Mission Brief: To adopt a new attitude for action, along with uncompromising focus and understanding for those aspirations which are rich in meaning and personal inspiration. Ensuring that 2009 is a kick-ass year for making your dreams come true!

Objectives: The primary objective of this mission is to reinforce a change in attitude by cultivating new habits and reframing the mind, with specific resources that encourage taking action and challenging yourself, to reveal those hidden strengths within!

Instructions:  Below is a list of different resources each with it’s own unique training tool or opportunity to be a part of the action.  Decide to utilize all of the resources or only those which you feel have the most benefit to you.  Descriptions are provided with appropriate links and bonus materials (simply click on the images).  

“Remember, for a resource to be useful one must be open to learning and trying new things!”

Recommended Resources:

Follow Your Star~ This exclusive bonus article for Bare Essentials readers looks at behavior and how to make new habits stick!  Introducing the TQ system and outlining 7 steps to generating lasting changes!

Primal Quest Online Journal~  Follow along on an epic journey of adventure and discovery that tests mental and physical fortitude to reveal the strength and power of the human spirit.  In this comprehensive guide you will find inspirational posters, quotes, stories and training notes to keep you motivated and ready for action!

Bare Essentials Magazine~ Our January Issue is hot off the digital press and loaded with more action than an Jackie Chan film!

Make yourself a delicious and nutritious ‘Mocha Frosty’ from the recipe on page 49 whilst reading about WWE Diva “Dynamo”, Mickie James or turn to page 84 for this issues Crossfit Corner and try all 101 ways to improve your health and fitness!

Special Notice to Subscribers:  Aside from gaining access to the No.1 Action Resource for Women with a years worth of adventure and inspiration to ignite a fire in your spirit! You will also be helping to support Wildlife, as 20% your subscription fee goes to our three Wildlife Ambassadors- Vital Ground, the Snow Leopard Trust and the Cheetah Conservation Fund.

Why not make this your first “Action” for 2009 as a Custodian of Nature and Powerful Woman driven by Passion and Purpose! 

Not unlike the legendary Lara Croft Tomb Raider our readers are out to save the world one action at a time with Bare Essentials as their resource for knowledge and inspiration!

To ensure Commitment to Purpose and above all Action, Bare Essentials believes in leading by example and in 2008 set about raising funds and awareness for wildlife, this is B.E.’s work with wildlife review:

On behalf of the Cheetah Conservation Fund www.cheetah.org

September: Raised over $1000 with the help of Jari Love and her fantastic series of Ripped Workouts available from www.rippedworkout.ca

November: Organized a Lil’ Cheetah’s Run DownUnder for the Children of St. Mary’s Primary School in Western Australia.

The event which was sponsored by:

Organic Food Bar www.organicfoodbar.com “The healthiest bars on the planet!”

Boronia Bargain Books “Never pay full price for a book again” 

Pert Zoo www.perthzoo.wa.gov.au

& PETA www.peta.org 

The event came about after a small group of Cheetah loving students contacted Bare Essentials with a desire to help out……..  

The four young boys Christopher Thompson-Darke, Thomas Bergin, James Moore, Patrick Reilly otherwise known as the Nucleus Group, became interested in Cheetahs after hearing a story about them in class.  Inspired and concerned for this endangered animal the boys created puppets to display their interest and have since begun work on a mechanical cheetah with help from senior students.

With positive encouragement from their parents and the support of teachers at St. Marys these boys and the 65 students who took part in the event, raised well over $1000 on behalf of the Cheetah Conservation Fund impressing upon us all that whatever your age with dedication and passion you can make a difference!  

These children decided to take action on behalf of this earth and the survival of all it’s creatures which gives us all hope for the future!  Thank’s Lil’ Cheetahs!

On behalf of Vital Ground  www.vitalground.org
& The Snow Leopard Trust www.snowleopard.org

September/October: Bare Essentials featured a special 15 page tribute to Vital Ground, helping to raise awareness for their foundation and reveal the natural bond humans share with these gentle giants.

