20 Halloween Makeup Ideas We’re Copying From TikTok

Whether you’re a beginner with makeup or a skilled artist, Halloween is the time to put your knowledge to the test. With just a few palettes, faux lashes, and maybe some glitter, you can expertly elevate every costume without having to do too much in the outfit department. And as per usual these days, we’ll be looking to TikTok for inspiration on how to get festive with makeup this year.

From the creepy to the glamorous, the app is filled with plenty of ideas for every skill level. Euphoria-inspired looks? Check. Y2K makeup? Check. A take on what it would look like if Pinhead, Freddy Krueger, and Jigsaw walked into Sephora? Check, check, and check. There’s no shortage of inspo for next-level looks on TikTok, but these ones are the best of the best. Keep reading for all of the makeup inspiration you could possibly need this Halloween.

Beginner

Y2K Makeup

The sooner we accept the fact that the Y2K era is distant enough to be a suitable Halloween costume, the sooner we can try replicating this glam. It’s a user-friendly look, no matter how much your makeup skills have improved since the actual time frame in question. All it takes is exaggerated drawn-on arched eyebrows, a Lipglass-style gloss, a cakey base, and dramatic shadow. It’s basically like stepping into a time machine.

Candy Corn Eyes

Even if you aren’t a fan of actual candy corn, you can still get festive by channelling the treat with your eye makeup. This user brought the look to life with a tri-tone shadow using shades from a Karity palette. She then added a little razzle-dazzle by topping off the look with gems and a dramatic lash. Candy corn, but make it fashion.

Bratz Glam

Unlike the millennial Barbie doll of choice, the Gen-Z preferred Bratz dolls sported a makeup look we’d actually want to copy for Halloween and beyond. The pièce de résistance for this look is the eye—a winged liner; an icy, ombre shadow; a little bit of white liner on the waterline; and a lash that gets longer on the corners. But, of course, the look is not complete without a nude, overlined lip to imitate their iconic pouts.

Spider Web Liner

This user made their everyday makeup slightly spookier by adding a spiderweb to their typical winged liner. If you want to stay festive without going too over-the-top, this is a cute way to stay on theme with minimal effort.

Glam Witch

You don’t have to go full Hocus Pocus to create a memorable, witchy look, as exemplified by this makeup artist. She kept it simple with a glam purple eye moment—all you need is a witch hat to complete the costume.

Old Hollywood Glam

To channel your favorite old-school starlets, take your typical full glam up a notch. This user brought her look to the next level with a shimmery, paparazzi-friendly base using Saie’s Glowy Super Gel ($25) and a Morphe bronzer. She finished off with a bright red lip (obviously) for an Oscar-worthy look.

Butterfly

To create a simple, sparkly look that doesn’t look like you just threw it together (even if you totally did), channel this glam butterfly moment. This user made her everyday makeup more festive with a colorful eyeshadow look in the shape of butterfly wings. If you have leftover face gems from all of the music festivals that we didn’t attend over the past two summers, this is your time to put them to use.

Intermediate

Cruella

All done streaming Emma Stone’s Cruella on Disney+? Perfect. The key to this makeup is in the washed-out complexion (maybe opt for a foundation a couple of shades lighter than your usual hue) and the dramatic green shadow, which this user gave extra dimension by starting with a white base. Then, in the interest of saving Dalmations, they finished off by painting on the villain’s famous furs.

Euphoria Makeup

We don’t know when Euphoria will be back yet, but in the meantime, we can keep the show’s iconic makeup looks top of mind by recreating them for Halloween. This user referenced a look Euphoria’s head makeup artist, Donni Davy, dreamed up for Sydney Sweeney’s character for the season finale. The key to pulling it off? Colored contact lenses, a Natasha Denona eyeshadow palette, and Swarovski crystals from the craft store. It’s so on-point that you might as well transfer to East Highland High (or not).

Pop Art Glam

For this pop art-inspired glam, TikTok user Katie Farhood drew on her dots with a white Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil ($5) to instantly give her makeup a cartoonish vibe (in a good way). Then, all that’s left to do is draw on dramatic, black brows, add a yellow cut crease and an extended white bottom liner, pop on a red lip, and finish things off with faux tears. Once she was done, she completed the look by lining just about everything (nostrils included) to drive home the pop art aesthetic.

Emoji-Inspired

Though you may need to field some “what are you supposed to be” questions, this look is a cute homage to all of our most-used emojis. Our fave out of the four options Nya Temple modeled? The pink, hazy cloud with cloud-shaped crystals. It’s beyond dreamy and doesn’t require an accompanying outfit. Easy.

Jessica Rabbit

Va-va-voom! To transform into Jessica Rabbit, this user channeled the cartoon’s sultry vibes with an overlined red lip, an exaggerated purple shadow (to give the illusion of droopy eyes), a heavy contour, and an arched, red brow. But obviously, the look isn’t complete without a red wig and a deep side part.

Poison Ivy

If you usually do a DIY full beat for special occasions, this won’t be such a stretch—TikTok user Ruby Graham’s take on Poison Ivy isn’t too far off from that. To create the shimmery, multidimensional green cut crease, she blended Colour Pop’s It’s a Mood Palette ($34) with Morphe and Avani Gregg’s For the Bebs Palette ($20). Then, she added lengthy top and bottom strip lashes, and overlined her lips using a combo of the Morphe’s Color Pencil in Trendsetter ($5), a liquid lipstick, and Maybelline’s Lip Lifter Gloss in Ice ($9).

Advanced

Sycorax

UK makeup artist Sophie Baverstock won the BBC makeup competition series Glow Up, so it’s no surprise that she does Halloween like a pro. To morph into a Sycorax (an exoskeletal warrior featured on Doctor Who), Baverstock used a prosthetic skin imitator to give the appearance of protruding bones. For extra texture, she mixed faux pus from Maekup with MAC’s Lipglass ($19).

Queen of Hearts

Being extra isn’t a bad thing—especially on Halloween. This user added more drama to their Queen of Hearts costume with a bloody heart-shaped grid outline, inspired by all of the chess imagery in Alice In Wonderland. Plus, XXL strip lashes are always a good idea.

Yzma

As far as Disney villains go, Yzma is totally underrepresented on Halloween and it’s a shame. Her theatrical evening gown alone will make for a very fun costume that’s still party-ready. This user nailed her pencil-thin ‘90s-style brows, her signature purple shadow, and her over-the-top lash extensions.

Iris Clops

Tiffany Hunt’s take on this Monster High character is too cute. The faux freckles and rosy blush balance out the more otherworldly elements (ahem, like the eye) and bring the look back down to Earth.

Ice Scream

Equal parts sweet and scary, this user transformed into a creepy Neapolitan cone with a drippy, tricolor base and a deeper pink eye look to add dimension. The strawberry layer added texture and chiseled cheekbone definition to complete the skeleton look. The best part? Her chest is the cone.

Beetlejuice

If this version of Beetlejuice popped up after I repeated his name three times, I probably wouldn’t mind, TBH. The chiseled skull is the main character here, but it’s brought to the next level with MUA Tenisha Billington’s use of color. She added pops of purple with a moody eye, which she created with Huda Beauty’s Amethyst Obsessions ($27) and Colour Pop’s It’s My Pleasure ($14) palettes, and extra neon details with Anastasia Beverly Hills’ Norvina Electric Cake Liner ($30).

Coraline’s Other Mother

Coraline might be a children’s movie, but it’s also truly terrifying, so the film’s button-eyed villain is fair game as a Halloween costume. This look is creepy, but the contour, which this user exaggerated with a black outline, is a work of art.