Halloween Makeup: 40 Halloween Makeup Ideas to Try
Updated on September 23, 2021
Many people, especially children, can’t wait for Halloween to come around since it’s the only time of year when they can dress up as literally anything they want.
Of course, the art of disguising yourself has come a long way over the years, and while wearing masks, prosthetics and full body suits are still very popular, those of you that really want to get creative, but in a more subtle, yet impactful way, can opt for Halloween makeup instead.
It’s easier to create, you can do it even with everyday makeup kits, and, depending on the design, it can have an even greater visual effect than an actual costume.
If 2021 is the year when you finally decide to go for some makeup instead of buying an expensive mask, but you lack the inspiration for creating something unique, you can go ahead and continue reading this article where we will be showcasing over 40 different Halloween makeup ideas that you can try!
Which Are the Best Halloween Makeup Ideas of 2021?
1. Cat Halloween Makeup – Classical Cat
When it comes to makeup, people usually wear it to enhance their beauty, and most of the time they may even end up mimicking certain animal features, such as how eye makeup may sometimes give off a certain feline feel.
Because of that, it’s no wonder that one of the most common Halloween makeup ideas is to have a simple cat makeup design that you can later complete with a pair of fake cat ears, and maybe even a catsuit, or some regular clothes with an animal print if you happen to have any lying around.
This particular makeup idea is easy to bring to life since all you really need to do is focus on enhancing your eyes (having green, blue or grey eyes is a plus), although you can get away with contact lenses just as well.
As you can see from Glamvan’s post, they went with some simple eye makeup, a dash of color for the nose and lips, and some drawn-on whiskers.
2. Cute Halloween Makeup – Candy Corn
Candy corn during Halloween is like that rock-hard fruit cake that everyone has but avoids during Christmas, and the truth is that while loving it is an acquired taste, you can’t deny that it’s become a holiday staple.
Because of that, it was only a matter of time until someone figured out a way of making candy corn the topic of a makeup tutorial, and as you can see from Anna.Gyggi’s post, the result is actually quite sweet.
All you need to do is play around with the typical colors used in candy corn (white, yellow, and orange), and you also need enough of a steady hand to draw the candy corn itself on your face.
This makeup design is fairly easy to do and doesn’t require you to buy any flashy makeup kits either, and the best part is that if you couple this design with a matching outfit, people will be able to tell what you’re dressed as from a mile away!
3. Crazy Halloween Makeup – The Joker
If you want to go full crazy with your Halloween makeup, there’s no better persona to embody than DC’s very own Joker, regardless of which incarnation you prefer.
For example, YoungForeverMakeup opted for the 2019 Joker look, and as you can see for yourself, the result lies somewhere between crazy and creepy.
Because of the nature of this particular design, you can really get into the Joker character by dying your hair green (or wearing a green wig), as well as wearing the iconic red suit.
If you also happen to have a friend who’s a big Batman fan, hanging around together dressed as your respective characters will further enhance the impact of your costume choice.
4. Colorful Halloween Makeup – The Starry Night
Classic painters like Vincent van Gogh would be proud to know that their work lives on in one way or another, so if you’re a fan of the famous painting The Starry Night, then you’ll enjoy El_latide_del_arte’s makeup idea.
Admittedly, in order to achieve this look, you’ll have to use more body paint than makeup, but the great part is that the design itself is pretty simple, and you don’t have to use and blend too many colors either, and if you want to complete the costume, you can opt for a full blue classic suit.
One great thing about this makeup idea is the concept itself, so if there happens to be any other famous painting that you’d like to wear during Halloween, you can go ahead and try that out instead.
5. Simple Halloween Makeup – Simple Red
Most of the time we forget that makeup doesn’t have to be outlandish to make an impression and that sometimes you only need one color to get the job done.
As you can see for yourself in LinkArtDasha’s makeup idea, all she did was play around with the color red around the eyes, wear bright red lipstick, have red hair and she achieved a look that would definitely catch anyone’s attention.
Sure enough, while the eye makeup and the lipstick may not be much of a problem, dying your hair in such bright colors may not be such a good idea, unless you already happen to be into that, so we recommend wearing a wig instead.
You can even go ahead and wear red clothes for a complete femme-fatale vibe, or spice things up with some victorian dresses for a more vampiric/blood queen feel.
Of course, you can do this with just about any color, not just red, so go ahead and experiment with whatever you want.
6. Black Halloween Makeup – Crying Goth
If you’re not into flashy colors and you prefer a more monochromatic approach, you could always just go for a simple black and white makeup design.
