10 Ways to Wear Halloween Makeup

Most students are accustomed to the spirit of fancy dress. With wardrobes housing the odd animal onesie and school tie, tackling Halloween should prove rather easy. If you’re not attracted by the idea of being a zombie penguin however, this Halloween, why not try something different. The Tab brings you ten easy ways to achieve frightening outfit outcomes with the use of everyday makeup.

Vampire

Twilight’s still popular, right? Even if it isn’t, the vampire was cool way before Edward Cullen came around. If you’re not keen on bathing yourself in glitter, then opt for the traditional look of dripping blood—add a cape in for good measure too. This can be sourced from Luvyababes; if you don’t enjoy extensive queuing then pop to the market opposite, where you can get velvet and fashion your own.

How: Smokey eyes and red lipstick dribbled down your chin

Wear with: Black / red / purple. Bonus points for lace and / or velvet

Effort level: 1/5

Witch

Admittedly not the most original of costumes, the witch is a simple and effective choice. However, one must brace themselves for a night full of Harry Potter based innuendos. If you have a pointed hat lying around then us it, if not, it honestly doesn’t matter–some Crisis cretin is bound to steal it within an hour of your arrival.

How: Green face if you happen to have hiding in your wardrobe, other than that you only need eyeliner and some eyebrow pencil for added fierceness.

Wear with: Black and green, possibly some purple, bonus points for striped stockings and a broom (for warding away unwanted males)

Effort level: 2/5

Sugar Skull

Based on the Mexican celebration of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) the sugar skull has become a popular image and makes for a more extravagant Halloween costume. Although a tad more time consuming, it’s worth the effort. Now festival season is no more a rose garland should prove rather easy to source. If you’re struggling, just steal some real ones from your neighbours (joking, no seriously – leave your neighbours garden alone).

How: Excessive eyeliner around your eyes, nude lipstick/concealer on your lips, red lipstick for colour (or you can use coloured eyeshadow or simply keep it monochrome) and get creative with your eyeliner. The less space left blank the better.

Wear With: Red and/or black, preferably with roses on, skeleton tights

Effort level: 5/5

Black Swan

After a few double vodka’s you’re bound to think you’re an excellent dancer, so why not dress to fit the role? Besides that, who doesn’t fancy themselves as a Natalie Portman double? This costume is a great way to reuse that tutu you wore in your ‘emo days.’ If you were unfortunate enough to skip this life phase then any little black dress will do.

How: Dark lips and a lot of eye makeup

Wear With: Black corset and tutu. This outfit is great for the accident prone as it gives you the perfect excuse to wear flat ballet shoes

Effort Level: 4/5

Jigsaw

Jigsaw is instantly recognisable from the millions of Saw films released, not to mention the ride at Thorpe Park. This costume is ideal for girls who don’t want to go for the typical fairy-tale-esque look. For practical reasons it’s best not to take your bike to the club with you.

How: Draw cheek swirls with lipstick then a few lines with eyeliner

Wear With: White shirt and red bow tie (or even just a piece of red material)

Effort Level: 2/5

Clown

Anyone who says clowns aren’t freaky is clearly lying. This is a brilliant costume for those with brighter wardrobes. The more colour clashed your outfit is, the better. The same can be said with hair – the brighter it is, the better it is – so if for some reason your everyday hair isn’t green, then try some wash out dye (it probably won’t wash out straight away…).

How: Big red lips, rosy cheeks and lots of eye makeup, if you have bright coloured eye shadow then use it

Wear With; Bright and patterned

Effort Level: 3/5

 Corpse Bride

Used up all your blue face paint being a Smurf for 7 legged? Fear not, the option of corpse bride is very much still open. It’s also the perfect excuse to get your boyfriend to wear a suit (if you’re single, this is awkward…), just hope he doesn’t freak out thinking it’s a subtle hint.

How: Carefully apply non-waterproof eyeliner and mascara then hop in the shower so it’s ruined. Draw stitches with eyeliner and don’t worry if it isn’t very neat – that’s sort of the point, you can also add a Glasgow smile to make it look even more sinister

Wear With: White, preferably lace and if you can fashion a veil then do

Effort Level: 3/5

Broken Doll

Another naturally creepy costume idea – the broken doll. This can be done in many ways with varying levels of extravagance; even in its simplest form it makes for an unnerving effect. If you don’t have fake eyelashes you can always draw them on, and if you don’t have any blusher use lipstick and rub it in. The more unnatural it looks the better.

How: Nude lipstick or concealer on your lips with bright red heart on top, blusher, eyeshadow, fake eyelashes on both the top and bottom and use an eyeliner to draw on some cracks (hopefully better than my attempts)

Wear With: Pretty much any kind of skater dress, pastel/pink works well

Effort Level: 4/5 (mainly for the awkwardness of putting on two pairs of fake eyelashes)

 Red Riding Hood

This is ideal for those that know they need to dress up for Halloween, but don’t want to look all too different from their usual self. All you need is a few fake scratches and a red dress. Feeling creative? Then get some red material (from the market) and cut one end into a semi-circle, cut two holes just underneath the semi-circle then tie them together for a makeshift hood. Those with very hairy boyfriends (again, sorry singletons) are in luck, as an employment of your feminine charm should be enough to convince him to dress as a werewolf. If he’s particularly good-humoured he could even wear an old lady nightie and act as the wolf in grandmother’s clothing.

How: Use eyeliner and lip liner for best effect although lipstick can also work

Wear With: Red dress and a picnic basket handbag

Effort Level: 1/5

Weird and Wonderful

Who says Halloween costumes have to be clearly defined characters? It’s the perfect opportunity to mess around with the makeup you have lying around and let your creative (and bizarre) side out. Grab your eyeliner and see what you can come up with yourself – that way you’re less likely to experience the awkwardness of standing next to someone dressed exactly like you. If all of these ideas fail, you can always be a cat.