50 Easy Halloween Makeup Ideas for 2024

If there’s one time of year where procrastination is *extra* acceptable, it’s Halloween. Because while you can by all means take a trip to Party City or Spirit Halloween weeks in advance for a full-body Halloween costume, a well-stocked makeup bag always has your back (well, face) at the umpteenth hour. A good, simple Halloween eye makeup tutorial, a trusty black eyeliner, and a steady hand are really, truly all you need to whip up a spooky, sweet, or never-before-seen costume. 

Whether you’re ready to whip out the face paint and go full Joker or are trying to keep it chill with a little faux vampire blood, we’ve rounded up a wide range of Halloween eye makeup tutorials to match every need—and skill level. Ahead, you’ll find the coolest, creepiest, and trendiest Halloween makeup ideas for your 2024 celebrations. (For more inspo, check out our guide to the best Halloween makeup on Instagram.)

The Best Makeup and Tools for Halloween

If your makeup bag isn't already filled to the brim, you may be missing, you may need to stock up on a thing or two to complete your Halloween look. Think: colored eyeliners, face paint, makeup brushes, false lashes, and, of course, a great makeup remover. Before you dive right into your makeup look, we've rounded up some must-have products to keep in your Halloween arsenal.

NYX Professional Epic Wear Liner Stick Long Lasting Eyeliner Pencil

Real Techniques Everyday Eye Essentials Makeup Brush Set

NYX Professional Vegan Loose Face and Body Glitter

J.Cat Beauty Master Class/Fx Color Palette Neon

HALLY Shade Stix Temporary Wash Out Hair Color

Bioderma Sensibio Micellar Water

The Best Easy Halloween Makeup Ideas

Butterfly

Black liner, a bit of orange shadow, and you're off to the races with this fluttery Monarch look. Also love how it's only on a single side of the face. If you get it right once...why tempt fate?

Clown

Try a take at the creepy clown. Go gory with drizzles of blood and slashed cuts topping off a relatively straight-forward beat. (Google #ClownCore for even more inspo.)

Alien

Want to go full alien without going...full alien? Here's this fix: A neon wash of color along the eyes, sculpted cheeks and Avatar-esque dots above the eyes.

Cyber Punk

Calling all hackers—or those drawn to precise and symmetrical makeup. Adding a few structural lines to this relatively straightforward smokey eye makes a big impact with paired with jet black lips.

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Cruella De Vil

If she doesn't scare you...no evil thing will. A surprisingly simple—possibly no extra materials needed—look with a big impact. Satin red lips, envious green eyes, and blotted out brows painted up with suspicious swirls.

Angel

Before you put on your makeshift halo (or the one you grabbed from Party City at the last minute), make your face look heavenly with this angel-inspired makeup look. Eyeliner looks great on every eye shape and takes just minutes to accomplish. Also, who can pass up an excuse to add sparkly gems on your face? Not us!

Bratz Doll

There are two types of people in this world: Those who played with Barbies and those that toyed with Bratz dolls. If you're the latter, pay some respect to the most fashionable group of dolls ever with this makeup look. The lip colors they wear are iconic, so we recommend grabbing a bright hue like Lancôme's Juicy Tubes Original Lip Gloss in Game Berry.

Joker

If you're going as a clown for Halloween, and want to get a little creepy, but not too creepy, this is the look for you. Here, YouTuber Jasmine Brown adds glimmering glimmering face jewels above her eyelids, giving a new spin on the infamous Batman universe evil mastermind.

Queen of Hearts

We love you, Alice in Wonderland, but we are all about the Queens in the Lewis Carroll classic for Halloween this year. The take on the Red Queen is a top-notch makeup-led costume that doesn't take serious skills. Get ready for the compliments to roll on in and to steal a couple of hearts or two!

Ghost

One of our favorites to use for creations like this is the Kevyn Aucion Emphasize Eyeshadow Design Palette in Magnify ($46). Bonus points if you grab some plastic spiders and clip them in your hair.

Fairy

Life would be a lot better if you could just go *poof*, and your Halloween makeup would be done. But just because you don't have your fair share of pixie dust doesn't mean you can't look like you possess magical powers. YouTuber Nyma Tang's quick fairy look is super simple and proves the color green looks amazing on everyone.

Scarecrow

This scarecrow from creator suezochan is not your stereotypical warm-toned guy you usually see in your local pumpkin patch. The usage of light oranges and blues will give you an edge this Halloween without having to pull out all the stops since she recommends going more messy than proper when applying the makeup. You can use whatever eyeshadows you have at home. 

Comic Book Character

Go outside the box this Halloween and turn heads with this pop art makeup look from creator MaggieA. No fake blood is required for this. All you'll need is a trusty eyeliner and a serious amount of face paint. Like Maggie says, just remember that when it comes to putting the dots on, you'll want to clean it up with a q-tip.

