Halloween 2011

So how was Halloween for you guys?

I know generally we don't celebrate Halloween in Malaysia. Tapi untuk aku, that's the one day I can go crazy with my effects make-up and practise my skills for my interests in zombies.

And this year, Halloween started a little but early.

On Friday night, went for the Halloween-themed anniversary party for Hot magazine at Zouk. Thought long and hard whether I should go, and thought... ok... if I have time.

Was in KL, and thought of going back to Mont Kiara to change, but a massive storm broke out in central KL and as usual, the traffic backed up so bad that I knew I would never make it back and to Zouk on time. Suka tak suka, made do with what I could get.

Lucky me that my make-up effect is all DIY, so no problems in getting the stuff I need.

In the parking lot, took me 45 minutes (which is bloody short period since my effects make-up takes an average of two hours at least) to get ready.

And this was the result.


And guess what? I won the freakiest costume award. I had a couple hundred worth of movie tickets, products and stuff... but what great was the Hard Rock Hotel Penang stay for 2 days, 1 night.

So I thought that was Halloween for me. Until Saturday night that is... last minute, with no plans to go anywhere since everyone appeared too busy to do anything, I decided last minute to get ready to go to Hard Rock Cafe Kuala Lumpur for their Halloween bash. Saja je...

This is the first Halloween that I ever won anything anyway... sebelum ni tak penah menang apa-apa for my efforts and with the win the night before, I thought I'd just parade my zombie variation and see what came out of it.

I feel asleep and started my effects make-up at 10m. By 11.30pm, I was done (again, another speed record) and headed to Hard Rock Cafe.

And this was my look there.



And guess what?

Yes, I won - AGAIN! The second win - two nights in a row. Wow! This is my best Halloween!

And the prize? For Best Costume - the prize was 3 days 2 nights stay at Hard Rock Hotel in Penang!!! So jawabnya, aku extended stay lah nanti sana nak lepaskan stress sebab pala pon banyak benda kebelakangan ni.


I don't know about you guys and whether you bother about Halloween apart from the scary movies on TV. But for me it was just about practising my effect make-up and I got the pay-off. Yeay!

Since I've finally won for my zombie look after FOUR years of Halloween parading as one, maybe next year, I have to look for something different.

Read More

Halloween 2010

Got up bright and early. Mana taknya...tido dua jam je. Baru nak tido... ada benda ngacau. Takla ngacau tapi sapa tau pasal aku leh kesan bebenda camni tau la aku kat hotel ke apa jarang leh tido ngan nyenyak.

But it was a beautiful morning and tak rasa pon sangat keletihan.

Left the team building event a few hours earlier nak wat benda kat KL.

On the way nampak ni.

And this. Go Kelantan!!!! Aku harap meka menang!

Tujuan balik awal. Persiapan Halloween. This year, all out kat Euphoria - Ministry of Sound.

This is my friend, Ted. Kreatif gila costume dia. Six foot plus tall. Kinda creepy and eerie. Yes, the Grim Reaper takes a break gituh dok minom jap dan hisap rokok.

Me? I was a zombie. As always. Aku memang minat effects tuk zombie nih. Da empat kali aku wat, three Halloweens in a row aku jadi zombie. But this year, I went gorier, more bloody! I wanted more realism.

Ni my chest near shoulder area shot.

My favourite detail. My forearm. Ted says it looks like a vagina though.

And the final look.

Would you mom want me in her house?

Heh.. no I didn't win. People like to be scared but no one gives prizes to people bleeding all over their club apparently.

But Ted won for Scariest Costume, which I'm proud. At least I know someone creative and made an effort with their costume won. Cuma Creative Costume winner aku tak puas sebab aku rasa biasa sangat.

But janji I freaked out A LOT of girls. Some screamed and ran away, and some were grossed out. Happy Halloween all!

Read More

Boo Zouk!

Spent Halloween at Zouk KL. So what did I think about it?

Like many of my friends who dressed up... there was only one thing on my mind.




Where the FUCK was the Best Costume prize? They offered RM1000 for the best look, but sadly enough, by 3am, there was no announcement. Even the staff who were asked didn't know how to answer.

With so many rooms within Zouk, no one knew where it was supposed to take place, and by the end of it, no one knew where the RM1000 was or who it went to.

That made the night a lot sucky - cause you would think Zouk would live up to its endless promotion for Halloween. Instead by the end of the night, it just looked like Zouk had put up a con by not announcing anything. And because of that - Zouk sucks big time for me for Halloween. Next year, there will definitely be a change of location on where to celebrate Halloween.

Oh well...

