like mine.&rdquo; If you don&rsquo;t, rent a wig. Admittedly bad at make-up, Gupta thinks there&rsquo;s not much you need to do with your face because most of it is covered with your tresses. &ldquo;To look frightening, create dark circles around your eyes by smudging your kajal. I also opted for a concealer that was a shade lighter than my skintone to make my face look pale.&rdquo; Don&rsquo;t try to be symmetrical while smudging either your lipstick or kajal. Messy is good. Ditch jewellery for this one, and look for a candle you can carry in your hand or long fake nails you can glue on.
Become: Hugh Hefner, late Playboy founder Demonstrated By: Abhay Gupta, Math teacher
<img title="Abhay Gupta, Math teacher" src="http://origin.mid-day.com/images/2021/dec/Play-dress-up-c_e.jpg" alt="Abhay Gupta, Math teacher" width="1280" height="720" />
If you want a look that&rsquo;s a sure-shot winner at a party, become Hugh Hefner for a night, suggests Abhay Gupta, a teacher from Mumbai. The Playboy founder who passed away in 2017, &nbsp;caused a sexual revolution starting with the first centre-fold featuring Marilyn Monroe, in December of 1953. Gupta says this one is easy to do since it only takes a few items to create. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a look I donned at my father&rsquo;s 60th birthday party recently. Anyone can create this costume, with or without a bunny, no matter what your budget.&rdquo; You&rsquo;re going to need a shiny silk shirt. I wore one that I had bought 20 years ago. At the time, I thought it was really cool, but it wasn&rsquo;t. But on this occasion, it was right.&rdquo; You&rsquo;ll also need silky pyjamas and fluffy slippers to go. Gupta slipped on a robe that belonged to his grandfather. Since silk PJs are expensive, explore a costume rental shop where you will get a pair for less than R1,000. &ldquo;The idea is to have fun&mdash;a mantra that Hefner lived by.&rdquo;
Become : Catwoman Demonstrated By: Saumya Swamy, MBPsS
<img title="Saumya Swamy with her two-year-old cat, Mishka, at her Kandivli home; The whiskers can be recreated with an eyeliner; Cat ear accessories are available on ecommerce sites like Amazon and Ubuy India. Pics/Sameer Markande" src="http://origin.mid-day.com/images/2021/dec/Play-dress-up-d_e.jpg" alt="Saumya Swamy with her two-year-old cat, Mishka, at her Kandivli home; The whiskers can be recreated with an eyeliner; Cat ear accessories are available on ecommerce sites like Amazon and Ubuy India. Pics/Sameer Markande" width="1280" height="720" />Saumya Swamy with her two-year-old cat, Mishka, at her Kandivli home; The whiskers can be recreated with an eyeliner; Cat ear accessories are available on ecommerce sites like Amazon and Ubuy India. Pics/Sameer Markande
When it comes to comic fashion, Catwoman has been a perennial inspiration for cosplayers. But her appeal goes beyond style. &ldquo;I have three cats, and the feisty feline look felt like the right fit for me,&rdquo; says Saumya Swamy, a Kandivli resident. &ldquo;You need a classic LBD, or a black bodycon since the character wears a hot, figure-hugging outfit.&rdquo; Because she didn&rsquo;t have thigh-high boots, Swamy opted for knee-length black socks with peep toes. &ldquo;The cat-ears I have were flicked from a theme party,&rdquo; she laughs. The whiskers can be recreated with an eyeliner. &ldquo;When it comes to hair, you can do it up in a slick, tight ponytail, or a rent a black bob wig.&rdquo; If you want to go the whole hog, try coloured lenses and fox eye make-up, emphasising the inner corners with eyeliner and eyeshadow, creating a sleek and straight &nbsp;wing on the end and blurring it all to remove any harsh lines.
Become: Monjulika from Bhool Bhulaiyaa Demonstrated By: Isha Choure, PR professional
<img title="Isha Choure, PR professional" src="http://origin.mid-day.com/images/2021/dec/Play-dress-up-e_e.jpg" alt="Isha Choure, PR professional" width="1280" height="720" />
The point behind showcasing the Indian bhootni is to pay tribute to an enduringly fascinating figure in pop culture, says Isha Choure, a Mumbai-based public relations professional. &ldquo;While researching ghosts [in pop culture] for a costume party, we realised there was very little material on male ghosts. Female ghosts, on the other hand, have been &lsquo;immortalised&rsquo; by movies, books, and beyond.&rdquo; Her Monjulika look is inspired by actor Vidya Balan&rsquo;s avatar in the 2007 film Bhool Bhulaiyaa, a remake of the 1993 Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu. It&rsquo;s the kind of costume that&rsquo;s easy to execute on short notice. &ldquo;All you have to do is put on a saree. Go for a Banarasi if you have one. Put on some chunky Indian jewellery, ghungroos, bindi and smear your forehead with sindoor.&rdquo; Choure says, ensure that the maang-tikka is all over the place without it falling off your forehead. &ldquo;The trick is to do everything you can to &nbsp;ensure you don&rsquo;t look made up,&rdquo; she laughs. To appear dishevelled, Choure did not wash her hair for three days. She sprinkled some talcum powder on her scalp and tousled the &nbsp;hair to make it look unkempt and voluminous. &ldquo;I tied it in a messy ponytail and pulled out hair strands from the side and front.&rdquo; While Choure opted for a regular green saree and tucked the pallu in to mimic the character of a classical Indian dancer, she says any saree will work as the success of this costume hinges on the make-up. &ldquo;You may not have the exact same outfit, but you can recreate it by using the right make-up. A friend, in fact, concocted &lsquo;fake blood&rsquo; at home using kitchen ingredients such as beet juice. I smeared a drop or two near my neck and wiped the lipstick across my mouth after I had lined my lips.&rdquo; For bindis, she suggests using the bold, statement ones. &ldquo;I have a weird habit of collecting random things. The only time I end up using them is at costume parties. So I suggest, you rummage through your own quirk box and find accessories that you think can work well. It&rsquo;s about being imaginative.&rdquo;
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Who do you want to be this New Year’s Eve? Four partygoers share pull-it-from-your-closet costume ideas to ace 2021’s last bash

Play dress-up!

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