Ghosts, ghouls and goblins aside, Halloween can be chic–especially with the help of a makeup wizard like Monika Crouch. This talented young woman turned a hobby–and obsession–into a full-time job, rendering beautiful faces even more so (she specializes in brow shaping and eyelash extensions at Manhattan’s Pierre Michel salon). Monika also works regularly with private clients–and, like a fashion-savvy fairy godmother, appears wherever she’s needed with powder brush and mascara wand in hand. For Halloween, she can transform you, giving you eyes of fire, perhaps, or the death’s-head look of a chalky skull. We, of course, wanted something glamorous: a “mask” of makeup that’s comfortable and chic. The result, shown above, is spectacular.

To create this trompe-l’oeil effect, Monika dusted a band of silver powder across the eyes (product tip #1: Eyeshadow Primer Potion by Urban Decay prevents creasing), then wielded an airbrush to stencil the black lace detail. Next, she added Ardell false eyelashes (“They change the whole face,” she says) and applied rhinestones to the mask and lips using steady hands and eyelash glue. Meanwhile, hairstylist extraordinaire Davide Marinelli (of De Berardinis salon) created frothy curls (product tip #2: try Imperméable Anti-Humidity Spray by Oribe) …and a gorgeous creature of the night was born. This is makeup magic of the highest order–now go cast a spell of your own.

Photograph by Noël Sutherland. Makeup by Monika Crouch. Hair by Davide Marinelli. Silk-and-viscose lamé dress with cock feathers by Marcel Marongiu. Model: Cristiana Grasu/Wilhelmina