I had fun anyway, not because of the place, but because of my many friends who went dressed up for the occasion. Seronok tengok kengkawan nya effort. I mean honestly, it's not about celebrating Halloween, but more of just having an excuse to dress up (or down). And it was nice to see my friends all in their creative element - not just rent an outfit or go Toys R' Us for a cape (which I spotted on many people... one guy even had the tag still on it)

So here are some pics of my Halloween choice this year. Yes, I love zombies. Last year I went as Kurt Cobain back from the dead. This year, my theme is more of a local flavour. Think rempit knock up.

Fresh off the meat factory - just complete make-up effects


This is what happens to you when you don't wear a helmet


Only thing good about Zouk come Halloween - is its location which is creepily in front of a cemetery


Camwhoring in the dark


Having dinner at the Terrace at Zouk - what... you lost your appetite?


Steak? Definitely raw


There are a lot of details in the effect which doesn't show up so much on pic. Thanks to much the only qualified special effects artist in the country, my old junior from ACS, Ed. We talked about what we wanted, and discussed how to apply it all. Dulu wat seorang without proper guidance, it was ok. But this year, I seriously managed to scare a lot of people.

So thanks to Eds Creative Studio. Sapa sapa nak wat filem nak memacam effect, contact aku. Aku kenalkan.

But those who were there were grossed up big time and I have so many people who wanted to touch my face to feel it - before they ran screaming. Heh... I think my torn ear was a favourite.

Yang pentingnya, I think I was definitely the most photographed person in the club. From the moment I sampai, all the way to crossing the road, people just kept taking pictures with me.

I think if I had been paid a Ringgit for every photo, I would have made a few hundred from being in the club.

So there wasn't best costume or whatever offered. It's ok. Zouk sucks.

But I had fun anyway, without any help from them. Happy Halloween!

Read More

Cyril, Halloween... simply magic!

Wow! Today has been a day where I run ragged!

Gila dowh nak lari ke sana sini camni. And tomorrow's not going to get any better.

Whatever it is, hari ni was worth it gila to go crazy, to park my ass in central KL to get some work done.

Yang pentingnya, my first agenda of the day, was a luncheon interview with one of my idols.

Yes, I love magic, and, I am a pathetically amateur magician (all theory, very little practical).

My favorite magician of all time is undoubtedly David Copperfield.

The current crop of magicians, or more appropriately - illusionists, that I adore are Wayne Houchin and Cyril Takayama. They are among the greatest minds in magic today, though maybe they haven't been able to achieve the Copperfield following.

Blaine? Angel? Not interested.

So anyway, my luncheon interview today was with... Cyril Takayama!

In town to promote his new series premiering on AXN titled Cyril : Simply Magic on November 19, I have to admit, being face to face with Cyril made me feel like a damn groupie!

I was starstruck! I rarely get that way, but he is amazing, and I can say a lot of Japanese will agree with me too as they have seen Cyril's magic in numerous TV specials for ages now.

The rest of us only have Youtube to thank, but soon, AXN is doing all of us a favor by producing their original program featuring Cyril's magic.

Anyway, Cyril was so cool! Aku terbodoh gila serious masa sembang ngan dia. Had a good interview with him. And yang penting, photo op tak lepaskan. Segan dowh nak amik pic ngan dia.

With Cyril!


There was also a bonus! I asked Cyril if he was still keeping in touch with his American based group, Magic X - and he said he was and pointed out that in fact, group leader and co-founder Enrico de la Vega was there. Damn... I was so excited that I didn't notice Rico sitting a table away.

Cyril sweetly went in while we were smoking on the balcony, called Rico - and I became a major groupie again! FYI for those interested - Rico is also the magician and creative consultant for Cyril : Simply Magic.



And the best part was, the nice AXN folks invited me to come for the Sony Ericsson event later in the night to watch Cyril's performance.

Needless to say, I accepted the invite and gushed on. Seriously if Cyril didn't have another appointment, I would have pulled out my Bicycle cards and begged him to teach me a few of his tricks.

After that excitement, had to head to The Weld. Met Janis, my colleague there. Was showing her my favorite costume shop cause both of us were preparing Halloween stories.

I love this shop. Honestly guys, if you are looking to rent a costume, or plan to make your own, or like me, just need some extra stuff like prosthetics and liquid latex o indulge in your amateur special effects work, this is the place. Their rental fees are the best in town, and they have a wide variety of stuff.

The best store for your costume needs


Make-up and stuff


Body and hair paints


Spirit gum


Prosthetics and latex stuff


The nice staff


The nice stuff!


Headgear


The best thing is, kinda forced Janis to go into costume to model for some pics to accompany her story.

