35 Halloween Face Paint Ideas to Try This Year
Updated: Sep. 15, 2021Get ready to take your costume to a whole new level with these spooky, simple, and unique Halloween face paint ideas.
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Make your costume truly memorable with these Halloween face paint ideas
Ready for Halloween? Everybody’s favorite dress-up holiday isn’t just for children—adults can (and should!) get in on the spooky fun, too. Sure, you could buy one of the best Halloween costumes, but half the fun of Halloween is cobbling something together yourself, and that includes bringing one of many Halloween makeup ideas to life.
Tap into your inner kid and flex your creative muscles with these Halloween face painting ideas. You can even create some of these looks with what’s already in your makeup bag at home—or you can get a basic DIY Halloween face painting kit at the drugstore and take your creation to the next level.
Zombie face paint
Missing the Walking Dead? Turn yourself into the living undead with this incredible (and incredibly spooky!) look, which is possible to achieve with just a little pale foundation, black eyeshadow, red blush, and matte ruby red lipstick. Speaking of spooky, don’t miss this backstory on the hidden origins of Halloween’s spookiest creatures.
Cat face paint
The feline look is purr-fect for Halloween. (We couldn’t resist!) Creating a cat-makeup look easy and fun to recreate yourself at home: simply shadow the tip of the nose with black eyeshadow, and use eyeliner or black paint to create whiskers. Become a matching duo with your feline with these cat Halloween costumes.
Cheetah face paint
Get a cheetah look thanks to simple—but visually stunning—makeup including gold lips, gold highlight dotted onto the forehead, and black eyeliner to create whiskers on cheeks. Finish with shimmery metallic black eyeshadow. Check out these last-minute Halloween costumes that might spark your next look.
Clown face paint
Clowns can veer from cute to creepy, so if you’re looking for a look that’s more pretty than Pennywise, less is more. The only must is a red or pink dot of makeup on the nose, red or pink lipstick, and white or silvery clown tears like this whimsical clown look.
Fairy face paint
An ethereal fairy look is possible with just a few makeup items, including rosy cream blush, rosy lipstick, and a bright pop of color all around the eyes. Add sparkle appliques for an extra fairy gleam, like this beautiful look. Keep the whimsical momentum going with one of these Disney Halloween costumes.
Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas face paint
A popular look at Halloween—for obvious reasons!—is Sally from the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas, one of the best Halloween movies for kids. While some of the Sally’s you’ll find on Instagram are incredibly elaborate, it’s also possible to do a great Sally with nothing more than a blue-black eyeliner pencil and red lipstick, such as in this fun Instagram look.
Mermaid face paint
Transform into this mythical creature of the sea with this face paint idea. Add a headband and face jewels to make it come to life!
Spiderweb face paint
Left your Halloween costume until the last minute? For a fast holiday-appropriate look, create a spiderweb effect on your face with black face paint: even black eyeliner will do in a pinch, layered on the side of your face over your normal makeup. And don’t miss these Halloween crafts that anyone in the family can make.
Sugar skull face paint
While a sugar skull face paint look might seem impossible for all but the most experienced makeup artist, it can actually be surprisingly easy to achieve: it simply takes a bit of time! (It’s also important to remember to be culturally sensitive and respectful for this traditional Day of the Dead look.)
Start with white face paint all over the face, and then use a dark shade of gel shadow or face paint to create circles around the eyes. Use black face paint to shade in the nose, and then to draw lines out from the corner of your mouth and vertically along the lips. Finally, create petals by drawing small circles around the eye sockets with colorful face paint, and add extra adornment around the face. Or, try the simple look shown here, which (incredibly!) uses only drugstore makeup. Once you’re done with this look, play one of the many Halloween party games!
Green goddess face paint
Create a simple but powerful green goddess look thanks to emerald-hued face paint. Use a brush to apply it all over the face, and then paint on glossy black lipstick, like in this stunning recreation.
