Hawaiian Party Costumes and Makeup Ideas

You may be having a party and have chosen a Hawaiian theme. Or, you might have decided to go trick or treating as a Polynesian maiden.

Don't worry men, we did not forget you! You can go as a Haka Warrior Hunk! Children also love to dress up in hula skirts and leis. And, don't forget your dog!

Whatever the reason is, here are some costume and makeup ideas you might want to consider. For sure it will put you in a festive mood. You will feel like you are already in Paradise.

For the Ladies

• Grass skirt (you can make your own - see below)
• Hawaiian print midriff top, bikini top or coconut bra
• Clear sandals, flip flops or bare feet
• Flower to pin behind your ear
• Lei or leis - can be worn as anklets, crowns or bracelets
• You can also take a headband and sew artificial flowers to it

To look like the glamorous vintage Hawaiian pin-up girls

• Wear a figure hugging halter top with a cinched waistline in a floral print or a bikini top
• Sarong or pareo as a skirt
• With this you will want to wear stilletos
• Flower behind ear and leis around neck

Or if you are a bit shy and feel a little exposed, you can wear a sun dress or a muumuu-style dress which is long and flowing, and usually comes in floral colors or patterns.

For the Men

• Loose fitting Aloha shirt
• Khaki shorts
• Sandals, flip flops or bare feet
• Straw hat or visor
• Sunglasses
• Lei

To look like the Haka Warrior Hunk

• Bare chest (looks best with muscles)
• Hula skirt or floral-print sarong worn tight like a short skirt - sort of like a diaper
• Spear or sharp stick
• Greenery around arms, ankles and on head (could be an artificial green lei)
• Fake tribal tattoos on biceps or wherever
• May need to use some quick tanning solution
• Colored contacts (brown or dark) if you really want to get into it (surprise her!)

Hawaiian Luau Makeup Ideas
To really have fun, add some vibrant Hawaiian makeup. Shades of turquoise, azalea, amethyst, ocean frost, and Aztec gold are just a few that are available to use.

Don't forget plenty of eyeliner and mascara. Don't forget the eyebrows too. Have fun with it.
Gotta have bright lipstick - come on it is just for one night!

There are some great eye makeup videos on this hub, so be sure to watch them and be inspired. I was.

Ideas for Face Painting at Your Party
Be sure to use hypoallergenic paints for face painting.
Of course, a luau brings to mind delicious fruits of Hawaii, including pineapples, coconut, and bananas.

Also, tropical flowers are popular, including orchids, plumeria, hibiscus and bird of paradise. You could even paint a small palm tree on some lucky person.

Sea creatures are fun and easy - a crab, seahorse, dolphin, whales, turtle or seals. Geckos and parrots would also be hits. Sand dollars, shells and starfish would also make someone really happy.

Children especially love face painting or you could do it as part of your Halloween costume.

The Amazing Juggling Women of Tonga

When we lived in Tonga, I was delighted to discover the juggling talents of the women. It is not taught to the boys, but I know some males who can juggle too, including my husband.
In elementary school, instead of learning to jump rope, play jacks or hopscotch, the primary students in Tonga learn how to hiko or juggle. They start very young, about five years of age, and some continue on for the rest of their lives.

The girls and women sing a song as they juggle three, four, five, some up to seven pieces of fruit, nuts or balls. Some claim that they can juggle even more items, but since they cannot hold them in their hands, they grab them out of a bowl placed near them. The juggling forms a round shower pattern. They usually discharge the nuts from the left hand, catching them in the right hand, and then transfer them to the left again, keeping them all in the air at once.

Origin
Most Tongans cannot tell you where the origin of juggling in Tonga began. But there is a myth about it. They say it began in the underworld where a lady, Hikuleo,was the goddess. She was a blind, and would snatch the eyeballs of anyone who approached her in the underworld without permission. She would then put them in a wooden bowl and call her girls to sit in her house and juggle with them.

Superstition
Tongans are generally superstitious and the Tongan girls never juggle at night because the spirits of from the underworld are coming up and they look around. If they are caught, their eyeballs may be taken to the underworld.

Benefits
Many Tongan girls have very rapid and accurate hand-eye coordination which they learned from juggling at a young age.

Record Breakers
Wolfgang Schedbeczek reported that the an 8-ball shower by Bruce Sarafian of the USA is the world's best juggler (according to the Guinness book of Records), but he feels that the juggling women of Polynesia probably have him beat.

It is said that Tonga has more jugglers per square mile than any country in the world. Often they have competitions to see who can juggle the longest. As soon as a girl drops a ball, she sits down. The last left standing is the winner.

Women who learned juggling in their youth can remember it even though they have not done it for years. I guess it would be similar to learning a bike and doing it again years later.

Other Cultures that Juggle
Aside from Tongan women, circus clowns and other juggling entertainers, there are a few other cultures that juggle:

Uvea or Wallis Island (north-west of Tonga): Called hapo usually using oranges, also done in time with a little song. They also have competitions juggling up to six oranges at the same time.

Samoa: Called fuaga , up to eight items whilst sitting or standing.

Cook Islands: Called tilitili koua done with immature coconuts (koua) juggled while chanting. Usually only done with three or four small coconuts (since they are larger).

In Southern Cook Islands they juggle other items such as the fruit of the candlenut tree, the seeds of the tamanu tree, or oranges. They are tossed vertically and transferred from one hand to another in anti-clockwise direction accompanied by chants.

Tuamotu: Called pei done in a counter-clockwise rotation - they reverse it to show skill also done to chanting. They weave their balls from plaited coconut leaf (popo). In Tuamotu it is classified as a dance.

Marquesas Islands: Also called pei . Used to teach geneology as they recite their ancestors while doing it. It also gave the mothers a chance to boast of the number of their offspring. They also make their balls out of fau leaves (Hibiscus).

Tahiti: Also called pei, but using stones or limes.