She did a witch first, but my idea to make her Wonder Woman, I must say, looked BEST!

Janis as Wonder Woman!


I swear she is so going to kill me for publishing this photo.

Anyway, since Halloween is next week, you guys better go and grab your costumes fast cause this shop is a favorite and you don't want to miss out on getting your favorite look for Halloween. The shop is open from Monday to Sunday between 11am to 8pm on weekdays and 11am to 6pm on weekends.

Costumes 'N' Parties are located at The Weld, L2-09, Level 2, 76, Jalan Raja Chulan, 50200 Kuala Lumpur and if you need to contact them, call 03-21648184 or fax them at 03-21648185 or surf to their site at Costumes 'N' Parties.

After we were done, I just had enough time to head to KL Live at Life Centre to make it for the Sony Ericsson event. They were launching the new Satio, Aino and Yari phones, but like I gave a hoot!

I was there to catch Cyril's show only.

I recorded his segment where he did a short performance. I'd seen most of his illusions and tricks, but it was fantastic to see him do it live, including the Matrix levitation.

Will post the video as soon as possible.

Meanwhile... need some rest. Long day tomorrow again... oh well...

Read More

A whole load of tired

Oh my... the day started early for me. Too early since I'd gone to bed about 6am pas lepak with everyone at Pelita. After chilling out with the kids from 6ixth Sense, Bob and Shuib, and a whole load of others (KEPITA in action - KEPITA as in Kelab Pelita katanya)

So in just four hours, I was already up, showered and ready sudah to make my way to Masjid Putra in Putrajaya. Tujuan? Kursus kahwin Mawi dan Ekin.

Two days worth, compact and sandwiched into one day, extending to more than 12 hours in total, comprising of tujuh ceramah by four different ustaz. Aku singgah jap je, tak lama pon. Ni some pics aku sempat snap.










Aku tak amik pic dalam dewan ketika kursus. Ni pun snap time lunch break where had some time to catch up with Mawi.

Borak a little, and then kena rush ke second destination for the day. Cineleisure kat Damansara for the press preview of Cicakman 2 : Planet Hitam. The invite said 3pm, and I got there just after in the pouring rain dengan ngantuk sekali. Elok la da tak cukup tidur, cuaca besh camni lak. Damn!

Turns out there was some signing of an MoU between the production and a transport company first. Aduh.. dok ruang legar over an hour later, then only semua moved ke atas for refreshments.




Didn't have much to say for those who asked me, or will ask me what I thought of the movie. More effects, but honestly.. erm.. I would say the first better cause the second nih, actually tries to be intelligent and more structured in storytelling.

The effects were decent, but not mind-blowing - and no, I am not comparing against Hollywood scale films. Cuma.. entah la...

Yang pentingnya, if you ask me what I thought of the film, all I can honestly say is, I fell asleep less than half an hour after it started and woke up ten minutes or so before it ended!!! And it wasn't about being tired or cold. Because when I woke up, I turned around, and ada kengkawan tidur! Ramai gak ngaku pastuh pun terlelap. Tapi aku rasa filem ni akan box-office again - sebab bebudak mesti nak tengok - and when underage kids watch a movie, mak bapak ler kena ikut. So one or two tickets, generates a couple more in sales.

Decided to snap a few pics. Here's Nani and Linda in action. Suka sangat tengok Nani punya rambut skang. She looks SO adorable! And followed by Profesor Klon himself. It's these few names, apart from Mamat Khalid who made a cameo along with others and Saiful Apek himself that made the film, watchable.





Pas abih tuh ingat nak sangat balik rumah sebab da kol 8 malam. But teringat ada lak meeting! And it was at 11pm!!! Damn! Tapi promised already, and besides, it was long time tak jadik da, so had to do it tonight jugak.

By the time done, it was already 2.30am!!! Finishing this blog entry up so I can get up by 9am tomorrow for the preview of Selamat Pagi Cinta which stars my favourite girls in Nani and Faz. Nanti aku post more pics and all ok.

Really gotta call it a night.. and to end this entry.. we have more of Kurt Cobain from around the Internet! Yes, people! More of me at the Halloween party yang aku nan ado bak balik haper haper sebab ada yang kata aku tak layak sebab da penah menang. Heh.. merasalah!

Courtesy of Cojack (and that is an awesome stuffed orang utan - not someone in costume!)


With Kim - a top blogger, with the next pic too courtesy of another top blogger in ShaolinTiger



I don't know who this hot chick is, but my guess is she was Mike Yip's date. Thanks for the pics, bro!

Read More

Nokia Nuffnang Silent Halloween Rocks!

