Spooky season with a dash of humor and theater defines his content.
There’s no better time than Halloween to employ the transformative magic of makeup. It’s the only day when you’re allowed (and really encouraged!) to celebrate your most wicked self. With that in mind we asked creative Christopher Grave to share with us his spooky plans. Given that he’s done everything from a cheeky take on Beetlejuice to downright creepy Peter Graham from Hereditary, Grave knows how to make the most of the holiday. What else could he have up sleeve? Well, it turns out he’s plotting a cinematic recreation of Scream.
Growing up in a small town in the northwest of England, Grave has always been fond of art and literature, hence his theatrical approach to videos and photos. But being a creator was more of a happy accident. In 2020, when Covid shut down the world, he found himself at home with time on his hands. Having studied portrait photography, Grave merged his interests by creating characters which he then captures on screen. “I like to combine the story telling of makeup artistry and visual concepts to create my own online world,” he says. “That was truly the moment I fell in love with it, slowly after I was wearing it every day.”
We asked Grave to walk us through the process behind this video and how he approaches his makeup content.
1) Take us on your journey as content creator. How did it start?
I started posting on social media way back in 2017 but it didn’t really make waves until just before lockdown 2020. All I could do to fill my time was makeup so it really gave me the opportunity to be creative. That’s when everything started to grow.
2) Where are you based now?
I’m currently in Los Angeles which is actually crazy to say out loud. During Covid my best friend and I would Facetime each other, looking at houses in LA. To move from London and be here now is such a full circle moment. The change comes with its challenges but it’s been a very inspiring journey that’s bringing out the best in me.
3) What’s your take on men wearing makeup?
Makeup has become such an accessible form of creative expression. I love when anyone is able to pick up a brush and try it out for themselves. I hope we can find new ways to de-stigmatize doing so — makeup can be gory, masculine, or weird. It doesn’t fit a binary.
4) What’s the idea behind your Halloween look?
I wanted to combine my personal love for the Scream franchise and Drew Barrymore by recreating her iconic makeup look as Casey Becker from the first movie. To make it humorous, I decided Ghostface (also played by me) would be the makeup artist. As Ghostface transforms me into Casey, you’ll see that it doesn’t live up to the murderer’s standards and in the end, I suffer the same inevitable demise. It’s a simple plot line but can be really fun when you’re playing with how the two versions of myself interact on screen.
5) Why do you think people enjoy Halloween so much?
I’m a major horror movie fan so I always look forward to new releases during this time of year. But also, it’s a free pass to dress as crazy as you want and people love that.
6) How does makeup factor into today??
It’s one of the best tools to have in your arsenal. In fact, I would go as far to say that a lot of the time, makeup is at least 50% of the costume, especially if you’re dressing as a movie character.
7) What screams Halloween to you?
I love seeing people decorate their houses and cars here. I don’t think it’s a massive thing that people do in the UK and I think it’s adorable to see it.
8) Who would you be afraid to bump into on a dark and deserted road?
Seeing Leatherface in person would be my last straw.
9) Do you have a celebrity crush at the moment?
I feel like I’m at a sleepover! My celebrity crush is Jacob Elordi… I’ve never had an original thought but I do think he’s a great actor.
10) Would you ever get tired of doing makeup? And if so, what else would you like to do?
I’ll always love doing makeup but I definitely want to explore other pursuits while I’m here in Los Angeles whether it’s acting or film. Those fields are linked to everything I’m already doing so I’m excited to see how this progresses. One of my dreams is to actually be in a slasher movie so it was fun to play about with that concept in my video.
