8 Easy Halloween Makeup Looks to Choose for Spooky Season

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Last Updated on October 14, 2026

Halloween makeup looks are the simplest way to pull off a costume when there’s no time left to plan one. A deer face, a vampire lip, or a quick spider web liner needs little more than what’s already in your makeup bag, and none of them calls for artist-level skills. The eight looks below range from quick basics to a full zombie build, so you can choose by the time you have and how comfortable you are with a brush.

Each look comes with steps you can follow at the mirror, plus a few product suggestions if you need to fill a gap. Spider web eyeliner is the fastest high-impact option on the list, since the whole design comes from one liquid liner. If you want to keep building these skills after October, the makeup tutorials and product guides on the site cover everyday looks too.

Halloween Makeup Looks for You to Choose from…

Not everyone wants a full costume, and that’s where Halloween makeup looks shine, since makeup alone can carry the idea.

Deer Makeup

Step 1: Contour along the sides of your forehead, down both sides of your nose, and under your cheekbones. Make sure this contour is pigmented and blends out any harsh lines.

Step 2: Highlight the usual spots on your face, like your cheekbones, cupid’s bow, and bridge of the nose.

Step 3: Put on some neutral eyeshadow.

Step 4: Put on some eyeliner and make it into a cat-eye style. Add some mascara of your choice.

Step 5: Add some black to the tip of your nose to look like a deer.

Step 6: Add white spots along with the areas where you put your contour, which should be your temples and cheeks.

Step 7: Add deer ears and a tail if you want, and you’re ready for this look!

Deer Makeup Tutorial In Detail:

Just as with any makeup look, we need to start with foundation as a base. You can use any foundation you have on hand, but one of our favorites at the moment is the Nars Light Reflecting Foundation.

Contour and highlight do most of the work in a deer face. Choose a contour or bronzer a shade or two darker than your everyday one and apply it to the hollows of your cheek and temples.

It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it should be dark enough to read from a distance. Next, for highlighting, you can use a concealer or powder a few shades lighter than usual to highlight your forehead (between your eyebrows), the bridge of your nose, and your cheekbones. Blush isn’t necessary for this look, but a soft pink just above the contour warms up the whole face.

Deer Makeup: Eyes and Eyebrows

The eyes can be as simple or extravagant as your little deer heart desires. If you want an easy look, simply brush some brown eyeshadow across your lid. You can also add a highlight to the inner corners of your eyes and a white liner in your lower lash line to complete this simple look.

If you’re comfortable with liner, take it further. Use black eyeliner to accentuate and elongate your eyes by drawing out a point in your inner corners. Then take a white liquid eyeliner to add highlights and give you the wide-eyed and bushy-tailed look. No look is complete without mascara, and for some added pizazz, throw on a pair of false lashes!

For brows, you can do whatever suits you; however, our favorite for this look is the fluffy brow. To achieve this look, you can use the Elf Brow Lift to fluff your brows upward, followed by Benefit’s Precisely My Brow to fill in any sparse areas.

Deer Makeup: Lips

For lips, you have two options. A classic nude lip is a way to go for a simple deer look. For the full deer effect, go darker. Take a black liquid lipstick (you can use brown if you don’t have black on hand) and apply it to your upper lip. For the lower lip, you can either leave it natural, apply foundation to wash it out, or use a light nude shade.

Deer Makeup: Complements

To give yourself that cute little black nose, it’s pretty simple. Take the black (or brown) lipstick you used before and start by drawing a line up the middle of your cupid’s bow from your lip to your nose. Then draw a black upside-down triangle at the tip of your nose and outline the outside of your nostrils.

No deer look is complete without the white spots! Take a white eyeliner pencil and draw circles of different sizes on top of the areas you had previously contoured. The spots are what make the look read as a deer, so don’t skip them. Carry a few down your neck and shoulders if your outfit leaves them bare.

Pirate Makeup

Step 1: Do your regular makeup with foundation and blush.

Step 2: Pick out a bold red lip color and apply it.

Step 3: When doing your eye makeup, it should be darker and smokier.

Step 4: Get yourself a pirate eye patch, and this look is complete!

Fairy Makeup

Step 1: Do your regular foundation and blush routine.

Step 2: Use shimmer and glitter for your eyes, and even rim your waterline with white eyeliner.

Step 3: Pick a fun lip color, and then add some gloss.

Step 4: With the lip gloss still tacky, add some glitter to your lips so it lasts all night!

Step 5: Add wings, a halo, a flower crown, or whatever else adds to your angel and fairy look!

Vampire Makeup

Step 1: Your regular foundation routine, though you can go 1-2 shades lighter here for a more undead look.

Step 2: For this look, opt for sultry eyes, so stick to darker colors like plum, gray, and black. You will also want to make sure you don’t look like a raccoon, so don’t be messy.

Step 3: Apply black eyeliner and use black in your waterline.

Step 4: Use thicker mascara and apply some false lashes to give that extra va-va-voom!

Step 5: Deep ruby red lipstick is a must here. Make sure to line your lips so it doesn’t bleed outside your lip line. Pro tip: Concealer on the lips helps to act as a primer.

Step 6: This is completely optional, but a set of fangs sells the look, too!

Devil Makeup

@rebeccacapelmakeup

Step 1: Do your regular makeup with foundation and blush.

