THERE is just over a week until Hallowe’en and now’s the time to get thinking about your costume.

Gone are the days when you could just stick a black bin bag on with a witches hat, competition is fierce with people spend big money on having the best outfits.

Research by market intelligence agency Mintel found that UK shoppers spent £310 million on Hallowe’en last year, making it the third biggest ‘holiday’ for retailers behind Christmas and Easter.

Thanks to social media make-up artists are able to share their Hallowe’en creations with people throughout the world. One Gwent make-up artist doing that is Aimee Jones from Malpas.

The 22-year-old has always been interested in art and trained in Crosskeys College on a make-up course. She then went to work in TV for the BBC including the drama Ordinary Lies and A Midsummer Night’s Dream where she worked on the prosthetics team.

“I love the special effects stuff,” she said “and enjoy doing wounds and prosthetics.”

However she decided to leave the world of TV and take a more public role. She now works at Urban Decay in Debenhams in Friar’s Walk and also runs a business Enchanted Birthdays which run princess parties for children.

She said: “The most popular look for this Hallowe’en is skulls and sugar skulls for day of the dead. I like illusion make-up so where you look like you have a graze and a robot is revealed underneath. I did one where it looks like my skin is pulled up and a lizard skin is underneath.

“I think my forte is body paint and Hallowe’en special effects because I am super creative. I used to compete when I was college and I did a Game of Thrones inspired look for which I did head pieces.”

Her day job is very different to the kind of work Miss Jones does at Hallowe’en so she enjoys the challenge of doing the looks.

She explained: “Hallowe’en make-up something that people don’t want every day and I try and keep up with the current make-up trends. You can be messy as you want and you can go a bit wild and crazy.

“I love it and because so many people are doing make-up I try keep ahead of everyone else.”

I went to her make-up studio in Malpas to see her in action. She will always speak to a person about their skin type and requirements, as I have sensitive skin she was able to tailor the products to my skin type.

She starts with a primer base to protect the skin and then she uses a foundation on the skin. Then comes the artistic element. Using liners she draws the design on my face.

Sitting away from the mirror, I have no idea what my face is going to look like, and as she shades with colour.

All her products are Urban Decay and she says the products used are important: “None of the products are tested on animals and they are hypo-allergenic and also much of it is vegan.”

The transformation is amazing and when I see the finished work I can’t help looking in the mirror. I got some funny looks driving home, thankfully I wasn’t stopped on the way.

Another artist sharing her work with the world is 27-year-old Scarlett Jackson from Newport.

The former professional dancer began doing make-up as part of her work.

She said: “I had to do my own make-up and I am really fascinated by horror films. I loved how they do make-up and what they do to get that look.

“I decided to go to college and studied make-up at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College in Bristol and qualified in 2014.

“I worked on a couple of short films and worked on the BBC’s Atlantis and did some work for S4C.”

She now does Hallowe’en make-up and is busy in the weeks running up to the big day.

Some of her most popular looks have been inspired by TV shows and they continue to be a favourite.

She said: “Game of Thrones has been big this year. I do a Denerys Tagarian look and I did a look which was her with a burnt face for Hallowe’en, and that has been really popular as well as the White Walkers. Last year it was Harley Quinn that was really popular.”

“It makes me really happy,” she said. “I’m very passionate about make-up and it’s a bit of escapism for me. I like to inspire people but I mainly do it for myself because I love it.”

To find out more about Miss Jones’ work visit Makeup by Aimee at facebook.com/makeupbyaimeej.

To discover more of Miss Jackson’s work visit instagram.com/scarlettmakeupartist or facebook.com/ScarlettMakeupArtist.