November/December: Once again Bare Essentials set-out to inspire readers with a special 14 page tribute to Snow Leopards, detailing the unique and endangered presence of this elusive and beautiful cat.

Ending the year on the Wild Side: To celebrate Christmas and welcome in the New Year, Bare Essentials made annual donations to both foundations and announced the Subscription Support Campaign= for every subscription to Bare Essentials 20% will go to our Wildlife Ambassadors including Vital Ground, the Snow Leopard Trust and the Cheetah Conservation Fund.  Further more all Skincare and Action Addict’s Apparel will also benefit these worthy causes, making every purchase count!  

If you feel inspired to follow in our footsteps and….

Organize a Lil’ Cheetah Run, contact Inga  inga@bare-essentials.com.au

* I am looking to organize an event in Vic, Australia for schools in the Boronia area and have family passes to the Werribee Zoo, books, gift certificates and a beautiful, original hand painting of a Cheetah by wildlife artist Nick Costello up for grabs.  

“This is a wonderful way to encourage our youth to get active for their health and the future of our planet so why not contact me and arrange a Lil’ Cheetah Run for your school?”  

Adopt a Snow Leopard    

B.E. a part of Bart’s Legacy            

In Conservation:

Dr. Laurie Marker - Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) based in Namibia, Africa. Having worked with cheetahs since 1974, Laurie set up the not-for profit CCF in 1990, moving to Namibia to develop a permanent conservation research Centre for the wild cheetah.

In 1992 the Cheetah Conservation Fund became a registered Namibian Trust. Today CCF’s activities are housed at their International Research and Education Centre in the main cheetah habitat of the country. In July 2000 CCF opened their field research station to the public, having developed a Visitor’s Centre, a Cheetah Museum and an Education Centre.

Laurie helped develop the US and international captive program to assist the cheetah, establishing the most successful captive cheetah-breeding program in North America during her 16 years (1974-1988) at ‘Wildlife Safari’ in Oregon, USA. She first came to Namibia in 1977 when she brought a captive-born, hand-raised cheetah to Namibia to determine if a cheetah must be taught to hunt or if the process was fully instinctual. This was the first-of-its-kind research to better understand if there was a chance for captive-born cheetahs to be re-introduced into the wild.

She learned about the conflict between livestock farmers and cheetahs in Namibia, discovering that wild cheetahs needed help. For the next ten years she continued traveling to Africa to learn more about the wild cheetah’s problems and what could be done to assist wild populations. In the early 1980’s, along with collaborators at the National Zoo and National Cancer Institute in the USA, she helped identify the cheetah’s lack of genetic variation, thus causing the species greater problems for survival.

In 1988, in collaboration with these two institutions she became the Executive Director of the Center for New Opportunities in Animal Health Sciences, based at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoo. She continues to serve as a NOAHS Research Fellow. In 1988 she developed the International Cheetah Studbook, a registry of captive cheetah worldwide, and is the International Studbook Keeper. In 1996 she was made a vice-chair of the World Conservation Union’s (IUCN) Species Survival Commission’s (SSC) Cat Specialist Group.

In 2000 Laurie was recognised as one of Time Magazine’s Heroes for the Planet and given the Burrow’s Conservation Award from Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2001 Laurie was locally honored in Namibia, receiving the Paul Harris Fellowship from the Windhoek Rotary Club, and in 2002 she received a special award from the Sanveld Conservancy’, signifying Namibia’s farming community’s public acknowledgement of Laurie and CCF’s contributions. In 2003 and 2005 she was named Conservationist of the Year by Chevron-Texaco and Living Desert’s Track’s in the Sand, respectively.