Step 2: Eyes should be red and white. You’ll want to use some darker reds and blacks for the crease of your eye.

Step 3: The eyeliner can be red or black, but if you choose red, make sure to line the eyes with white. Additionally, you can make a little devil tail with your eyeliner if you use red. The tail is a curved line with a filled-in triangle at the end.

Step 4: Use red lipstick and add some glitter to the lips.

Spider Web Eyeliner Makeup

Spiderweb eyeliner works on its own or as the finishing detail on a witch, vampire, or all-black outfit. It’s also one of the quickest Halloween makeup looks here, and it’s forgiving, since a slightly uneven web still looks like a web.

What You Will Need for This Cute Spider Web Eyeliner Makeup Kit

This look needs one product: a black liquid eyeliner. Rhinestones and glitter are optional extras if you want more shine.

Black Liquid Eyeliner

The obvious product you’ll need to create this spider makeup magic is liquid eyeliner. You want to go with the darkest shade you have (black is recommended to achieve that spiderweb makeup magic!). Why? Because, well, go ahead and check out a nearby spiderweb. What color is it? Black.

If black feels too expected, a neon orange or green liner keeps the spooky theme and pairs well with false lashes for extra drama.

Rhinestones

Adhesive rhinestones add sparkle and help the liner stand out in low party lighting.

How to Create Spider Web Eyeliner

Now that you have your supplies, the web comes together in three steps.

Step 1. Prime your lids so the liner doesn’t crease or fade over a long night. Add a plum or deep red shadow if you want more depth, though it’s optional.

Step 2. Use your liquid liner to place small dots where you want the web, under the eye or across the lid. Keep them roughly evenly spaced, with the wider gaps toward the bottom.

Step 3. Connect the dots with small curved lines, like shallow half circles, rather than straight ones. The curve is what makes it read as a web. Keep going until every dot is connected.

Finishing Touches (Optional)

Take a good look at your spider web eyeliner and ensure you’re happy with the design. If so, you can move forward to the finishing touches if desired. Here are some of the top choices:

Stick on Rhinestones

Press a few rhinestones along the web lines for a bit of shine.

Draw Spiders with Eyeliner

For the artistic crowd that isn’t afraid to play around with makeup products and creative makeup ideas, use your eyeliner to create terrifying baby spiders on your spider makeup.

Add Glitter

If rhinestones feel too bulky, a little loose glitter gives the web shine. Lock it in with a light mist of setting spray.

For a closer walkthrough with photos at each stage, follow this spider web eyeliner tutorial.

@emblawigum easy halloween spider web hack 🕷️🕸️ @Diorbeauty black liquid liner #halloween #halloweenmakeup ♬ original sound – urfavedit★ – essie★

Zombie Makeup

Step 1: Start with your costume choice. You can either purchase a zombie outfit or look around your closet and pick something that looks raggedy. If you decide to DIY your outfit, make sure to rub some dirt into the clothes and even create some rips and tears.

Step 2: You can do the makeup for your zombie look however you want. We think buying a little zombie kit that has some fun latex facial adhesives would be perfect and less hassle.

Step 3: Start with a clean face and then prime your face. In a clean and dry area of your face, add the latex piece. You’ll want to wait for it to dry before proceeding with more makeup.

Step 4: The Foundation should be lighter than your natural shade, and, for some extra fun, add a tint of green for your zombie look.

Step 5: Add some dark greens, blacks, and purples in the hollows of your cheeks and under your eyes. You want your face to look ‘sunken in’.

Step 6: Add darker colors to your eyes, but remember, this can be messy. You are undead, so have fun with this part.

Step 7: Blend the foundation around the latex piece to give it a more realistic look.

Step 8: Use fake blood around your mouth and other areas where blood just looks like it belongs there.

Step 9: Your hair should be messy, and maybe add some fallen twigs and leaves… You know, in case you had to dig yourself out of your grave.

Step 10: Look at your costume and add whatever other touches you see fit!

Mermaid Look

@artofsunshine

Mermaid is one of the few Halloween makeup looks that works just as well scary or sultry. This version leans sultry.

Step 1: Pick up your costume, and the colors in that costume are going to be used for your makeup.

Step 2: Use your regular foundation and concealer process here.

Step 3: Grab a small piece of netting and place it on your temples and cheekbones. Then you’re going to use purple or blue eyeshadow and rub it over the net. This is going to create scales on your face, which is super fun. You can also take the white eyeliner and shimmer to accentuate the scales. Do this to your satisfaction. Pro tip: Do this technique wherever you want scales on your body.

Step 4: Eyeshadow and mascara are for you to have some fun with. We recommend white in the waterline of your eye to make your eyes appear bigger.

Step 5: Lip color here can again be up to you!

Step 6: Hair can be teased and adhered to some netting. Maybe add a faux starfish in there to give the mermaid vibe. If you want to get fancy, you could also add some faux algae.

Step 7: Put your look together and maybe even grab a seashell purse to complete the look

How to Pick Your Halloween Makeup Look

Choosing between these Halloween makeup looks comes down to the time you have. Pirate, devil, and vampire looks use products most people already own and come together quickly. Deer, mermaid, and zombie looks reward an extra half hour of practice. Spider web liner layers onto almost any outfit, even a plain black dress. Before you start, check that the basics are on hand. This guide to Halloween makeup products and tips covers the tried and true picks worth having before you start.