So this is the entry I guess some people have been waiting for. To see what my costume for the Nuffnang Halloween Silent Party looks like, and whether I can come up with a scarier look than my Joker effort during the Dark Knight premiere.

Ok, so here's a mini tutorial before I reveal my look, as I show what techniques I used, so hopefully you guys can some up with something like this too in the future, cause this is the last time me doing effects make-up and I'd love to see more people experimenting with effects make-up.

So after collecting everything I needed, including a last minute acquisition of a wig I wanted to destroy to become my prop and accessory, I was ready to rumble! Had to make up and get ready in a friend's place in Pandan Mewah and drive the distance in my costume, so was praying takde orang mati terkejut tengok my look on the way to the venue.

Ok, now on to the process. If you guys wanna recreate this look, contact me ok. I'm no professional effect make up specialist, but I think even though I've done it only about three times now, I have the basics pretty tight already - and since I'm never going to another costume party like this (story below), I am more than willing to share the secrets on how to get the look. Which by the way arrogant as it may, I think is better than some stuff we see in local TV dramas or movies.

Here's some of the basic stuff you need.






And yes, that's all you need!

Pretty easy huh? And cheap! Grab one of those cheap ass masks you can find in any Uptown site. Can cost you anywhere between RM4 to RM20. I chose the RM20 one cause it had the surface I needed with the holes and all to recreate my character's gunshot wounds. So instead of making or looking for expensive prosthetics, here's the cheapest way to have latex effects.

Also, a pair of scissors (that's free unless you don't have scissors at home), a bottle of spirit gum (RM13,90 in costume shops like the one I recommended in entry below) for sticking on the prosthetics, liquid latex (RM14 from costume shop and the most important ingredient you need), a roll of toilet paper (steal this from a hotel or something to save money - though I just brought one from home - can use also if you don't win for best costume) and finally a cheap ass make-up palette (am not going to use MAC, Bobbi Brown or Make Up Forever for this, so steal your mom's or get one for RM3.30 like I did from Giant).

Total cost? RM31.20. The wig cost the most at RM70 since I couldn't get one to destroy. Topeng murah tuh RM20. The t shirt was RM5 from bundle and the jeans my own. Cheap eh? About the same price as a rented outfit (cheaper if you have some of the stuff already like I do) and still more eye grabbing cause it's original and unique.

The actual cost for reproducing this look will depend entirely on what exactly you want, and what you already have.

Now see how it looks.

My character for Halloween this time around? Kurt Cobain, former lead vocalist of Nirvana, who committed suicide by blowing himself with a shotgun (though conspiracy enthusiasts will hear about how he was murdered). Being a Gen-Xer, the Seattle based band has always been one of my big bands I look up to, so I guess it's a fitting tribute that I pick him as my character.

Since I picked Kurt Cobain as my character, I had to do a little research. A lot of people thought he shot himself in the mouth. He didn't. It was from the lower jaw point, and penetrated the top part of his skull. So I had two major wound areas to simulate. One at neck, for the entry point of the bullet, and one more at the top of my skull for the exit point.

Hence... this is my effort... note this is with basic make up touch ups minus the blood so you can pretty much see it's not as realistic still.

Wanted to pose a time lapse video, but not possible cause I was doing it all on my own, plus didn't have the luxury of time since I started preparing pretty late at 3.30pm, with the event to begin at 6pm. Total prep time for this look - under two hours.




The first pic if my neck wound - which was a piece of cut-off from the cheap mask I bought to make a bullet hole. Use spirit gum to apply, and dab the the edges with liquid latex to blend. Using normal art brushes is enough.

Colour the whole appliance with skin tone, using a stipple sponge (or just any dish washing sponge, but make sure firm) then from the outer edges outwards with a dark shade of purple to lighter tones to simulate bruising. Use also specks of green and yellow to show rawness of the skin. Colour the inside of the hole black and dark purple for illusion of the depth of the hole.

The second pic is of my forehead, where I wanted to show how easy it is to do a torn skin effect. Just dab liquid latex on your skin, slap on slightly scrunched tissue paper and slap on more liquid latex. When it dries, cut open a hole, and voila, you have torn skin. Colour the insides like the above wound for depth, and foundation and some colour later, you have torn flesh.

If you want living dead skin, all wrinkly and all (though some people already have that), repeat the slap on liquid latex, and then tissue and more latex. Some foundation and you have yucky skin, which you can also peel off when bored, and gross people out.