More recently she was awarded $50,000 by the Tech Museum of Innovation at the 2008 Tech Awards gala. The award recognized CCF’s Bushblok program, which uses a high-pressure extrusion process to convert invasive, habitat-destroying bush into a clean-burning fuel log, an economically viable alternative to existing products such as firewood, coal, lump charcoal and charcoal briquettes. Plans are underway to use the biomass to power electric plants to help energy-dependent Namibia manufacture its own electricity. Clearing invasive bush helps restore millions of acres of Namibian savannah to its original state and improve the habitat for both the cheetah and its prey.

Be Inspired by Dr. Marker: www.cheetah.org

Jane Goodall was born in London, England in 1934. As a child she was given a lifelike chimpanzee toy named Jubilee by her father. Goodall was not very interested in animals until her father brought her the stuffed animal. Today, the toy still sits on her dresser in London.

After the divorce of her parents when Goodall was only 12 years old, she moved with her mother to Bournemouth, England. Goodall’s interest in animals prompted notable anthropologist Louis Leakey to hire her as his assistant and secretary. He invited her to accompany him and his wife, Mary Leakey, to dig at Olduvai Gorge in eastern Africa. He asked Goodall to study the chimpanzees of Gombe Stream National Park (then known as ‘Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve’). She arrived at Gombe accompanied by her mother in July 1960. Leakey arranged for her to return to the United Kingdom where she earned a doctorate in ethology from the University of Cambridge in 1964. Along with Dian Fossey, famous for living with gorillas, and Biruté Galdikas, who advanced studies in orangutans, Goodall was one of three women recently dubbed by some as “Leakey’s Angels”.

Goodall is best known for her study of chimpanzee social and family life. In 1977, Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), which supports the Gombe research, and she is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. With nineteen offices around the world, the JGI is widely recognized for innovative, community-centered conservation and development programs in Africa and a global youth program, Roots & Shoots, which currently has over 8,000 groups in over 100 countries. Today, Goodall devotes virtually all of her time to advocacy on behalf of chimpanzees and the environment, traveling nearly 300 days a year. Goodall is also a board member for the world’s largest chimpanzee sanctuary outside of Africa, Save the Chimps in Fort Pierce, Florida.

Goodall was instrumental in the study of social learning, primate cognition, thinking and culture in wild chimpanzees, their differentiation from the bonobo, and the inclusion of both chimpanzee species, and the gorilla, as Hominids.

One of Goodall’s major break-throughs in the field of primatology was the discovery of tool-making among chimpanzees during her study. Though many animals had been clearly observed using ‘tools’, previously, only humans were thought to make tools, and tool-making was considered the defining difference between humans and other animals. This discovery convinced several scientists to reconsider their definition of being human.

Jane Goodall’s involvement in tropical forests and conservation has led her to be actively involved in a number of environmental issues, and to found the Roots & Shoots youth group. She has also endorsed the Forests Now Declaration, calling for new market based mechanisms to protect tropical forests. She is a patron of the Optimum Population Trust.
Jane Goodall has received many honors for her environmental and humanitarian work, as well as others.

She was named a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in a ceremony held in Buckingham Palace in 2004. In April 2002, Secretary-General Kofi Annan named Dr. Goodall a United Nations Messenger of Peace. Her other honors include the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, the French Legion of Honor, Medal of Tanzania, Japan’s prestigious Kyoto Prize, the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science, the Gandhi-King Award for Nonviolence and the Spanish Premio Príncipe de Asturias. She is also a member of the advisory board of BBC Wildlife magazine.

In 2002, the Canadian city of Greater Sudbury, Ontario dedicated a walking trail, highlighting some of the city’s efforts to rehabilitate environmental damage from the local mining industry, to Goodall. On 7 July 2007 Goodall presented at Live Earth. In April 2008, Jane was awarded the Montana State University Medal for Global and Visionary Leadership.

Be Inspired by Jane Goodall: www.janegoodall.org

For Animal Rights:

Ingrid Newkirk animal rights activist, author and President of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Best known for her animal rights awareness campaigns organized on behalf of PETA, which she cofounded in 1980.  

