Halloween make-up: 5 terrifying tutorials

One thing's for certain: Halloween is the most eagerly awaited festival of the year for all fans of make-up and dressing up. While it's true that a good costume will make any look more impressive, make-up will help anyone who wants to transform and dress up in dark or spooky clothes but doesn't have much time or doesn't want the hassle of an elaborate outfit. When it comes to Halloween make-up, there are no limits to imagination and ideas: every weird and wonderful look is welcome! Anyone who loves make-up loves Halloween, because it's a magical night when you can let loose with dramatic, eye-catching make-up and colour combos. Detailed and tonally rich corpse paint to classic killer doll, vampire and witch looks... All you need to do is choose! With this handy guide, anyone can achieve the perfect intense make-up look to go with their Halloween costume on 31 October. Thanks to our tips and tricks, Halloween make-up has never been so simple! Halloween make-up: easy ideas

Let's start with some simple things! If you're looking for a simple idea or make-up look for Halloween, you're in the right place. Luckily, for those new to make-up, lipstick smudges or one eye that's slightly more pronounced than the other are perfectly fine for Halloween!

Anything goes on Halloween and if you want to keep your make-up simple, you can create a look in just a few steps by drawing a spider on your eyelids with legs going up past your eyebrows (using black eyeliner).

To get the most out of the make-up, apply an eye primer first, then apply black eyeshadow to the whole eyelid, blending it gently outwards. You can use a powder or stick-based eyeshadow, whichever you prefer.

Once you've completed the body of the spider, move on to the legs: using the eyeliner, draw four of the eight legs upwards towards the forehead and the other four downwards from the lower lash line. Draw legs that differ in length and have a bend in them (like an imperfect, angular "C"): make the two legs closest to the inner corner of the eye the shortest and most bent and, as you draw the others going outwards, make them longer and less bent.

Want to know the secret to making your spider look even more realistic? Leg shadows! Using a grey pencil, draw some shadow lines (slightly straighter) beside the legs.

And that's it! Time to serve up some (stylish) scares!

Want a simple yet eye-catching lip look for Halloween? A two-tone lip with some seriously scary Halloween-ready touches... how about a dark, fiery sky swarming with terrifying bats?

Let's get into it!

Start by applying some primer to your lips to prepare them for make-up. Then choose a shade of red you really like (perhaps one that matches your outfit) for your upper lip. Try to avoid shades that are too dark, however: by doing this, you'll achieve a cleaner contrast with the black lipstick you're going to use for the second part of the look. Now apply a matte-finish black lipstick to your lower lip.
Now give your look that gloomy finishing touch: using black eyeliner, draw one or more small bats and dots of various sizes to mimic a colony. And that's it: a sky guaranteed to send shivers down spines.

And now let's move on to some more complex, structured looks. Here are 5 ideas for Halloween you'll absolutely love!

1. Witch look

A witch look is relatively easy to create and perhaps the most well known too. First of all, you'll need to intensify your eyes with a fiery, cauldron-like smoky eye or with make-up in dark colours like purple or blue. You can achieve this make-up look with an eye pencil and eyeshadow, without having to follow the golden rules of perfect shading: the more worn and imperfect the make-up appears, the better. To bolster your eyes even more, use volume-enhancing mascara or add dramatic false eyelashes and accentuate your eyebrow arch by using a darker coloured eyebrow pencil.

For your lips, red, brick red or bright purple lipstick would be perfect. In any case, make sure your lip contour is sharp, which you can achieve by using a very dark coloured lip pencil that will give your lip line a really creepy edge.

OUTFIT BONUS: Dress in black and don a pointy hat. Now the disguise is complete!

2. Killer doll look

Quite often, books and horror films (both recent and older ones) are full of inspiration for scary make-up looks and costumes. For example, who isn't familiar with the killer doll (a look that's pretty easy to achieve with make-up)? Let's delve into the details and get started on this spooky look!

First, we need to create a porcelain-effect base for the face. We recommend using a very light coloured, long-lasting liquid foundation.

