5 Halloween Makeup Tips

Get spooky - and sparkly - with these 5 fun Halloween makeup tips, which are sure to take your costume to the next level this year!

We’ve finally made it! No, not to midterms or Thanksgiving break, but to the greatest month of all time. That’s right, October. The month of pumpkin spice lattes, fall fashion and of course, Halloween. As we have all noticed, this holiday brings a different sense of excitement as you get older. I think most people will agree with me when I say we’ve made it to a point in our lives where Halloween brings a lot of joy, maybe a different type of joy than when we were kids, but joy none the less.

Now, in college there are very few rules to the world of Halloween, but one thing’s for sure; not going all out for Halloween is a waste. And what better way to bring your Halloween costume to the next level than with your makeup? If you’re not sure where to start, here are a few Halloween makeup tips that will help you create the look you want!

1. Play with texture

One of my favorite Halloween makeup tips involves the use of fishnet stockings. While you can add fishnets to any outfit to bring a touch of sexiness, this trick does not involve using fishnets as an article of clothing. I have seen numerous makeup tutorials using fishnets to create scales, the result is enchanting. You simply place the fishnets over the part of your body you wish to achieve the scaly effect on and press powder over it. This powder can be any light blue eye shadow you own, or you can create a rainbow effect using multiple colors. Either way it’s sure to make you stand out.

2. Go for the gore

Of course, there are some of us that don’t take the sexy road and go for the gruesome route instead. It’s okay ladies, even with gashes across our face, we can still make it work. I suggest using cotton balls when creating your bloody lacerations, to give it more texture. After applying a fair amount of wax to your face, break up a cotton ball and insert small pieces into the middle of the wax. Once you apply fake blood on top, your “gashes” will really pop!

3. Use what you’ve got

Fake blood and other Halloween makeup products tend to be costly, and let’s face it, us college girls would much rather spend the little money we do have on off-campus food. One quick and cheap way to create fake blood is with materials found at the bottom of your makeup bag. You’ll need a red lipstick, creamy black eyeliner and some clear lip gloss. Mix all these ingredients together putting more lipstick for a brighter, intense looking blood, or more liner for a darker, horrid blood.

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4. Be careful of smudging

One thing I have noticed over the past few years is the use of freckles in girl’s costumes. Unfortunately, the desired freckles rarely come out as glorious as we imagine them to be. Often, by the end of the night, these once-very-cute freckles are smudged all over your face. If your costume requires freckles or beauty marks, I recommend using a brown eyebrow or lip pencil. This will make your marks look a lot more natural than face paint, and tend to not smear as easily. Be sure not to make your spots too big though, you want them cute not cartoonish.

5. Don’t overdo it

My final and most important of all Halloween makeup tips is don’t overdo it. The makeup we see online is not always easy to replicate. I’ll admit, I have tried to recreate a vampire look last minute and, lucky for you, it resulted in the best Halloween makeup tip I could give you: NEVER EVER DO YOUR HALLOWEEN MAKEUP LAST MINUTE!!! Repeat, repeat and repeat. This may be the greatest makeup tip you will ever read. Every day makeup is tough enough as it is – major props to the girls who know how to contour and highlight – but Halloween makeup takes it to a whole new level. I know that those girls all over Pinterest with the adorable deer makeup look super cute online, but if you’ve never done it before, chances are your recreation won’t look the same without a little practice!