For example, Lost.Optimist’s makeup design is simple yet effective, both in terms of how it looks, as well as how complicated it is to create, making it an ideal last-minute make-up idea.
If you want to take things up a notch, you can go ahead and wear an all-black, an all-white, or even a black and white wig, along with black clothes to create the perfect tormented spooky look.
7. Cute Halloween Makeup Ideas – Disney’s Moana
When it comes to Halloween costumes, there’s no way you can go wrong if you choose to be a Disney princess, and the best thing about a lot of them is that many look just like regular everyday women, with very few iconic traits.
For example, take a look at HawaiiSavingsClub’s Moana costume, and you’ll notice that as far as the makeup itself is concerned, all they needed was some tanned foundation.
All you needed then was to make sure that the model had dark wavy hair, while the rest of the costume is complete using traditional Hawaiian attire.
This is one of the simpler ideas that you can try out, so if you’re looking for some last-minute inspiration, might as well go for Moana.
8. Cool Halloween Makeup – Forest Spirit
Since we’re applying makeup to look like different characters, choosing a design that completely embraces the idea of fantasy and magic should come as second nature.
One perfect example is this forest spirit or dryad design from EmeraldAliceMakeup that will certainly enchant anyone that looks at you.
Sure enough, you can tell from the picture alone that you will need more than just the actual makeup to make this design work, such as contact lenses and even some prosthetics, but you have to admit that it’s well worth it when you see it finished.
It’s magical, beautiful, and if you plan to win someone’s heart during Halloween, chances are that you will succeed, especially if they have a soft sport for Mother Nature.
9. Half-Face Halloween Makeup – The Soul Stone
When talking about makeup, or even colors in general, one way to make key elements the focus points of your audience’s attention is to have it contrast against the background.
When it comes to half-face makeup tutorials, this is easy, since the user can see both your normal face as well as the face with the makeup applied at the same time.
One perfect example of this visual effect is Trinsmakeup’s The Soul Stone design where with nothing more than some makeup and black body paint they managed to achieve a very stylish Dia de Muerto feel, complete with black skulls and flowers for a very gothic finish.
This is one of those designs that will require some extra attention and time, but as you can see for yourself, the end result is well worth it.
10. Pink Hair Halloween Costume – Elf
The great thing about fantasy creatures is that while the basic outline of their design is well-established, you’re free to go into the details as much as you see fit.
For example, if you want to show your love for elves, take a look at this makeup idea from Anastasia_Alis which she gladly enhanced through the use of the color pink.
Strictly from a design point of view, this entry is very easy to replicate at home, just as long as you at least have the iconic long elven ears.
However, if you find pink to be just a little bit too flashy for your taste, you can always go ahead and swap it for a different color.
11. Glam Halloween Makeup – Golden Glitter
Most of the time your eyes are the only parts of your face to actually need any makeup, and that’s probably what Murillo_Makeup thought as well when they made this golden glitter makeup design.
While the model in the picture above is indeed wearing foundation, blush, and a very eye-catching lipstick, the focus is on the eye makeup, especially thanks to the golden glitter and orange eye shadow.
One neat thing about this particular idea is that you can go ahead and switch up the colors depending on what color your irises are, and this can be very helpful if you already have bright blue or green eyes that you love emphasizing.
12. Easy Makeup Looks – Bleeding Crown
This bleeding flower crown makeup design is the perfect example of how you can tell so much using very little, which can also be an advantage when you don’t have a lot of time to spare.
As you can see from Creaturehaus’s design, the only thing that the model is wearing to actually stand out is that trickle of fake blood coming from what can be described as a crown made of flowers that may also come with thorns, along with some fake tears dripping from her eyes.
If you want to go a bit darker, you can go ahead and forget about the flowers altogether, replace it with a thorny vine crown, use more dark eyeshade, and maybe a bit more blood.
13. Simple Makeup Looks – 3D Halloween
When wearing bright colors, you’re guaranteed to catch everyone’s attention at least once, but if your makeup idea is centered around the use of optical illusions, then you’ve just guaranteed that everyone will be looking at you a lot until they finally realize what is it that they are looking at.
In the example above from That_one_Chick_247, you can see how with some simple blue and red lines she managed to create a mind-boggling 3D glasses effect.
The execution is incredibly simple while the results are undeniably remarkable, and if you want to further enhance the costume’s motif, you can do so by wearing a pair of 3D glasses or simply walking around with a box of popcorn.
14. Halloween Cat Makeup – Disney’s Scar
When thinking about makeup ideas for Halloween and Walt Disney animations, most of you will probably be thinking about Ariel, Else, or Rapunzel.
