38 Halloween makeup ideas to try in 2024, from '00s nostalgia to Beetlejuice

Elsewhere for Jenna, we're still very much stanning Wednesday Addams – her dark eye bags and her jet black pigtails and we expect to see lots of Beetlejuice references, with Jenna's character, Astrid Deetz, an icon. If pink and purple is more your colour, Bridgerton is heavy on the coquette aesthetic. It calls for silky pink eyeshadows and blushes and cutesy hair accessories like tiaras and bows.

For gory girls, vampires will forever be on the agenda when it comes to Halloween, so dig out your blood red lipstick, some fake blood and scan Amazon for some vampire fangs to stick over your canines.

The ‘90s and '00s is still an awesome playground for finding cute references (see: bandanas, butterfly clips and baby braids) and some of this year’s enduring beauty trends – like the Balletcore and Brat girl – play perfectly into Halloween makeup trends.

Fairycore references will also feature heavily (as it has done for the past couple of years) and we expect to see a fair few angels and corpse brides, too.

Take a look at some of the best Halloween makeup ideas this year that will turn any outfit into a total masterpiece — no matter your skill level.

Pretty Halloween makeup inspiration for when gory's not your bag

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By Elle Turner

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Here are our fave Halloween makeup looks to get you started...

Taylor Swift's eras

You may already have the costume ready to roll if you've been to one of Taylor's stops on her worldwide tour, but you can match your makeup (and outfit to her era). For a statement makeup, Taylor's Fornight face tattoos are instantly recognisable.

Reputation Snake Makeup

Following on from the above, you can take inspiration from Taylor's eras and make it your own. The Reputation snake in particular is just waiting to be a Halloween moment.

Wicked Halloween Makeup

With Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande's performances in Wicked set to hit cinemas in November, jump on the hype early with an Elphaba or Glinda-inspired look.

Princess Diaries Halloween Makeup

For the minimalists, Mia Thermopolis is the way to go. Keep your makeup simple, add on some slim shades, some wired headphones and a tiara and you're ready.

Beetlejuice Halloween Makeup

With the upcoming release of the Beetlejuice film, we reckon we'll see some main character energy.

Queen of Hearts Halloween Makeup

Got a spare deck of hearts and a hot pink blush? You're already on your way to creating a Queen of Hearts makeup look. We recommend picking up some heart-shaped stickers, applying your blush over the top, then lifting them off for a cut-out heart detail.

Mother Nature's daughter

Following on from fairycore, is flowercore, we love this full-on Mother Nature's daughter beauty look. It's a chance to get properly creative with your eyeshadow palette with clashing pinks, greens, whites and purples. As for hair, fresh or faux flowers studded through pigtails is easy to achieve but so stunning.

Balletcore

Balletcore, only more committed. We love playing up a trend that's already in our locker.

Exaggerating the aesthetic we already know and love.

Wednesday Addams Halloween Makeup

All you need is a pair or pigtails, a lip stain and some dark shadow for your under eye bags.

Cruella “The Future” Makeup

If you’re up for a challenge this Halloween, try your take on Emma Stone’s Cruella “The Future” look. This one requires a stencil or steady hand, a lot of black eyeliner or shadow, a bold red lip, and a heck of a lot of patience!

Hocus Pocus

What Halloween makeup roundup would it be without a mention of Hocus Pocus? Particularly with the upcoming Hocus Pocus 2 this year. Grab a wig, smudge on a smoky eye and apply a scarlet lipstick. Bonus points if you rope two friends in to complete the Sanderson sisters!

Max Mayfield from Stranger Things Halloween Makeup

If intricate makeup isn’t really your thing then try a costume that’s a little about the hair and makeup and a lot about the costume. Stranger Things star Max Mayfield (played by Sadie Sink) requires a red wig, some scary contacts and headphones — plus, the soundtrack of the entire season (you know the one) following you around at the costume party at all times.

Candy Corn Makeup

There’s never been a better year to channel corn than 2022 with the viral song. This makeup enthusiast turns corn into a glam eye makeup look and we adore it.

Fairycore Halloween Makeup

Fairycore was a hugely popular costume last year and it seems to still be a popular choice this year and with the endless ways to interpret the theme, and we’re not surprised. For this costume, grab your pastel eyeshadow shades, brightest lip colours, every embellishment and jewel you own and a floral headdress for good measure.

Squid Game Makeup Tutorial

Squid Game might be a 2021 costume, but we still expect it to be a huge hit in 2022 because, frankly, it’s iconic. Take inspiration from this tutorial for the Red Light, Green Light doll, which never gets any less terrifying.