Multiple eyes face paint
Dying to indulge your creative drawing skills? Try this Multiple Eyes face paint makeup, sure to draw a double (or triple!) take thanks to its colorful and literally eye-popping look. Talk about an illusion! Keep your eyes and brain in motion by solving these Halloween riddles. Can you figure them out?
Wonder Woman face paint
For an easy but gorgeous Woman Woman face paint look worthy of the Amazonian goddess herself, use a black eyeliner to create cartoonish contours under cheekbones, at the jawline, down the nose, around the lips, and around the eyes. Draw a “helmet” on the forehead and fill in with glittery gold face paint and top off with a small star and juice red lips.
Two-faced face paint
Looking to rock an eye-catching costume? This pop art skull is guaranteed to grab attention, thanks to its bold detail and bright colors. Even better, the outfit itself can be basic because the makeup is the star of the show. See if you can add a two-faced face paint look to one of these vintage Halloween costumes.
Peach skull face paint
Turn a basic Halloween skull into a frightfully good costume with this makeup look. Peach face paint mixed with glittery definition and painted on teeth combine for face paint sure to turn heads. Wear some of your edgier clothes to create an easy DIY Halloween costume.
Lovesick face paint
Spending Halloween with that special somebody? Write your love all over your face with this playfully romantic look, featuring delicate hearts and hot pink eyeshadow for extra pizazz. These are more of the best Halloween costumes for couples.
Harlequin face makeup
Take the best parts of a clown, minus the creepiness of the Joker, and you’ve got an appealing, fun, and colorful harlequin makeup look. Even better: this look is completely achievable with regular makeup (no professional face paint needed).
Joker face paint
Speaking of Joker, you can draw inspiration from Batman’s arch-nemesis for this Halloween face paint idea.
Spider eyes face paint makeup
Get creepy and creative with this idea. Inspired by season six of American Horror Story, this look requires a black eyeliner pen, red liquid lipstick, and some courage—you are painting spiders on your eyes, after all.
Kids’ dog face paint
This is a simple Halloween face paint idea for a little one! Use black and red face painting sticks to turn them into an adorable pup for the night. Here are some DIY Halloween costumes for kids for more costume inspiration.
Cracked face paint
This could really work if you’re going for a scary Little Red Riding Hood costume. Plus, it’s pretty easy to do—all you need is a black face paint stick to draw the cracks.
Eerie clown face paint
Looking for a clown look that’ll turn eyes? Try this one out. Don’t forget to get some red lipstick and dark eyeshadow to help complete the look.
Butterfly face paint
You’ll float like a beautiful butterfly this Halloween with this gorgeous look! NikkieTutorials picks a vibrant eyeshadow pallet to make the look pop, and it looks so fun to create!
Vampire face paint
This is a Halloween face paint look that works for kids and adults! Get some white face paint, a colorful paint stick for the eyes, and some fake vampire fangs to complete the transformation (bonus points if you make fake blood and put it on the fangs!).
Skeleton face paint
Get some white face paint, a black face paint stick, and black lipstick to create this simple skeleton look.
Scary nun face paint
Pair this Halloween face paint with a nun costume and you’ll definitely turn heads! There’s no doubt you’ll have a scary Halloween costume.
Scar face paint
Transform yourself into the villain from The Lion King this Halloween, like ohh_maly on Instagram did!
Pumpkin face paint
This look is simple but effective for kids and adults. All you need is orange face paint, a black paint stick, and some creativity.
Demon face paint
This Halloween face paint look is sure to turn heads. Grab red face paint and some demon horns to complete the look.
Poison Ivy face paint
Zuri Fx does an incredible job transforming into one of Batman’s foes, Poison Ivy. Don’t forget to grab a red wig and a green body paint stick if you’re itching to replicate the look.
Cherry bomb face paint
Raychel Roy really knocks it out of the park with this look—and you can, too!
Next, check out these best Halloween Instagram captions to accompany your fabulous pictures.