Then apply a very dark smoky eye, contrast this with a very light coloured eye pencil and enhance everything with a flick of eyeliner on the outer part of the eye. Finally, apply volume-enhancing mascara to make your eyes even more intense. Add some false eyelashes too: they're perfect for this look! And don't forget the freckles, an absolute must for any killer doll! If you like, you can also add some scars using eyeliner or a pencil.

Don't limit yourself when it comes to your lips: red, purple, black... Just have fun tailoring your killer doll make-up to you.

For the perfect finish, draw two straight black lines down to the chin using a lip pencil from the corners or your lips. This will create a fake-mouth effect like what you see on dolls in horror movies!

OUTFIT BONUS: For your outfit, choose clothes in soft colours reminiscent of those delicate, perfectly hemmed vintage dresses worn by dolls. Finally, gather your hair into two pigtails (you can even use ribbons if you like).

3. Vampire look

The vampire make-up look is a very popular one. It takes very little to achieve a flawless vampire look, complete with that sinister smile and cloak.

Here's a step-by-step guide to create this look:

Create a light coloured base with foundation.
Carefully contour to highlight your cheekbones. To do this, you can use our bronzer and highlighter palette.
Smoky eyes are essential for this vampire make-up look. To create them, use an eye pencil, dark eyeshadow (perhaps two shades like black and red, or even blood red to evoke every vampire's favourite drink), a flick of long-lasting eyeliner and lots of volume-enhancing mascara.
Finally, apply a generous amount of blood red liquid lipstick (very important!), smearing it slightly around the edges of your lips.
The cherry on top of the cake? Fierce nails! File your nails to a point so they look almost like claws and apply bold red nail polish first followed by a clear top coat to prolong the hold.

OUTFIT BONUS: Once again for this look, dark clothes are perfectly suited and you could even incorporate some contrasting red touches.

4. Skeleton look

The key to creating the perfect skeleton make-up look is recreating the skull's eye sockets. To do this, draw two large ovals—incorporating your eyebrows—around your eyes.

Once you have your two ovals, colour them in with dark eyeshadow. You can elevate your look and add details to the basic skull effect using a white eye pencil.

For a more glamorous look, we recommend "dividing" your face make-up in half for a playful contrast between the skull effect on one side and a natural look that enhances your features on the other!

Try a skeleton-effect make-up look on your mouth too, recreating teeth by applying black lip pencil over a very light coloured lip base. Or opt for super-nude corpse-effect lips.

For a complete look, Halloween nail art provides the perfect finishing touch: apply a dark base with ease using black nail polish, then add white lines that look like lightning, bones and cobwebs. To achieve this effect, use contrasting white nail polish.

OUTFIT BONUS: To complete your skeletal transformation, you'll need a skin-and-bones costume! Using white marker, draw femurs, ribs and forearm bones on a slim-fitting, long-sleeved bodysuit and bones on matching leggings.

5. Corpse bride look

Do you find folk tales fascinating? If so, why not try the "Corpse Bride" make-up look? To achieve this look, prepare a base for your face using foundation that is much lighter in colour than the one you usually use for your complexion. You'll look gorgeous... dead gorgeous!

The focal point of this make-up look is the eyes, which need that striking melancholic effect, so that will be the most challenging (but also most satisfying) part: colour your eyelids with grey and blue eyeshadows. Then, continue underneath your eyes, using a pencil to contour them.

You can opt for a more unconventional version using a mixture of eyeshadows ranging from pearl grey to dark purple.

Lastly, it's time to do your lips:

Black if you're after a more intense make-up look
Scarlet red to bring out your smile with a shade you might feel more comfortable with
Or nude lipstick, after which you can contour your lips with black pencil if you wish. Draw on some scars or imperfections to make the overall look even creepier.

OUTFIT BONUS: Here, a wedding dress can make a difference but you don't need a meticulously crafted garment for this look! For example, you can just get a white T-shirt, tear it up, pair it with a tulle skirt and you'll be good to go.

The perfect Halloween make-up look awaits! Make the scariest night of the year a chance for you to have fun and experiment with make-up.

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