In a pinch, these 8 Halloween makeup costumes only require makeup, which you may already have at home. If not, one quick trip to the drugstore or a makeup store, like Sally Beauty or MAC, will solve all your problems. Dress simply so as not to distract from your gorgeous face makeup – you want your face to stand out, not your body.

Best of all, these costumes only cost $5-$15 to make. Some of them may be FREE if you have a bit of face makeup already.

8 Makeup only Halloween costumes!

1. Zipper face.

A zipper, glue, and red face paint are your basic supplies for this costume. Fake blood and other gory items are optional! You can pick up a zipper at a craft supply store like Jo-Ann’s or Michael’s. This whole costume shouldn’t cost more than $15 if you use a coupon.

• Paint a raindrop shape on your face, starting mid-nose and dropping to splash around your entire chin.
• Carefully glue on the zipper using these step by step directions from Instructables.
• Dress in black.

2. Clown.

Sad clown, happy clown, scary clown = all good options. Dress simply as not to distract from your gorgeous face makeup.

• Decide on a specific look before you get started.
• Use white and black as a base for any look, then use red for scary accents or primary colors for a happy clown look.
• Borrow a jester hat, top hat, cowboy hat, or any kind of outrageous hat you can get your hands on. Even a plastic hat from the dollar store will work.
• If no hat, go with BIG HAIR. Make it stick straight out with egg whites, frizz it out then unload a can of hairspray, or make a sea of two dozen pony tails. Use feathers, a boa, flowers, or other items in your hair. Whatever you do, your hair has got to be off the hook.

3. Day of the Dead. En Español, Dia de los Muertos.

The colors you need for these are white, black, and red. That’s it! You can even do without the red! (Use lipstick instead of buying new red face paint.)

• Cover your face in white, leaving large circles for your eyes, nose, and mouth.
• Fill in the circles with black, adding a few “stitches” vertically across your lips.
• Add red accents. My friend Meg, pictured at left, plucked a red flower in her hair for added effect. I think it looks great!
• Dress in black pants or jeans and a solid black or red top.
• For more inspiration, see this Pinterest page.

 

4. Bride.

Still got your wedding dress hanging in the closet? Why not let it have some fun this Halloween? You can always clean it. The rest is easy – just a touch of makeup.

• Black, white, red, and even green are the colors most useful for creating a “zombie bride,” “dead bride,” “monster bride” Halloween costume.
• If you don’t have a veil, believe me, nobody will mistake the big white dress.
• Focus on the eyes and mouth. There is so much room for creativity, let your inner artist free!
• For more ideas, see this Pinterest page.

5. Spider. 

Black construction paper, glue, scissors, and goggly eyes are all you need for this simple costume! Technically, it does not require makeup, but it is a super simple costume so I’m including it in this list.

• Grab your supplies then head over here for a step-by-step tutorial on how to make this spider hat. Thanks for FantasticFunAndLearning.com for the pic!
• Dress in all black.

6. Frankenstein.

Yes, you can dress up as Frankenstein even if you are a woman. Halloween is the perfect occasion for cross dressing. Embrace the opportunity to be different and try on a new “personality.” Dress in drab gray or brown clothes.

• Grab green and black makeup or face paint. Coat with green, then accentuate wrinkles with black horizontally across your forehead, deeply around your eyes, create an upside down mustache between your bottom lip and your chin, and deepen a diagonal wrinkle line from the corner of your eye out to your jaw line. You can make another line from the tip of your nose down to your jaw.
• A black wig would be nice, but don’t kill your wallet to get one. If you nail the face makeup, everyone will know who you are.
• For more inspiration, see this Pinterest page.

7. Kitty Cat.

This is super easy to do and can be achieved in lots of different ways! At a minimum you need black and white face paint. Colors are optional!

• Focus on your mouth, nose, and eyes. You can always “erase” and redo mishaps!
• Dress in all black so that people focus on your face.
• Even if you don’t have cat ears, people will know what you are!
• For more inspiration, see this Pinterest page.

8. Doll.

Wear your girliest dress or top, it doesn’t matter that much as long as your clothes don’t distract from your awesome doll face makeup.

• Creepy, sweet, or scary – there are a lot of options for “doll face.”
• Focus on the mouth, cheeks, and eyes. Match your look with what clothes you plan to wear.
• For extra effect, wear colored contact lenses.
• For more ideas, see this Pinterest page.

What are you going to be for Halloween?