31 Simple Halloween Makeup Ideas, From Cute to Creepy

A recognizable Halloween look often needs one clear motif rather than a full face of paint. Start with a design that works with clothes you already own, and practice its trickiest line before the day. These ideas are starting points for your own interpretation, not promises that every look takes the same amount of time.

Before you begin

Check that each product is intended for its exact application area. Face paint is not automatically safe around eyes or on lips, and craft glitter or craft glue does not belong in a makeup look. Follow the product’s advance skin-test instructions, if provided, and remove makeup as directed before bed. Decorative contact lenses need an eye-care prescription and proper fitting, even if they do not correct vision.

31 looks to adapt

1. Deer: Blend warm brown along the forehead and cheek edges, then dot white face color on the upper cheeks and add a small dark nose.
2. Mermaid: Sweep blue and green shadow outward; create a few scales on the temples with a small brush instead of covering the whole face.
3. Mad Hatter: Pair mismatched vivid eyeshadow with exaggerated brows and rosy cheeks; a hat provides the character cue.
4. Glam cat: Draw a wing, a small nose and a few whiskers. Keep the lines on the cheeks away from the eyes.
5. Jester: Place a small diamond above and below one eye, leaving a clear margin around the lash line.
6. Pumpkin: Use orange face color on the cheeks or forehead and add a few curved black pumpkin segments.
7. Vampire: Choose a deep lip, softly shaded eyes and painted fang marks at the mouth rather than uncomfortable costume teeth.
8. Bride of Chucky: Combine smoky eyes and a dark lip with one fine stitched design on the cheek.
9. Skeleton: Sketch simplified teeth around the mouth and dark hollows on the cheeks; skip detailed anatomy if you are short on time.
10. Little Red Riding Hood: Rosy cheeks and a red lip work with a red hood. Add a small painted scratch only if desired.
11. Morticia-inspired: Use cool contour, long eyeliner and a sharply defined dark lip with a black outfit.
12. Half-skull: Keep one side of your face in ordinary makeup and draw a simplified skull on the other for a high-contrast result.
13. Glam mummy: Choose bronze eyes and a muted lip; use costume fabric away from the face rather than wrapping across vision or breathing.
14. Devil: Pair red shadow with an elongated wing and a red lip. Horn accessories make the theme recognizable.
15. Black Swan-inspired: Use black eye-safe shadow to create a feather-like outer-eye shape, then soften the edges with a brush.
16. Woodland witch: Blend mossy green and brown around the outer eyes and draw a tiny branch motif on the temple.
17. Wednesday-inspired: Keep brows defined, use a muted plum lip and add braids; a lighter foundation is not necessary.
18. Spider: Paint a small spider on one cheek with a round body and eight thin legs.
19. Ghost: Use pale face paint in a small ghost shape on the cheek, with two dark eyes, instead of covering your face.
20. Betty Boop-inspired: Choose curved brows, a rounded red lip and mascara for a cartoon-inspired expression.
21. Comic-book character: Outline lips and brows in black and dot the cheeks evenly for a printed-comic effect.
22. Bunny: Add a pink nose, a few whiskers and rosy cheeks; ears do most of the costume work.
23. Countess-inspired: Try a deep wine lip and polished brows with a simple neutral eye.
24. Beetlejuice-inspired: Combine green and purple shadow with striped clothing; concentrate color on the outer lids.
25. Creepy doll: Draw small freckles and a short line down from each corner of the mouth; use blush to emphasize round cheeks.
26. Classic clown: Paint a round nose and curved mouth details in two or three colors rather than attempting a complicated full face.
27. Bat: Draw a tiny bat silhouette on the cheek or extend an eyeliner wing into a bat-wing shape.
28. Eleven-inspired: Keep most makeup minimal and add a short red face-paint line below one nostril, never inside it.
29. Chucky-inspired: Use freckles and a few stitched cheek lines with a striped shirt; a wig is optional.
30. Spiderweb witch: Draw three or four radiating lines at the temple, then connect them with small curved strokes.
31. Starry celestial look: Place a few painted stars across the cheekbones and use silver or gold eye-safe shimmer on the lids.

Make a simple kit work harder

A fine brush creates whiskers, webs, dots and stitches. A soft brush blends shadow and cheek color, while cotton swabs help clean the edges. Put a little product onto a clean palette instead of repeatedly dipping dirty tools into a shared container. For children, keep designs small and avoid products they are likely to rub into their eyes.

If a look becomes uncomfortable or causes irritation, take it off rather than trying to make it last through the party. A costume accessory and a simple face design can communicate the theme just as well as an elaborate application.

Sources and further reading

• FDA: Novelty Makeup
• FDA: Decorative contact lenses

Related reading: choosing mascara and wearing shimmer safely.