As PETA’s president, Ingrid has spoken internationally on animal rights issues—from the steps of the Canadian Parliament to the streets of New Delhi, India, and from the drowning tanks of Taiwan to the halls of the U.S. Congress.

Ingrid was born in Surrey, England, and lived in Europe until she was 7 years old, when she and her parents moved to New Delhi, where her father worked as a navigational engineer and her mother volunteered for Mother Teresa and various charities. Ingrid’s early volunteer experiences—packing pills and rolling bandages for people who were suffering from leprosy, stuffing toys for orphans, and feeding stray animals—informed her view that anyone in need, including animals, is worthy of concern.

Until she was 21, Ingrid had given no thought to animal rights or even vegetarianism. In 1970, however, when she and her husband were living in Maryland and she was studying to become a stockbroker, a neighbor abandoned some kittens and Ingrid decided to take them to an animal shelter. This was a life changing-experience for Ingrid and led to her first job working in behalf of animals—cleaning kennels and investigating cruelty cases. Peter Singer’s book Animal Liberation and Ingrid’s experiences in that job and later on—including finding a fox and a squirrel caught in steel traps, finding a pig left to starve on a farm, and inspecting laboratories and circus acts for the government—made her realize that there needed to be an organization like PETA.

Ingrid has also served as a deputy sheriff, a Maryland state law enforcement officer with the highest success rate in convicting animal abusers, the director of cruelty investigations for the second-oldest humane society in the U.S., and the chief of animal disease control for the Commission on Public Health in Washington, D.C.

Under Ingrid’s leadership, legislation was passed to create the first-ever spay-and-neuter clinic in Washington, D.C. She coordinated the first arrest in U.S. history of a laboratory animal experimenter on cruelty charges and helped achieve the first anti-cruelty law in Taiwan. She spearheaded the closure of a Department of Defense underground “wound laboratory,” and she has initiated many other campaigns against animal abuse, including ending General Motors’ car-crash tests on animals.

Ingrid is the author of Save the Animals! 101 Easy Things You Can Do, 50 Awesome Ways Kids Can Help Animals, The Compassionate Cook, 250 Ways to Make Your Cat Adore You, You Can Save the Animals: 251 Simple Ways to Stop Thoughtless Cruelty, Free the Animals, Making Kind Choices, Let’s Have a Dog Party!, and One Can Make a Difference. She has also written numerous articles on the treatment of animals in homes, slaughterhouses, circuses, and laboratories.

Be Inspired by Ingrid Newkirk: www.ingridnewkirk.com

For Environmental Education:

Charlotte Uhlenbroek was born in London, but spent only 10 days on British soil before her parents moved to Ghana. Her Dutch father was an agricultural specialist with the UN who took his family round the world with him. From the age of five to fourteen she lived in Kathmandu, Nepal where her love of animals developed.

She furthered her interest in animals through her degree in Zoology and Psychology, at the University of Bristol. After university, Charlotte spent four years in the forests of Gombe, Tanzania, studying the communication of wild chimpanzees, under the auspices of world-famous Jane Goodall for her PhD. She lived in a tiny hut on the shores of Lake Tanganyika and spent her days with the chimps in the forest.

Charlotte’s first appearance on the screen was in the BBC Natural History Unit’s Dawn to Dusk series, in a programme on Gombe and its chimps. Her talent recognised, she went on to present BBC2’s Chimpanzee Diary as part of the Animal Zone (1998-99).

On television, in the series Cousins she introduced viewers to her extended primate family. Screened in 2000 it was Charlotte’s first big series for BBC1. In 2001, she presented Congo’s Secret Chimps for BBC2’s Wild zone, and in 2002 returned with the acclaimed Talking with Animals, a series that listened in on the communications of creatures as diverse as cuttlefish and wolves.

