From eyeliner hacks to nailing the basics, be the pick of the pumpkin patch this Halloween
This article is sponsored by NYX Professional Makeup, Rimmel London, Revlon, Real Techniques, Urban Decay & Eylure
Halloween is almost here, and at BOOts we’re ready to have a scandalously good time. Toffee apples? Parties? Themed cocktails? Count us in! But when it comes to planning the perfect makeup look to complement your costume, it’s pretty easy to get overwhelmed by all the options.
But don’t be afraid to vamp it up and resurrect your alter ago – just keep it simple with our essential Halloween makeup tips and tricks. If you’ve got it, haunt it!
Our top 7 Halloween makeup tips
Hocus pocus you won’t go ‘brokus’ this trick or treat season, as we’re bursting with frightfully good value and top tips that might just save your life this year.
Find all the Halloween makeup you need in our boo-tique.
1. Make the most of tutorials
Craving variety and inspiration? Want to create realistic fake blood? Or nail spook-tacular SFX? Whatever look you’re dying to try this Halloween, fear not as there’s a whole host of tutorials out there for all kinds of skill levels. The best place to start is on your social media feeds as these offer some of the best step-by-steps for your Halloween makeup. Ready to slay this scare season? Get started with our easy-to-do Halloween tutorials creating everything from vampires and skulls to cats and clowns.
Want to go one step further to claw the competition away? Recreate our favourite nail trends at home, from ghastly ghouls to bloodied tips, with our expert guide.
2. Ace your base
Nothing ruins your hours of artistic craft like a bad base – we’re talking uneven coverage, dry patches and dullness. The secret to any Halloween look? Prepping your skin with a super hydrating moisturiser and following with a primer. This duo can help smooth skin, deliver an even application and leave skin with a luminous finish that lasts that little bit longer. When it comes to applying your base layers – be it foundation or face paint – always go in with a good sponge to ensure even coverage, just blend, blend, blend!
Try: Real Techniques Ultimate Sponge Trio
• 100% cruelty free and latex free
• Vegan-friendly*
• Use with liquid, cream and powder products
Whether you’re going for easy and minimal or bold and boo-tiful, prepare to scare with this trio of sponges, all crafted with different sizes and textures to master any look. The Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge is perfect for blending foundation for a natural, luminous finish. The Midi Miracle Powder Sponge fits the contours of the face to deliver a smooth and even finish and the Mini Miracle Complexion sponge is so precise it’s perfect for on-the-go touch-ups.
3. Perfect your outline
We’re not lying when we say that eyeliner is the true queen of Halloween. Think of it as your all-in-one tool for letting your creativity shine. If you’ve got the guts to go all out this Halloween, an eyeliner is a must to help craft your base outline or draw on your design. Our top tip? Invest in an eyeliner that allows you to alter thickness to create any desired look.
Try: NYX Professional Makeup Epic Ink Eye Liner
• Size: 1.22g
• Waterproof formula
• Available in black or brown
From mastering the wicked wing to drawing out a spooky skeleton, opting for a trusty black eyeliner is a must for your Halloween toolkit. This fan favourite from NYX Professional Makeup is super easy to use thanks to its supple and slender brush tip, allowing for effortless gliding action. Plus, with a waterproof formula and an intensely pigmented ink to level up your liner game – whether it’s spider webs or cat whiskers – this one-size-fits-all liner is the true devil’s advocate.
4. Craft the perfect brows
Bad brows on halloween? Not on our watch. It's no secret that eyebrows can make or break a look, especially when it comes to Halloween glam, so whether you’re concealing and redrawing, adding a pop of colour or reshaping to fit your costume character, do it with an eyeliner pencil that will go the distance to outlive the zombies.
Try: Revlon ColorStay Micro™ Brow Pencil
• Size: 0.37g
• Available in seven shades
Keep brows looking natural with the fine hair-like strokes of this brow pencil. With a micro-tip for extra precision and a built-in spoolie brush, create your desired shape with ease. The best bit? The high-pigment, super-blendable formula boasts 24 hour wear, meaning brows will stay and slay all night long.
5. Invest in a boo-tiful eyeshadow palette
A scare necessity for Halloween if we ever saw one. Our eyes are where it’s at during spooky season and with good reason too. If you’re not one for the inflatable costumes and vampire fangs, you can create an entire Halloween look just with eye makeup. And contrary to popular belief, eyeshadow can be used on much more than just the eyes – level up your lips with a black shadow, sweep across your cheekbones for deadly contour or brush over brows to tie the whole look together.
Try: Urban Decay Metal Mania Palette
• 12 shades
• Vegan formula*
Looking for an eyeshadow palette that screams Halloween? Be the talk of the party with this glam-rock inspired palette, featuring heavy reflective shades of deep purples, illuminating golds and creamy neutrals. The richly pigmented metallics, mattes, satins and sparkles give you the freedom to create a variety of bold looks. Why not transform yourself into a mermaid? Or create a wicked witch look to cast a spell on everyone around you.
6. Dramatize the eyes
Make sure all eyes are on you this Halloween by vamping up your look with a dark and dramatic lash. Fall under the spell of a magical mascara or fantastical falsies to add that finishing touch. If gruesome-meets-glam is your goal (think vampires, devils and zombies), why not pair your lashes with coloured content lenses for a drop dead ghoul-eous look?
Try: Rimmel Thrill Seeker Pitch Black Volumising Mascara
• Size: 8ml
• Smudge-proof
• Vegan formula*
• Latest addition to the Thrillseeker family
Supercharged with lash-loving panthenol and intense, ultra-black pigments for pitch-black lashes, this mascara is as wicked as they come. Achieve instant and bold volume with the hyper soft fibre mascara brush that grips each lash from root to tip, and let the creamy whipped formula leave lashes feeling conditioned with no clumps in sight!
Try: Eylure Volume & Length Lashes
• Reusable for up to 10 wears
• Latex-free lash glue lasts up to 18 hours
• Handmade
Want all the lash but half the faff? Get ready to bat your lashes all night long with these stunningly dark and wispy ones from Eylure. Combining the fullness of volume lashes with just the right amount of length, they’ll bring your whole look together, leaving you looking and feeling fa-boo-lous.
7. Lock your look in place
Our final (and probably the most important) tip is to fix your makeup in place with a setting spray. We’re creeping it real here but Halloween parties can get sweaty and trick or treating is no mean feat either, so if you’ve spent hours packing on the paint and you’ve used up all your patience on those claw wounds, the last thing you want is for your makeup to melt away. In short, a setting spray is the equivalent to an apocalypse survival tool – we don’t make the rules.
Try: Revolution Matte Fix Oil Control Setting Spray
• Size: 100ml
• Up to 12-hour wear
• Vegan-friendly*
• Cruelty-free
Fix your fierce look this Halloween with this lightweight setting spray. Working wonders on oily skin, a couple of spritz of this can help deflect surface shine for a natural matte finish. Plus, with high-tech ingredients, every inch of your makeup is locked in place – no smudging, no fading, just a freshly-applied look to see you through the night.
Go into spooky season with these tips and tricks and you’ll be turning heads for all the right reasons. Happy Halloween!
