With Halloween less than a week away, and festivities in full swing, everyone is just dying to have the perfect couture costume for the occasion.

When a costume just isn't enough, hair and makeup can make all the difference between dreadfully dull and devilishly delightful. Whether your costume is sinfully sweet or wildly wicked, here are a few simple tips and time tested tricks of the trade to help ensure that your costume is even more spooktacular than you could have imagined.

Since you're probably going to spend more than just ten or fifteen minutes on your mak up, it would be a real shame to have it fading and running an hour into your party or event.

So instead of crying over running mascara do yourself a favor and set your makeup when you're done with it. If you don't happen to have a bottle of she-lac or another makeup fixative sitting around (which most people don't) close your eyes and spray your face lightly with hairspray. It'll feel a little funny at first, but it will set your makeup and prevent fading, running, smudging and smearing -- and, if you're wearing glitter, it will help keep your glitter where you want it as opposed to all over your face, clothes or significant other. You can also use regular hairspray to help set colored hairspray so it's not as likely to smudge off, run or fade.

If glitter strays onto your cheeks or nose before you can set it, a piece of tape pressed lightly onto the areas you want to clean up will do the job in a flash

It may take a couple pieces of tape to get the job done, but this should remove any stray sparkle without interfering with the rest of your makeup.

Eyelash adhesive is good for more than just faux fringe around your eyes.

It can be used to attach everything from rhinestones to glitter on your skin. Also, it works wonders for attaching foil strips, decals and other nail art jewelry to the face or body.

If it’s blood you’re thirsting for, and you happen to be fresh out of the fake stuff, mixing light corn syrup and red food coloring will make fake blood so real, even you may have a hard time believing you didn’t feel a thing!

For a super gruesome special effect, fill latex condoms with fake blood and attach them to your chest or back with tape – a small amount of pressure will cause the condom to burst; a surefire way to freak out your friends and other party-goers.

When it comes to bumps and bruises, before you brush one on, take a look at one.

Bruises are never really black. For more bootifully believable bruises, experiment with dark plums, blues, yellows and greens.

With a kaleidoscope of colors on your face, you’re likely to experience some staining the day after, especially with reds and yellows.

Make sure you have a good cold cream on hand to help remove your makeup, and an exfoliating face scrub to eliminate any residual stains. You may also want to apply an Alpha Beta Hydroxy or similar acne-fighting product before you do hit the sack, since heavy makeup can often clog pores and cause break outs.

And, before any makeup ever touches your face, make sure the product is FDA approved for use in the area you’re wanting to apply it.

Many red cosmetics especially, like blushes and lipsticks, are not safe for use around the eyes and can cause more than a few pimples or some itching. Make sure you double check that bright colors, glitters and any other cosmetics are safe to use around your eyes or lips before you take any unnecessary chances. Ben Nye professional products have a wide range of eye-safe shades, as do MAC and Fyrinnae.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween this week! And, with just these few simple tips, you’re guaranteed to end up with far more treats than tricks.

*Photos from halloweendirect.com, extremecostumes.com, bennye.com, makeupforever.com.