Cheap Tricks: Bing Survey Shows People Favor DIY This Halloween

REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- It's looking like a do-it-yourself (DIY) kind of Halloween this year, based on findings from a recent Bing-commissioned survey of Americans. According to the survey, nearly 40 percent of respondents indicated they are abandoning store-bought outfits for a DIY costume, with 43 percent of survey respondents believing that purchasing a Halloween costume you'll wear for one night is too expensive (nearly a fourfold increase over last year's 12 percent). In fact, many people are ditching intricate costumes and embracing more "everyman" costumes this year, with Kate Middleton topping the list of celebrity costume picks for women at 47 percent and Edward Cullen topping the list for men at 35 percent. Although designing a costume yourself certainly may have its allure, it can also be an overwhelming task without the right tools to help you conceive of and create the masterpiece.

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Bing, the Decision Engine from Microsoft Corp., appreciates a good DIY challenge and recognizes the need for time- and money-saving tips from styling experts. To help, Bing Shopping partnered with celebrity stylists Rob Zangardi and Mariel Haenn, who have created costumes for Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna, and Will and Jada Smith and their kids, to offer guidance on how to easily create a unique look that fits your budget, fashion sense and DIY skill level.

• It's reality TV time! When in doubt, remember that everyone identifies with reality TV stars. Love them or hate them, some reality stars have become just as recognizable as movie and rock stars. Whether you go with Pauly D or Snooki, dressing as your favorite reality star from "Jersey Shore" can be easy and cheap.
• Dress like a rock star. Some of our favorite costumes are inspired from what stars wear onstage. One way to really impress everyone at your Halloween party is to find the most classic identifiable look from your favorite artist's performance or music video and break down the look. Everyone wants to party like a rock star, and now you can actually look the part.
• Makeup cures all. Makeup and hair styling are a great way to create a fun and easy costume.  If you're able to master the makeup, the rest of the costume is sure to fall in line. Signature looks of classic rock stars are always fan favorites. For example, full-face makeup for KISS can be fun, and then all you need is black clothing to fill out the look.

For additional tips and tricks from Zangardi and Haenn and Halloween inspiration, visit http://www.BingHalloween.com. In addition, for all your Halloween purchases, go to Bing Shopping, which offers an all-in-one online shopping experience that will help you make better, faster, more confident shopping decisions, so you can spend less money and time planning and more time having fun.

About the Surveys

The year-over-year data point is from two surveys conducted online with a random sample of 1,046 and 1,030 men and women ages 18 and older in September 2010 and September 2011, respectively. All other data points are from the September 2011 survey. All surveyed men and women are members of Impulse Research Corp.'s proprietary online panel. The panel has been carefully selected to closely match U.S. population demographics, and the respondents are representative of American men and women, ages 18 and older. The overall sampling error rate for both surveys is +/-3 percent at the 95 percent level of confidence.

About Bing

At Bing, we believe that as the Internet evolves, so should search. Bing takes the world's information and services on the Web and makes them more useful by delivering an innovative and intuitive search experience, visually organizing results and bringing in social signals from your friends. The end result? A search engine that takes you from searching and finding to searching and doing. Try it for yourself at Bing.com.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

SOURCE Microsoft Corp.