Well, it seems that Disney villains also make for excellent makeup inspirations, such as Patrish.02’s take on Scar from The Lion King.
The base design is that of a typical cat makeup tutorial, but the specific use of colors that perfectly mimic Scar’s fur, as well as the scar itself make this makeup design easy to identify.
Couple those elements with long flowing black hair and you’ll be the spitting image of one of Walt Disney’s most despised villains ever.
15. Halloween Eye Makeup – Stormy Eyes
Your eyes are the windows to your soul, and if you sometimes feel like there’s a storm building up inside of you, what better way to showcase how you’re feeling than with this amazing storm eye makeup.
Pinkfoxbeauty did an excellent job at portraying a stormy sky using nothing more than silver, blue, and some white for the lightning, and we have to admit that the results are quite impressive.
Sure enough, blending the colors may be tricky at first, but the great thing about this particular idea is that you literally don’t have to wear anything else in particular, since the makeup itself is enough.
More Halloween Makeup Suggestions
16. Spooky Skeleton Halloween Makeup
This amazing skeleton costumeis done mostly with black and white makeup, by creating a large set of teeth and dark eye sockets to mimic a skull. Paint your hands white and you’ll have a makeup look that is sure to wow everyone on October 31st. Find out more here.
17. Halloween Makeup Ideas: Color Explosion
This colorful makeup look is quite a showstopper, with every color in the rainbow painted onto her neck and around her eyes. And black makeup drips highlight the color along her neck and cheeks, while black lipstick adds the perfect finishing touch. Found here.
18. Cool Halloween Makeup: Gangster Clown
This clever gangster clown has a unique look, thanks to the unusual combination of two different costume ideas. Black makeup is used to accent her eyes, nose, lips and chin, then red and white add dimension to her lips and cheekbones.See it right overhere.
19. Halloween Cat: Cheshire Spin
This cheshire cat has a super colorful look, thanks to the addition of pink and purple ombre coloring throughout her cheeks, neck and even in her hair. The large black and white mouth helps viewers to identify her costume. Found at The Makeup Addict.
20. Cute Halloween Makeup Ideas: Pastel Clown
This beautiful pastel clown look is done by applying pinks, purple, blues and greens over the top of a white base. The long black eyelashes add extra drama to the look, as does the turquoise lipstick. Check out the original photo over on Instagram.
21. Cool Halloween Makeup: Angular Art
This makeup designisnot so much a costume as it is a look.It is meant to mimic a painting, giving her face an angular faceted sort of vibe. Make your way over to Alexander Khokhlov’s website to check out more of his amazing makeup photographs.
22. Super Cool Halloween Makeup – Mythical Horned Creature
This stunning makeup look has a unique combination of creepy dripping white coloralong with beautiful floral details – and an ethereal gray blue hair color to top it off. And thick, black eye makeup tops it all off. Make your way over to Kimberley Margarita’s Instagram to check it out.
23. Half Face Halloween Makeup
This incredible makeup look gives the impression that half of her face is cracking off and becoming a different sort of being. The key is to draw a zig zag across your face and create a beautiful, traditional makeup look on one side and an icy green and purple look on the other half. See more here.
24. Colorful Makeup Look: Comic Book Girl
This amazing makeup look is meant to be reminiscent of artist Roy Lichtenstein’s pop art work back in the 1960’s. Bold black lines create the comic book effect, which is then accented with bright colors and little white polka dots. Head over to The 11 Best to check out this and lots of others.
25. Halloween Makeup Ideas: Woodland Deer
This gorgeous deer makeup has a mythical woodland sort of feel, with pretty neutral tones and faux leaves. Creating a subtle base that’s darker around the perimeter of the face is the key, then a pearlescent lighter hue on the cheeks and forehead lets her eyes stand out. Found here.
26. Cute Halloween Makeup: Robot
This stunning metallic robot look is actually easier to recreate than you might think. Just follow along with her instructional video and copy all of the steps that she shares, and you’ll be looking like a robot in no time! Head over to Shannon O’Brien’s YouTube channel to check out her excellent tutorial.
27. Awesome Halloween Makeup: Painted Angular Face
If you are a fan of art, then you may enjoy this colorful look that is reminiscent of an oil or acrylic painting. Artist Alexander Khokhlov used many different colors to create randomly shaped sections throughout her face and neck. Make your way over to his website to see more of his work.
28. Black Makeup Looks – Halloween Mask
If color isn’t your thing, then you might consider going monochromatic with this spooky look. All you’ll need is black makeup (or even eyeliner) and a steady hand. Be sure to vary the thickness of the different curly cues. Head over to The Xerxes to check out this and lots of other ideas.