In her BBC1 series Jungle, Charlotte went back to the place she calls her second home to explore the world’s rainforests, from the tips of the canopy to the dark, inhospitable forest floor. More recently, Charlotte has presented Final Chance to Save…..Sea Turtles for Sky One and two specials for the BBC called Secret Gorillas of Mondika and Lemurs of Madagascar.

As well as her TV work Charlotte has written the books Talking with Animals and Jungle. Her most recent book, Animal Life, was published by Dorling Kindersley in October 2008. Charlotte has also written numerous articles for newspapers and magazines. She supports various organizations including the Ape Alliance, Fauna and Flora International, World Development Movement, Compassion in World Farming, Free Tibet, and the Jane Goodall Institute.

Respected and admired by her peers, in a recent interview, Sir David Attenborough named Charlotte as his potential successor believing she has the knowledge and the skills required. He said “I would be happy to see Charlotte take on a presenting role like this. She knows what she is talking about and is an excellent presenter.”

Be Inspired by Charlotte Uhlenbroek: BBC Science& Nature

Saba Douglas-Hamilton grew up in the Kenyan wilderness with her younger sister, Dudu. Her father introduced her to their extended family of 400 elephants at just six weeks old – so understanding animals is second nature.

After University, her first job was with Save the Rhino Trust (SRT) in the hinterland of the Skeleton Coast, Namibia, on a “Crafts for Conservation” project. This was followed by a brief stint in Tanzania as academic director for a School for International Training (SIT) semester abroad programme, then a position as anthropological consultant on the coast for the National Museums of Kenya. In 1997 she joined her father’s charity Save the Elephants (STE) as his chief executive officer and founded a research centre in Samburu National Reserve, north Kenya. It was while working for STE that she was talent-spotted by the BBC, and her life as a wildlife filmmaker began. She has fronted series such as Big Cat Diary and The Secret Life of Elephants, about her father’s Kenyan-based charity, Save the Elephants.

Be Inspired by Saba Douglas-Hamilton: www.douglas-hamilton.com

In Memory of:

Helen Freeman also know as “the Jane Goodall of snow leopards”. Optimistic and determined to succeed, she single-handedly set up the Snow Leopard Trust, an international conservation body dedicated to saving one of the world’s most beautiful and charismatic animals, the snow leopard of central Asia.

The trust, which now employs local staff in China, India, Mongolia, Pakistan and the Kyrgyz Republic, is based on an ethic of co-operation that was way ahead of its time when it started. Freeman also helped set up a self-sustaining breeding programme of captive snow leopards.

She was born Helen Maniotas, the only child of Greek immigrants who settled in Everett in Washington state where they ran the London Café. Her parents ensured that their bright daughter received a college education: she went to Washington State University, where she graduated in 1954 with a degree in business administration.

From her school days on, Freeman spent her spare time working as a volunteer at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo. She became so fascinated with the animals that, once her children were in school, she returned to university – to the University of Washington, at Seattle – to study zoology, receiving a second degree, in animal behaviour, in 1973. This enabled her to join the staff of the zoo, where she was eventually appointed curator of education in the early 1980s.

The turning point in Freeman’s life came with the arrival at the zoo, in 1972, of a pair of rare snow leopards from the Soviet Union, named Nicholas and Alexandra. She described the moment as “love at first sight”. By watching them for hours at a time, she became expert in interpreting the animals’ behaviour. “The more I learned, the more I saw them, the more interesting they were to me,” she recalled.

Her expertise helped the zoo to design a programme that overcame the usual reluctance of snow leopards to breed in captivity. Over the years, Nicholas and Alexandra have produced 29 cubs. For five years from 1982, Freeman chaired the snow leopard “Species Survival Plan”.

In 1981, Freeman set up a foundation to help her favorite animal: the Snow Leopard Trust. Her credo was straightforward: “I think it’s important that we preserve diversity,” she said. “I don’t think every animal we look at should be domesticated. We evolved to share with every other creature on this planet.” However, she was ahead of her time in placing the emphasis on helping people to improve their standard of living in exchange for protecting the leopards and their rugged environment. From the start, the trust sought to make links with local officials and communities in central Asia, establishing partnerships and cooperative ventures, and working out ways for people and snow leopards to co-exist peacefully.