The head wound was easiest. Cut a hole in the wig, and stick in a piece of the mask with a decent sized hole, and use spirit gum to make it stick. Applyliquid latex about the edges, and colour it the same manner with shading of bruising. Check out how bruising occurs for real (some scientific research helps make it more realistic). A little homework goes a long way. And when I say colour or application, apart from the use of brushes, I mean dabbing it with a sponge and not painting it like a wall tau!

For blood - senang gila! Please don't use ribena or poster colour. That's just silly. I use more organic stuff. Get red and blue food colouring, plus campor tepung sikit. It should not be too watery, so more flour. If you can't get blue, to darken the blood, I added oyster sauce, black kicap, a little tomato and chilli sauce, and here you have one yummy cocktail for blood.

Pop on borrowed contact lens of a friend (thanks Kie) and the effect put together should look like this. I forgot to hollow out my eyes and cheeks more for the effect of clotting and blood gathering around those areas like for a real corpse. Boo me!

I love my I Survived t shirt, ironic isn't it? RM5 je kat bundle - but the whole joke aspect of it was priceless!


Breaking the law and smoking outdoors of a premise - the undead are not bound by silly laws


Wanna touch it?


It was itching, but here's why you never scratch it


So with that, I was ready to flaunt my new looks. As you can see, it didn't take much for me to prepare, and I think a few people could have done more with their efforts.

The venue


The counter bunnies (they said they were supposed to be the Powerpuff Girls)


The very dark, but gorgeous interior of the club

I don't know why, but I like Celine Yap's little one-eyed mummy that looked cute but scary, and I definitely don't know her, so am not supporting her for any reason but the fact she looked good. Have no idea why she was not a finalist in the female category, but am not going to bitch about those who don't deserve it, so I'm pointing out those I noticed and liked.

A slutty joker nurse sucking on her milk carton (that just sounds so wrong!)


Other characters worth noting, were Phua Chu Kang (funny!), the milk carton (ultra funny with the missing person ad on the side), Hitler... and...

Wait a freakin' minute!!! There's another Kurt Cobain walking around the Borneo Baruk Club, and it's Tim, the head honcho of Nuffnang. But then since I'm Kurt Cobain, he must be Courtney Love going through a Britney moment! What can I say, Tim. Great minds think alike?

Here we are going through a cam whore moment!!!

Tim 'Kurt gone Courtney' Tiah, Josh of Jabbawockeez and me, back from the dead


And then back to the party... there were various games and all like the mummy wrapping bit with lotsa toilet paper strewn everywhere (not very environmentally friendly), a balloon popping thingie (very violent) and of course, the much awaited for silent dance.

Now the silent dance was worth noting, cause every played the same three tracks on their mobile, or MP3 device, and dance to it. In other words, the only thing you could hear in the club was foot stomping (from those who danced with two left feet) and the giggles of those who didn't dance but chose to laugh at those with two left feet.

Not very enviromentally friendly lor


But the best part of the night? Cam whoring!!!!!!

You see, despite not winning best costume (I was top three finalist in the male category), because of some reason that since I had already won before in the Dark Knight premiere as the Heath Ledger's Joker (wish someone had told me instead of making me finalist and making me think I stood a chance.. sigh) - I had lots of groupies!!!

Yeay!! Everyone loves Kurt Cobain!!!

I had so many people coming up to say I should win, and so many people asking me how I did my look, and complimenting me, that I was blown away that something so simple could be so praised. Aww... shucks! If onlt the undead could blush... I think I might be, under all the wounds and blood.

The angel and devil were both my fans too! So now I can say I have cool and hot fans!


So like whatever.. it was a fun party (and no Robb and Tim, no sweat about it all, me had massive fun anyways) and the night for was all about being idolised (macam sial kan so arrogant!) Can't wait for all the cam whoring pictures to come up on blogs everywhere! Some have started popping up in Nuffnang family blogs, and here are a few I found.

This is one of my favourites from Deb's blog. Also another from Karena's blog. Thanks for the comment, babe, even though you didn't know who I was. Not only was it one of the best pics, Deb also said "But personally, I thought this dude should have won Best Dressed. Just check out the realistic wounds and HIS EYES. That's just hardcore".

I'm sure more pics to come in the next few days. I took so many pics, now I know everyone loves Kurt Cobain (so perasan and berangan kan?)

With Deb and some friends of hers


With Karena wondering if I bled on her shoulder


Also thanks to my blog readers who came up me and said hi!!!! Love you guys! And thank you to everyone in Nuffnang for the party!

I won't be doing this again since me done it already and kind of becoming known for it, and time to go into other aspects of costume. Perhaps I'll open up a fake blog, and show up with a different identity so I can win again.


PS - Tim, keep your promise for a big 'do every three months!

Read More