Unicorn

The limit does not exist for how much glitter you should use this Halloween. If you need a little push, just look at how fantastic YouTuber Alex Faction's eyebrows look in this totally easy Unicorn tutorial. He uses a pale purple shade from Star Crushed Minerals, but we recommend using a Bodyography Glitter Pigment ($24) for a chromatic effect. 

Space Cowboy

Kacey Musgraves hive, please rise, it's our time to shine. This costume is truly the best of both worlds. On one hand, you have a Western glam cowboy, and on the other, you have an out-of-this-world alien. Therefore, there's no better time to go all out. Use those forgotten glittery eyeshadow shades to bedazzle your eyes, then swipe on an intergalactic shiny lipgloss like Stila's Beauty Boss Lip Gloss in Payday ($15) and get going!

Euphoria-Inspired Makeup

The addictive HBO show Euphoria is known for its over-the-top makeup looks by head makeup artist Doniella Davy. Stand out from the crowd and step away from the face jewels with this glitter tears look from the show's Halloween episode. Feel free to go Jules-style with the glitter.

Devil

Whether you're partnering with an angel for Hallow's Eve or going solo, don't just throw on horns and call it done! Go outside of the basic box or, in this case, above your eyebrow, and add a little something extra. Draw on your pointed horns using ColourPop's BFF Liquid Liner in Bright Red ($8). Alternatively, if you have a red lipstick lying around YouTuber An Knook recommends using that and applying it with an eyeliner brush for precision.

Pumpkin

Is it even Hollyween if you didn't try a Promise Phan YouTube tutorial? For seven years, she's been blowing everyone away with her next-level, trippy recreations. Though, she claims this melting pumpkin is beginner-friendly because it doesn't require a lot of products or time. 

Masquerade Mask

Your Halloween plans may not involve a fancy masquerade ball, but that doesn't mean you can't channel your inner royalty. This 15th century mask is made for the ultra-glamorous queens who want to win best Instagram photo of spooky season.

Shattered Babydoll

How freaky is this scary-sweet beauty look? What stands out the most is this bright white liner. To get your liner to look extra snowy, combine MAC's bestselling Pure White Chromaline with Makeup Geek's White Lies Eyeshadow for a ice-white finish.

Spider

Put all those liquid liners you have sitting around to good use to create this creepy-crawly eye. This badass eye is seriously so easy to do yourself—you just need patience. You'll need to free-hand stroke lines across your lid, then add fanned-out lashes for some drama.

Skeleton

This Halloween, you can bring the smoke back with this sultry skull look. It's the ideal last-minute lewk that requires a few straight lines for a stitched mouth effect. Use a medium-size, fluffy eyeshadow brush to make blending a breeze.

Princess Shuri

Sure, you may scare the shit out of everyone as a purger, but where's the fun in Halloween without a little fright? This look is seriously so easy, and will require 10 minutes tops with a steady hand for tracing shapes and outlines.

Cat Woman

Reason why a painted eye mask is 100 percent better than a store-bought plastic mask: You won't want to rip it off your head 30 minutes into the night—which means you'll never be left looking like a basic person with nothing but cat ears.

Bear

So cute and cuddly, this costume is adorable. The best part? You can pair the makeup with pajamas (a onesie is ideal), so you'll be comfy all night long. 

Mermaid

Listen, mermaids will never not be cool (just ask Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah), so embrace your inner merperson with some light glitter, rhinestones, and iridescent scales.

Vampire

Make this Vampire Diaries-esque look even scarier for Halloween by adding some red novelty contacts and a thick, smudgy, smoky eye.

Deer

I mean, sometimes you just want to look ridiculously cute on Halloween—I get it. Behold: This fawn makeup, which uses fake lashes and strategically placed eyeliner to make your eyes look in-the-headlights huge.

Candy Corn

I mean, you can't have Halloween without candy corn, right? This look uses a gradient of white, yellow, orange, and red to create a bright—yet not at all gaudy—statement eye.

Classic Cat

Ok, a cat might be basic—but it's damn reliable. While three whiskers is a classic recipe, Lucy Oriole takes things up a few notches. She's masters the cat eye makeup, throws on a jet black lip, and even adds a few freckles into the mix. Grab those ears you've had since middle school and you're good to go. 

Cheetah

I've been a cheetah for the last five Halloweens, and for good reason. Ears are optional, the makeup is easy as can be, and you're bound to convince people you're a professional makeup artist. While the video above will lay it all out crystal clear, here are the spark notes. Grab a no-smudge eyeliner and draw some open squiggles around your temple. Then, fill in the spots with a champagne eyeshadow (I'm partial to the Iconic London Glaze Crayon), pop on a black lip, and you're good to go. 