As the trust’s first director, Freeman travelled, sometimes alone, to most of the countries where snow leopards are found. Using all her native persistence and charm to drum up support, she consorted with Maharajahs in India, trekked the Himalayas in Nepal, sailed the Yangtze River to Chungking in China, and helped to organise, and participate in, symposia on the snow leopard in China, India and the Soviet Union. She was also a tireless lobbyist of potential US supporters. She retired as director of the trust in 1996, but remained an active board member.

Among Freeman’s awards were the Alumni Achievement Award from Washington State University and a medal of honor from the Woodland Park Zoological Society. She also won the 1998 Evergreen Award from the US government’s wildlife service “in recognition of worldwide partnerships in wildlife conservation and understanding”. An ensemble of bronze sculptures at the Woodland Park Zoo help illustrate the lifetime passion of Freeman who passed away in 2007 as does her memoir, Life, Laughter & the Pursuit of Snow Leopards (2005).

Be Inspired by Helen Freeman: www.snowleopard.org

Rachel Carson, writer, scientist, and ecologist, grew up simply in the rural river town of Springdale, Pennsylvania. Her mother bequeathed to her a life-long love of nature and the living world that Rachel expressed first as a writer and later as a student of marine biology.

Carson graduated from Pennsylvania College for Women (now Chatham College) in 1929, studied at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory, and received her MA in zoology from Johns Hopkins University in 1932.

She was hired by the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries to write radio scripts during the Depression and supplemented her income writing feature articles on natural history for the Baltimore Sun. She began a fifteen-year career in the federal service as a scientist and editor in 1936 and rose to become Editor-in-Chief of all publications for the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

She wrote pamphlets on conservation and natural resources and edited scientific articles, but in her free time turned her government research into lyric prose, first as an article “Undersea” (1937, for the Atlantic Monthly), and then in a book, Under the Sea-Wind (1941). In 1952 she published her prize-winning study of the ocean, The Sea Around Us, which was followed by The Edge of the Sea in 1955. These books constituted a biography of the ocean and made Carson famous as a naturalist and science writer for the public. Carson resigned from government service in 1952 to devote herself to her writing.

She wrote several other articles designed to teach people about the wonder and beauty of the living world, including “Help Your Child to Wonder,” (1956) and “Our Ever-Changing Shore” (1957), and planned another book on the ecology of life. Embedded within all of Carson’s writing was the view that human beings were but one part of nature distinguished primarily by their power to alter it, in some cases irreversibly.

Disturbed by the profligate use of synthetic chemical pesticides after World War II, Carson reluctantly changed her focus in order to warn the public about the long term effects of misusing pesticides. In Silent Spring (1962) she challenged the practices of agricultural scientists and the government, and called for a change in the way humankind viewed the natural world.

Carson was attacked by the chemical industry and some in government as an alarmist, but courageously spoke out to remind us that we are a vulnerable part of the natural world subject to the same damage as the rest of the ecosystem. Testifying before Congress in 1963, Carson called for new policies to protect human health and the environment. Rachel Carson died in 1964 after a long battle against breast cancer. Her witness for the beauty and integrity of life continues to inspire new generations to protect the living world and all its creatures.

Biographical entry courtesy of Carson biographer © Linda Lear, 1998, author of Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature (1997).

Be Inspired by Rachel Carson: www.rachelcarson.org

The Woman of Action is a Role Model for others representing determination, passion, a connection with nature and a self assured confidence that inspires us all to be bold and seek out adventure!

A guardian of Wild Heritage and the catalyst for a Sustainable Future, women who take action and pursue their passions with purpose are key to generating positive change for the betterment of our earth.

Show the world you mean business and let everyone know you are a Woman of Action! The store has a selection of accessories to chose from and make the ideal gift for Christmas.

