Halloween costumes: The Joker

Halloween costumes: The Joker

You’re going to see dozens of Jokers this Halloween. The movie made 900 jabillion bucks, so Heath Ledger’s genius incarnation is ripe for imitating. If you’re going to don a Joker get-up, at least do it right. For our creepy (and awesome, if we do say so ourselves) version of Nurse Joker (if you are one of the four people who haven’t seen the movie, you won’t get it), we enlisted the help of one of the city’s best makeup artists.

Total cost: About $80 — green Joker wig, $16.99; nurse uniform $29.99 (from Valley West Uniforms in Clive); Makeup including scar wax, latex and white and black creams, $20-$30.

How we did it: Makeup artist Patrick Boltinghouse with Vanity & Glamour Makeup in Des Moines helped us out. The way to pull off the clinically-unstable look is a healthy dose of white cream for the face and black cream for the eyes. Boltinghouse used setting powder to make sure the cream didn’t spread or melt throughout the night. And the most important part of Ledger’s Joker is the scars. The nose and scar wax with latex is a must for creating realistic-looking skin scars, and is a quick find at any theatrical shop. Warming up the wax in your hands before you add it your to your face will help you apply it easier. After applying the wax, add the latex. Once dried, cut the latex with a putty knife to create nasty looking scars. To top the look off find a nasty green Joker wig. We found ours at the Theatrical Shop in West Des Moines. Add extra hair spray to enhance the nappiness.
Hardest part: Finding a good outfit. You might be surprised how hard it is to find a women’s nurse outfit that fits a man.

Created by: Patrick Boltinghouse, 25, makeup artist with Vanity & Glamour Makeup, and Tracie Louck.

Modeled by: Nick Hoehler, 28.