29. Halloween Makeup Queen of Hearts
This Queen of Hearts makeup looks almost fake, until you see her eyes. The incredible part about this is that she did the entire look herself… she even painted her own shoulders! Head on over to Carly Paige’s Facebook page to check out this and lots of other beautiful Halloween makeup ideas.
30. Halloween Makeup Idea: The Dark Side Makeup
This unique makeup is meant to represent happiness and positivity overcoming the dark side. To recreate this look, apply many different makeup colors to most of your face and neck, and then paint the other side black and overlap with a zig zagged edge. Check it out over on her Instagram page.
31. Crazy Halloween Makeup: Stretched Lips
This amazing idea would be great for those of you have a bit of a sense of humor when it comes to Halloween. The stretched lip look is quite easy to pull off as long as you follow along with this awesome tutorial over on YouTube. Add a colorful wig to really put the look over the top!
32. Reptilian Halloween Makeup
If you’d like to go less glam and more animalistic, give this reptilian look a try. It has a unique textured green surface, blue hair and even creepy yellow eyes. Make your way over to the tutorial at Nerds and Nomsense to find out exactly how to recreate this unique reptilian look yourself.
33. Halloween Makeup: Glamorous Leopard
This look is done using primarily black makeup, along with just a bit of white and some small gold accents for the spots. The key is to create a super black lip finish, and lots of tiny dots to represent whiskers. And a classic cat eye too, of course! Head over to Beautylish to check it out.
34. Lady Beetlejuice Halloween Makeup
This awesome female version of Beetlejuice is a great idea for a unique Halloween costume. The striped neck is the key to ensuring that the costume is recognizable, whilethe faded green and purple makeup gives it a bold, memorable look. Head over to Instaglam Styles to check it out.
35. Miss Argentina Halloween Makeup
This eye-catching idea stems from the ‘Miss Argentina’ character in Beetlejuice. The most noticeable part of her look is of course her green skin, but the contrasting red lip gives it that serious “wow factor.” Make your way over to Shannon O’Brien’s YouTube Channel to check out the tutorial.
36. Ethereal Glitter Halloween Makeup
This colorful makeup look involves lots of pink and turquoise, and some sparkly green glitter for underneath the eyes. And a stripe of dark, thick eyeliner makes everything pop. For added effect, wispy blond hair falls in soft curls to frame her face. Found over at Lime Crime on Tumblr.
37. Creepy Doll Halloween Makeup
This eye-catching look evokes a mix of scary and sweet, with her large watery eyes mixed with rosy cheeks and pink lips. The key to making this costume look right is to create distinct black lines by her mouth and arching over her eyes. Head over to YouTube to check out Karman’s video tutorial.
38. Star Wars Halloween Makeup
This fun look is a nod to Star Wars, and it’s a simple one to recreate. Start with a base of aqua or mint green, then draw black outlines around metallic silver triangles. Finish the look with silver lips and fake eyelashes. Make your way over to Jordz Crazy Makeup page on Instagramto check it out.
39. Creepy Halloween Scarecrow Makeup
This scarecrow makeup look certainly is creepy, thanks in part to the black button eyes. Other important elements of this look are the long black mouth line and the bright orange nose. And don’t forget the rosy cheeks! Head over to YouTube to check out her super helpful video tutorial.
40. Dark Mermaid Halloween Makeup
This last look is oh-so-glamorous, with a hint of dark creepiness mixed in. The area above her eyes and on her neck have a dark base, which is then topped with a gold texture to look like scales. Black lashes, liner and lipstick (with some glitter) finish off this beautiful look. Found on Vlada Haggerty’s Instagram page.
Best Halloween Makeup Ideas: Closing Thoughts
This concludes our extensive list of best Halloween makeup ideas, and we hope that we managed to provide you with plenty of options to choose from.
We chose them based on how unique they sound, how easy they are to create, what materials you need to make it work, and more, so you’ll notice makeup tutorials that can be done in less than 20 minutes, while others will require a couple of hours.
Of course, our entries are merely suggestions, so you don’t have to follow them to the letter. In fact, we actually encourage you to try new designs, especially if you like standing out.
All in all, Halloween is about having fun and spending time with other people that enjoy this holiday, so don’t worry if you aren’t too good at applying makeup like a real professional.
If you want to read more articles on how you can get the most out of the spookiest night of the year, know that our website is full of them.
More so, if there happens to be a topic that we haven’t covered yet, go ahead and leave your submissions in the comments section below, and we’ll whip up a similar article in no time.