Visit: Action Addicts - Bare Essentials Store

She is outspoken, undaunted, wickedly funny and unapologetically sexy! Elvira represents the modern woman with a ghoulish twist. Elvira’s commanding presence is  like no other and this Mistress of the Dark knows how to have fun on Halloween.  Why not embody some of Elvira’s confidence and take a walk on the wild side!

MISTRESS MAKE-OVER

Wardrobe Necessities: ‘ONE SEXY GOWN’

The “real” Elvira’s gown was custom made for her body measurements and cost thousands of dollars! Fortunately, there are a few Halloween costumes available that look great and are reasonably priced. Below are our selections for the best Elvira style costumes available.

Elvira® Mistress of the Dark™ deluxe costume

Your first choice for the best Mistress of the Dark gown would have to be the deluxe officially licensed Elvira costume manufactured by Elusive Concepts. This form-fitting costume set includes Elvira’s trademark black gown with plunging neckline, a zipper in the back and her signature belt with dagger. It is also machine washable.

This costume is available in three adult sizes: Small (Approximately 25″ waist, and 15″ across the back of the shoulders), Medium (Approximately 26″ waist, and 16″ across the back of the shoulders), and Large (Approximately 27/28″ waist, and 16.5/17″ across the back of the shoulders). Just add sheer black hose and black high-heel shoes. This costume set retails for $40.00.

The officially licensed Elvira costume is available at Halloween Street Halloween costume store!

Note - While there are many costumes on the market that claim to be Elvira or Mistress of the Dark costumes, most do not look like Elvira’s dress at all and many are very poorly made.

Elvira Costume from other sources

Alternatively another good option would be one of the Elvira costumes that can be found all over during Halloween season. While not exactly the same as Elvira’s traditional gown, some of these costumes actually look passable. You want a long, black dress that has a plunging neckline and jagged edges around the sleeves and hemline. Also it should be split up the side for that extra sexy appearance. Most include a belt with a dagger.

They all come in small, medium and large sizes. Just add sheer  black hose and black high-heel shoes.

Make-Up Must Haves:

Eyes:
Blackest Black Mascara
False Eyelashes
Black Eyeliner Pencil
White Eyeliner Pencil
Wine Colored Eye Shadow or Pencil
Pale Lavender Eye Shadow or Pencil

Face:
Pale Porcelain Face Color
Deep Rose Blush
Deep Red Lipstick
Matching Lip Liner Pencil

Nails:
Midnight Black Nail Polish & amp; False Nails

As a licensed make-up artist, I’ve put some thought into how to do this make-up the easiest way possible. There has always been a debate when applying make-up, should the foundation go on first? Some say yes, it makes putting the whole face together much easier. Some say no, if you are using loose powder eye shadow, you risk smearing the colors together.

With this make-up, I’m going to start with the foundation as everything else seems to build from it. If you happen to make a mistake somewhere along the line, I’ll add suggestions on how to fix them.

You’ll need a pale foundation, preferably a cream-powder foundation as opposed to liquid. This will give you better coverage and wear longer. You can check out the cosmetic section of your local drug store or retailer, or find a theatrical supply or costume shop for a pale colored grease paint. You don’t want white, that’s too pale. Elvira is pale with porcelain skin, not dead. Use a foam wedge to apply foundation.

Next, work on the eyes. Apply a set of extra long, thick false eye lashes first. Choose a pale lavender color and cover from lash line to eye brows. You’ll see in the picture above that it’s pale shade of light purple. Next, use a thick black shadow / liner pencil in black and start at the inside corner of the eye, covering the lid and expanding out at the outer corner, so you have the lid covered and some of the above area to the eye socket bone.