Wednesday Addams

You can’t go wrong with a Wednesday Addams costume at Halloween. All you need is a black wig if your hair isn’t naturally dark, a smoky eye, dark brows and a grey-toned lipstick to top the look off. Perfectly evil!

Black Panther Makeup

If you’re looking for a challenge, try this Black Panther-inspired look this Halloween. You’ll need black body or face paint, gold paint, and some moulding clay. This look is pretty intricate so might require some pre-Halloween party practice.

Glam Black Swan Halloween Makeup

Black Swan just got glam! This look features the iconic feathered eye makeup featured in the Black Swan but with a twist of glitter, embellishments and beautiful false eyelashes.

Euphoria Halloween Makeup

This Euphoria look requires all of your best and prettiest makeup. This particular tutorial features shimmering blue and purple-toned eyeshadow with a pink frosted lip, topped off with a bunch of jewelled embellishments. Our favourite part of a Euphoria-inspired look is that you can interpret it any way you like — it’s all about creativity!

Vecna from Stranger Things Makeup

If you’re a total Halloween pro, there’s no harder costume to master this Halloween than Vecna from Stranger Things season 4. This costume requires special effects makeup, some fake blood and some scary contact lenses. Honesty, you might be afraid to look at yourself in the mirror with this makeup on.

Pennywise Makeup Tutorial

You’d be lying if you said you weren’t terrified by Pennywise still, admit it! Luckily, this tutorial is a glam take on Pennywise so you’ll be less scary and more stunning.

Beetlejuice Halloween Makeup

“What's the good of being a ghost if you can't frighten people away?” Beetlejuice once said and we absolutely agree. There are tons of characters from the iconic movie to inspire you this Halloween, including Beetlejuice himself.

Pumpkin Halloween Makeup

Now, this pumpkin makeup isn’t any regular pumpkin makeup because it’s surprisingly frightening. This tutorial breaks down this impressive look into easy-to-recreate steps at home.

Unzipped Skeleton Makeup Tutorial

Step up your skeleton makeup with this unzipped look. Grab your zip of choice, black and white paint and makeup brushes for this carefully painted look. This beauty enthusiast breaks it down into easy to follow chunks so you can master the look for the spooky season.

Corpse Bride Makeup

Viewed a whopping 61 million times, this tutorial is the only one you’ll need to master the Corpse Bride costume. This look requires a ton of patience but it’s so worth it when the result is this good. You’re sure to win the first prize at any costume party with this makeup.

Classic Witch

What sort of roundup would it be without a mention of a good old classic witch, but this isn’t any old witch, this one adds SFX in to give it some extra scare-factor. You’ll need lots (and we mean lots) of green face paint, moulding SFX prosthetics, a black wig and pointed hat.

Fairy Makeup Tutorial

If you’re looking for something easy and pretty to recreate this Halloween, this fairy makeup is the one for you. Featuring stunning metallic makeup and perfectly curled hair.

Bridgerton Makeup

If the aim of your Halloween game is glam then Bridgerton is the one. Get your prettiest pastel dress, fashion your best updo and do a full-face of fancy makeup; lashes and lip gloss included.

Cottagecore Makeup

If soft makeup and dresses is your thing then the Tumblr now TikTok famous aesthetic, cottagecore, might be for you. This tutorial is both helpful and hilarious.

Scarlet Witch

The main element of this costume is the headpiece, which you can buy online or make at home if you fancy a bit of DIY. Besides the headpiece, you’ll need red curled hair, lipstick and a subtle smoky eye.

Harley Quinn Halloween Makeup

Harley Quinn has been a popular costume for years now but that doesn’t make us love it any less. For this costume, grab yourself the famous two-toned wig and matching eyeshadow as well as some fun stencils for the face.

Mrs Grinch Makeup

Want to skip Halloween and head straight to Christmas? Do both! Definitely more on the complicated side of things, this tutorial takes you through how to transform into Mrs Grinch.

The Purge Halloween Makeup

Pop art will never not be cool but this makeup artist stepped it up a notch with this tutorial. Featuring neon pink lipstick, blue lashes and pink fizzy drink cans as rollers (yes really).

Ice Princess Makeup

Don’t just be a princess this Halloween, be an ice princess. This tutorial walks you through the steps for a pretty blue-toned makeup look fit for every ice queen.

Coraline’s Mother Halloween Makeup

If you want to make maximum impact without having to break out the SFX makeup, then this Coraline tutorial might just do the trick. Trust us when we say it’s as creepy as it is impressive.

Chucky Makeup Tutorial

Chucky doesn’t have to be so scary after all. This tutorial takes all of the elements of the famous Child’s Play character but makes them glam.