How to Use Makeup for All Your Halloween Looks

Halloween is the perfect time to let your creativity shine, and makeup is your best tool for bringing any costume to life. Whether you’re going for something spooky, glamorous, or totally out-of-the-box, the right makeup can elevate your look and make your costume unforgettable. Here’s your guide to using makeup for all your Halloween looks, from classic to avant-garde.

1. Classic Halloween Looks

Vampire, Witch, and Zombie

Why You’ll Love It: These timeless Halloween looks are always a hit and easy to achieve with the right makeup techniques.

How to Create Them:

• Vampire:

  • Base: Start with a pale foundation or mix white face paint with your regular foundation to achieve that classic vampire pallor.
  • Eyes: Create a dramatic smoky eye with black and deep red eyeshadows, adding heavy eyeliner and mascara. Don’t forget to darken your brows for a more intense look.
  • Contour: Use a cool-toned contour to create sharp cheekbones.
  • Lips: Opt for a deep red or black lipstick. For added drama, you can create fake blood dripping from the corners of your mouth with red face paint or special effects blood.

• Witch:

  • Base: A medium to dark foundation works well, or you can go for a green-tinted base for a more traditional witch look.
  • Eyes: Use dark, smoky shades like black, purple, and green. Wing your eyeliner for a bewitching effect, and don’t shy away from glitter or metallic shadows.
  • Lips: Go bold with a dark berry, black, or green lipstick. For extra impact, you can overline your lips slightly and add a gloss on top.

• Zombie:

  • Base: Apply a light foundation mixed with gray face paint to give your skin a lifeless appearance.
  • Eyes: Create dark circles under your eyes using black, gray, and purple eyeshadows. Smudge these colors along your lower lash line for a sunken look.
  • Details: Use dark brown or black eyeshadow to create the appearance of hollowed-out cheeks and temple areas. Add fake wounds or scars with special effects makeup or by drawing them on with red and black face paint.
  • Lips: Keep your lips nude or use a grayish tone. You can add fake blood around your mouth for that undead, just-ate-some-brains look.

2. Glamorous Halloween Looks

Mermaid, Fairy, and Goddess

Why You’ll Love It: These looks are perfect if you want to blend beauty with a hint of fantasy. They’re all about shimmering colors, glowing skin, and ethereal vibes.

How to Create Them:

• Mermaid:

  • Base: A luminous foundation is key, with highlighter on your cheekbones, nose, and collarbones for an underwater glow.
  • Eyes: Use iridescent blues, greens, and purples. You can create a scaled effect by pressing fishnet stockings against your face and dabbing eyeshadow over them.
  • Lips: Opt for an ombre lip in shades of blue and purple, or go for a glossy nude with a holographic top coat.
  • Finishing Touch: Add glitter or metallic face paint around your eyes and on your shoulders to mimic the shimmering ocean.

• Fairy:

  • Base: Start with a dewy foundation and add a lot of highlighter to your high points for an ethereal glow.
  • Eyes: Play with pastel eyeshadows like pinks, purples, and light blues. Add some sparkle with glitter or rhinestones around your eyes.
  • Lips: Soft pinks or peaches work well, or you can go for a shimmery gloss.
  • Extras: Draw delicate floral or vine patterns with white or gold eyeliner along your cheeks or forehead for a whimsical touch.

• Goddess:

  • Base: A bronzed, glowing base is essential. Use a foundation slightly warmer than your skin tone and add bronzer to contour.
  • Eyes: Gold, bronze, and brown eyeshadows are your go-to. Highlight the inner corners of your eyes with a metallic gold shade.
  • Lips: Choose a rich, warm tone like deep red or copper.
  • Finishing Touch: Use gold leaf or metallic paint to add divine accents to your makeup. A gold crown or headpiece completes the look.

3. Creative Halloween Looks

Pop Art, Animal, and Galaxy

Why You’ll Love It: These looks are unique and artistic, allowing you to really flex your creative muscles. Whether you want to look like you stepped out of a comic book or the cosmos, these ideas will make you stand out.

How to Create Them:

• Pop Art:

  • Base: Start with a flawless, matte foundation.
  • Details: Use black eyeliner to create exaggerated outlines on your face—around your eyes, lips, and even your jawline to mimic the style of comic book illustrations.
  • Eyes: Bright eyeshadow colors like blue, yellow, or red are perfect. Don’t forget to add white dots across your face and body for that classic comic book look.
  • Lips: Overdraw your lips with red or pink lipstick, and use black eyeliner to outline them. Add a white highlight on your bottom lip for a 3D effect.

• Animal:

  • Base: Depending on the animal, you might use a natural foundation or go for something more colorful. For example, a tiger might have an orange base, while a deer would have a soft, neutral base.
  • Eyes: Use eyeliner to create animalistic features, like elongated cat eyes or spots for a cheetah. For a deer, focus on a soft smoky eye and add white dots on your cheeks.
  • Details: Use face paint or eyeliner to add animal patterns like stripes, spots, or whiskers.
  • Lips: Keep them simple and natural or match them to your animal’s fur or skin color.

• Galaxy:

  • Base: Start with a dark, matte foundation—think navy, black, or deep purple.
  • Eyes: Use a mix of blues, purples, and pinks with a lot of shimmer to create a cosmic eye look. Blend the colors together for a seamless galaxy effect.
  • Details: Use white eyeliner or face paint to add stars, planets, and constellations across your face and body.
  • Lips: Go bold with metallic or glittery lipsticks in shades of blue, purple, or black.

4. Special Effects Makeup

Gory, Illusions, and Prosthetics

Why You’ll Love It: If you’re into more advanced makeup techniques, special effects makeup can transform you into something truly terrifying or mind-bending. This is great for shock value and those who love the art of makeup.

How to Create Them:

• Gory: Use liquid latex and tissue paper to create fake wounds, scars, or burns. Add depth with face paint in reds, blacks, and purples, and finish with fake blood for a realistic touch.
• Illusions: Play with perspective by creating optical illusions with makeup. Think double faces, warped features, or 3D effects using shading and highlighting techniques.
• Prosthetics: Use store-bought prosthetics like fake noses, ears, or even horns, and blend them into your skin with makeup for a seamless look.

Final Tips for Halloween Makeup:

• Set It: Use a good setting spray to keep your makeup in place all night, especially if you’re using heavy or layered products.
• Practice: If your Halloween makeup is complex, practice it a few times before the big night to perfect your technique.
• Prep Your Skin: Don’t forget to prep your skin with a good moisturizer and primer, especially if you’re using heavy makeup or face paint. This will protect your skin and help the makeup apply more smoothly.

Whether you’re aiming for spooky, glamorous, or creative, these Halloween makeup tips will help you bring your costume to life. So grab your brushes, paints, and a little bit of imagination, and get ready to wow everyone with your Halloween look!