The Best Halloween Makeup Looks to Try in 2021

October 31st will be here before you know it, and when your plans of throwing together an elaborate, spooky-good costume come crashing down, Halloween makeup looks will save the day. With a bit of face paint, makeup, and liquid latex—along with guided tutorials from your favorite beauty bloggers—you’ll transform into just about anything you like, whether it’s scary, glamorous, or something perfectly in between.

Buckle up and get ready for a heavy dose of Hallo-spiration while rocking cute fall makeup looks. From easy Halloween makeup looks to full-on special effects extravaganzas, these ideas from California bloggers will have all your creative juices flowing on the spookiest night of the year. 

Halloween Makeup Looks to Try This Year

1. Easy Fairy Halloween Tutorial - Nyma Tang

You might know Nyma Tang from “The Darkest Shade” Youtube series, where she puts makeup brands’ darkest foundation and concealer shades to the test and addresses the lack of inclusive shade ranges in most makeup lines. And while we absolutely love the series and what it stands for, that’s not all there is to Tang’s channel. She also shares so many other fun tutorials, and this pretty, otherworldly Halloween makeup look is one of our faves.

Nyma Tang’s fun fairy look is perfect for those of you looking for a less scary and more pretty Halloween makeup idea. Easy to follow and heavily reliant on the bright shades you usually ignore in your palettes, this quick Halloween makeup is all about embracing shiny, shimmery goodness. Tang opts for a Tinkerbell-inspired green palette for her look, but you can recreate this Halloween makeup idea with any color you like best. If you’re dressing up in a group costume, each of you can choose a different color and be a mystical frolic of pretty fairies.

2. Queen of the Damned Inspired Look - Bailey Sarian

Considering she’s the queen of makeup tutorials and true crime spooks with her “Murder Mystery and Makeup” series, it’s no surprise that Bailey Sarian’s Halloween makeup looks are also top-tier. Inspired by the 2002 horror adaptation Queen of the Damned, this spooky zombie slash vampire makeup look honors Aaliyah’s character in the film very well.

While the face makeup is pretty intimidating at first, it’s totally achievable if you take your time and follow Sarian’s step-by-step guide. If you don’t mind the idea of doing a bit of arts and crafts, you should definitely go all the way and recreate her eye-catching DIY headpiece as well—it takes the popular vampire makeup look to a whole new level of spooky glam, and we’re here for it.

3. Alien Halloween Makeup Tutorial - Desi Perkins

Entrepreneur, content creator, celebrity makeup artist, and beauty vlogger extraordinaire Desi Perkins is one of our absolute favorite Youtube beauty gurus. The talented M.U.A. posts jaw-dropping Halloween makeup looks every year, but this half glam, half scary alien makeup idea is next-level insane. 

While you can recreate the alien side of this Halloween makeup look from scratch using liquid latex, you can also do what Perkins did in the video and cut up a store-bought alien prosthetic in half to save yourself the unnecessary stress and effort. For the prettier side of this Halloween makeup look, apply your favorite eyeshadow to achieve total glam and dramatically offset the scary realistic alien side. And there you go, you’re now the prettiest alien in any room you walk into on Halloween!

4. Easy Zombie Makeup - Melissa Alatorre

Do you think October 31st should be all about embracing scary Halloween makeup ideas? You’re going to love Melissa Alatorre’s eerie recreation of a ghostly zombie Halloween makeup look. Fully achievable by items you probably already have in your makeup bag, this ghostly zombie makeup idea is the fun last-minute look you’ve been stressing over not finding in time.

You can tone the spook down or turn it up as you wish, taking away the burn marks or adding more fake blood as you see fit. The great thing about this Halloween look is that you don’t need to put any thought into the rest of the outfit at all; the clothes can essentially be your go-to everyday outfit. After all, who plans their outfit during a zombie apocalypse? That’s right, no one.

5. Mermaid Halloween Makeup Tutorial - James Charles

Looking for an excuse to don a long, fun-colored wig? Pair it with James Charles’ glam mermaid makeup look and you got yourself a Halloween winner. In his tutorial, Charles opts for shades of blues, greens, and golds to complete his pretty Halloween makeup idea, but you can recreate your own version of a glam mermaid with your favorite palette.

The dreamiest part of this pretty Halloween makeup look is the pearls Charles sticks to his face and neck. That, combined with the fish skin-like patch he creates with liquid latex on his neck, makes this otherwise bold and beautiful makeup look very mermaidy—so definitely don’t skip that step when you recreate this Halloween makeup look at home. If you can’t find stick-on pearls, sea-glass-inspired rhinestones could do the trick as well.

6. Glam Witch Halloween Makeup Tutorial - Jordan Hanz

Every day is Halloween for the talented Sacramento-based makeup artist Jordan Hanz. While we struggle to come up with a cool Halloween makeup look once a year, Hanz posts one creative look after the other on her colorful Instagram and Youtube channels.

Ready to put on your resting witch face this year? Recreate Hanz’s Halloween makeup look and you’ll manage to look equal parts scary and pretty in the most magical way. With purple eyeshadow, dramatic lashes, heavy contour, black brows, and a translucent-looking skin base, this witchy and easy Halloween makeup look is as cool as witches get.

What’s your Halloween costume this year? Are you trying out different makeup looks already? Let us know which of these you liked the most in the comments below!