Barbie

Barbiecore is the moment, so why not bring the undeniably adorable look into Halloween? Grab your favorite pink dress, toss on a blonde wig, and follow this step-by-step pink eye makeup tutorial. For a couple Halloween costume, just have your other half be a very spray tanned Ken a la Ryan Gosling. 

Zipper Face

This one might look complicated, but it's surprisingly easy to recreate. You will need to Amazon prime a zipper (or cut a strip from an old pair of pants), but other than that it's beginner level. We're loving the glitzy, night sky demonstrated above, but you can go wild with the fake blood if that's more your jam. 

Wednesday Addams

With Wednesday making its way to Netflix, you can bet your bottom dollar that there's going to be a plethora of Wednesday Addams' this Halloween. Elevate your braids and black dress with some on-brand makeup. This tutorial is super simple—you don't need be a pro. Just go a little heavy on the eyeliner and you're good to go. 

Witch

Dust the cobwebs off of your witch hat from Halloween's past and press play on the above video. Use the video as a guiding light, but feel free to tone down or play up whatever your heart desires. Hey, you can even grab a blonde wig and pretend to be Sarah Jessica Parker in Hocus Pocus. 

Harley Quinn

For a beginner-friendly, mistake-embracing makeup look this Halloween, Harley Quinn has your back. Because the Marvel character is inherently, well, messy, you can make mistakes with your shadow, eyeliner, and lipstick, and no one will be the wiser. 

Scar

I've watched this video 15 times over and remain mesmerized. Every single step is shockingly easy, but the end result looks like a makeup masterpiece. The eyes! The scar! The nose! I definitely would recommend doing a test run before the 31st rolls around, but this Lion King-inspired costume is at the top of my list of Halloween makeup to recreate. 

Queen of Hearts

While this one requires a bit of arts and crafts prowess in addition to some makeup chops, the end result is really good. I'm obsessed with every little detail in the video above, but it is customizable. You can cut the fake blood, ditch the décolletage makeup—you do you. Just pretty, pretty please keep the deck of cards headband for me.  

Dr. Frank-n-Furter

As a quintessential Halloween movie, The Rocky Horror Picture Show was practically made to recreate during the holiday. While the whole cast of zany characters lends itself to great costume ideas, Dr. Frank-n-Furter is easily the most iconic and recognizable. Thankfully, the look is essentially an exaggerated smokey eye and red lip.

Bride of Frankenstein

A classic Halloween monster made easy. The Bride of Frankenstein is the look to go for if you're undecided on a scary or glam Halloween costume. Paint your face white, give yourself a smokey eye, and draw on a narly scar to nail the look. Bonus points if you add a white streak in your hair.

Bellatrix Lestrange

Where are my Harry Potter fans at? Bellatrix Lestrange is easily one of the creepiest characters of the series, yet surprisingly easy to recreate. Pale foundation, dark eye makeup, and gaunt cheeks carry the look here. To really seal the deal, paint a Death Mark on your forearm and carry a wand with you the entire night.

Sally from 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'

Sally's all-over blue look may seem intimidating, but I promise it's a lot simpler to recreate than it looks. Once you've got the blue face paint down, then it's all about the scars, an icy smoky eye, and red lip. If you have natural red hair (or a red wig handy), you're good to go.

Black Swan

The Black Swan is the perfect costume if you're a fashion girl but want to go with something creepier for the holiday. White face paint, red lipstick, and stripey eye makeup really sell the look.

Violet Beauregarde

No need for an inflatable suit here. You just need a blue nose, easily achievable with blue eye shadow, to dress as the Willy Wonka character. Chewing gum obnoxiously will help you get into character, too.

Chucky

You wouldn't think a two-foot doll could be terrifying, but Chucky certainly is. Give yourself a black eye and several scars all over your face and prepare to scare every child you come across.

The Mask

Interestingly, painting on Jim Carrey's iconic mask is just as easy (and more fun!) as buying one. Give yourself a healthy wash of green color all over, contour with a deeper shade, then go full glam with yellow eyeshadow and big falsies.

Zombie

A blue and purple eyeshadow palette, some fake blood, and a little face paint are all you need to create this scary look. The best part is you don't have to be a makeup pro to become a zombie. The messier the makeup, the more terrifying a creature you become.

Betelgeuse from 'Beetlejuice'

Yet another classic Halloween character is surprisingly easy to recreate with the right tools. Get the ghoulish look with white face paint and purple eyeshadow. Throw on a green wig for added measure.

Betty Boop

A cutesy, ultra-feminine costume to go with is the iconic cartoon character, Betty Boop. Content creator Ellarie takes you through step-by-step on how to achieve the look, including Betty's signature raised eyebrows and red pout.

Morticia Addams

Maybe you don't like the scary kind of Halloween makeup and that's OK! This creepy matriarch gives you the chance to go glam for the holiday. Give yourself a smokey eye and dark red lip and throw on a long black dress and wig and you're instantly transformed into Morticia Addams.

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