Extend the liner to the inner corner of the eye to below the tear duct, as seen above. Line the lower eye in similar fashion. Use the wine colored eye shadow on the inner corners of the eye and below the liner on the lower lids. Use a white shadow or pencil to fill in just below the inner corners of the eye, as pictured above. Using eye shadow pencils will allow for better blending. Use a foam wedge or your finger to blend the edges out so they appear smoky and not harsh.
Apply a couple coats of Blackest Black mascara on the upper lashes and one light coat to the bottom lashes.

Apply a deep rose blush, using either powder or stick, depending on what you find and your preference, to cheeks. Stick more to the lower cheek bone and the hollow just below it. Blend this as well, using a foam wedge. Finish the face off with a dusting of translucent loose face powder and a large powder brush, be sure to tap off excess before applying to face. This will set the make-up, making it last longer into the night.

For the lips, you’ll want a red shade with blue undertones to it, not a yellow based red. Blue based reds give the deeper, blood red look that you want. Find a lip pencil in as close to the same color as possible. Line the lips with pencil first, it will help hold lop color on the lips and prevent it from feathering into make-up. Fill in lips using the tube or a lip brush. Blot lips on a piece of tissue then apply another coat to set it.

Use the black liner pencil to add a beauty mark if you choose and there you go! Add a set of false nails, you can find press-on long black nails at this time of year or paint your own black. The Elvira make-up is now complete!

Hair:

So many things about Elvira are unmistakable traits of the Mistress of the Dark. Her sexy gown, exotic makeup, devil-may-care attitude, and last but certainly not least, her big hair. A version of the beehive, this hairstyle was very popular during the sixties, and was applied named because it resembled a beehive.

Unfortunately, after searching and searching, we have not found any wig that looks “exactly” the same as Elvira’s hair style. Many claim to be Elvira like, but few are anywhere near. Most of them have long black hair and the top is cut short with a few curls. This so not what her hair looks like!

The closest we have found is the Elvira Wig available from Annies Costumes.

The length is close to that of Elvira’s, and unlike wigs claiming to be Elvira like, this one is full on the top. The top can be back combed or a lift can be added under the hair for added height. You can make your own lift by taking a knee-hi nylon and stuffing it with paper towel or tissue until you have a domed shaped half ball.

You’ll need a wig stand or a person wearing it to add this on.                                             Lift and section off the hair on top of the wig. Secure the lift on the crown with hair pins and start securing the sections of hair over it with hair pins, making a beehive do’ similar to the one pictured. You can also back comb the hair for extra lift. Make sure and use a generous amount of hair spray to hold it all together! Wig retails for about $19.95.

The Elvira wig is available at Halloween Street!

Finally you aren’t complete without the most important accessory of them all!
Elvira’s Attitude: 

As we all know, Elvira wouldn’t be Elvira without her trademark wise cracks and “the heck with everyone” attitude! If you want to dress like the Mistress of the Dark, you better be prepared to act like her as well.

If you need some help on this, we suggest watching her first film, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark for inspiration. Make a list of some of her better one-liners and practice saying them with attitude! For some extra inspiration, check out her second film, Elvira’s Haunted Hills, as well. It has some equally great zingers in it and after watching both of these films, if you don’t have the attitude down right then you must be dead!

Here is a list of some of Elvira’s best one liners:

“Revenge is better than Christmas.”

“Hey, nice jacket. Who shot the couch?”

“Listen sister, if I want your opinion, I’ll beat it out of you.”

“My name’s Elvira but you can call me ………’tonight’.”

“Adrian! You came too late! *pauses* Again!”

Think of that care-free, smart aleck that you were when you were a teenager and go from there. It will be fun to let it loose again for a night. Of course, if you are like some of us, working the Elvira attitude won’t be too big of a stretch. If you enjoy it, carry it on year round and keep the Elvira spirit alive all year long!

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Location~ ?

Mission~ The Action Advisor is an international correspondent working for an elite network, aka: Women of Action (W.A.). Her mission is to find the most extreme challenges and leave clues for the W.A. network to figure out.

Keep an eye out for new posts from the Action Advisor and see if you have what it takes to keep up with her!

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