Easy Halloween makeup for men
Ditch the sweaty Halloween masks and create easy Halloween looks in our makeup for Halloween for men guide
H alloween has become a bigger night out than New Year’s Eve and costumes and makeup are no longer just for women.
Whether you see yourself as Jack Sparrow, the Joker, or something more traditional like Count Dracula, Frankenstein, or a zombie, you’re going to want to use Halloween makeup that stays put all night and looks decent.
Using men’s Halloween makeup also means you don’t have to wear a sweaty mask on your face, letting you easily chat with your mates.
Below, we’ve picked some easy makeup for Halloween for men tutorials for you to copy, with full product lists so even if you’re still unsure what you want your Halloween makeup to look like, there should be something here to inspire you.
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What you’ll need
When it comes to buying Halloween makeup for men, you’re going to want to get hold of a few products and applicators. These aren’t super necessary – you can either get away without using them or ask to borrow your partner’s or someone else’s stuff – but they will make applying men’s Halloween makeup easier. It also means it will last longer.
Face primer: As the name suggests, this primes the skin ready for makeup to be applied on top. It helps the makeup last longer and smooths out rough bits. If you’re planning to add a colour base – like a full white or green face, then using a primer means it will go on better. We recommend The Ordinary’s High Adherence Silicone Primer (£5.20)
Facepaint sponges: When adding men’s Halloween face paint you’ll make your life a whole lot easier by having a couple of makeup sponges to hand. These help you apply the face paint, especially if you’re covering your whole face. Boots offers some really cheap ones that will do the job. The best we’ve tried is the Boots Flat Edge Blending Sponge (£1.50).
Brushes: Another tool that will make your Halloween face paint a lot easier is to apply are these brushes. They can help with all the details and fiddly bits. This 14-piece set from Amazon (£4.99) won’t break the bank and means you’ll have every shape and size you’ll need for your makeup for Halloween for men look.
Easy Halloween makeup for men
- Vampire: Jump to tutorial
- The Joker: Jump to tutorial
- Zombie: Jump to tutorial
Vampire Halloween Makeup for Men
What you’ll need
- White face base
- Red eyeshadow
- Black eyeshadow
- Brown eyeshadow/contour
- Fake blood
- Vampire teeth
Base: If you’re planning to make your face into a vampire, skull, or ghost this Halloween, then you’re going to want a bright, white base. This squeezy tube from Revolution is really easy to use. After you’ve applied a primer, just grab a sponge and dab this onto your face until you’re as white as you want to be. It gives you smooth, realistic coverage you can then add the rest of your Halloween design to. This one is easy to wash off too, that’s if you’re sober enough to do so…
Deep red eyeshadow: For the vampire look, apply a red eye shadow around the corners of your eyes. This will make you look more tired and close to death. To make this easier to apply you’ll want to use an eyeshadow applicator or small brush. We recommend the Amazon deep red shadow (£4).
Black and brown eyeshadow: To make your vampire eyes look sunken and give yourself dark circles, you want an eyeshadow palette that contains blacks and greys. You can also use dark brown to make yourself look more gaunt and enhance your cheekbones. You’ll need a bigger brush for this part. This eye shadow will also work well if added to your eyebrows to make them look darker. The Collection Smoky Eye palette (£6.99) has all the colours you’ll need and is relatively cheap.
Fake blood: If you’re going to putting fake blood on your mouth, make sure you get one that’s safe to use. In case you ingest it (obviously we recommend avoiding getting any inside your mouth).
The Classikool fake blood from Etsy (from £3.99) comes in different sizes, so you can pick however much fake blood you need. This fake blood will also work really well if you’re creating any fake injuries, like a slit neck or stab wound.
Vampire teeth: All you then then is a set of vampire teeth to finish the vampire look.
The Joker Halloween Makeup for Men
What you’ll need
- White face base
- Black eyeshadow
- Black eyeliner
- Red lipstick
- Coloured hair wax
Base: You could use the same squeezy tube from Revolution as used in the vampire Halloween makeup look or you can use face paint pots. In that case, this clown white face and body paint is easy to use and gives a bright white look. You could use a sponge or warm it up in your hands and apply it all over.
Black eyeshadow: The Joker’s makeup only calls for one eye colour, so you won’t need any other shades. The Amazon black eyeshadow (£3) is sold as being great for creating The Joker look. Plus it’s cheap, and works well to blacken your eyes.
Black eyeliner: To really darken your eyes you can also use liquid black eyeliner. This is also good for creating vein lines and other cracks in The Joker’s face. We recommend the e.l.f. Precision Liner (£3) because it should stay in place all night.
Red lipstick: For The Joker’s lips you’ll need red lipstick. The Wet n Wild Silk Finish Red Lipstick (£1.99) is a good, cheap choice. You can apply the lipstick to your lips and smudge it around your mouth, or you could use a brush to apply it. A brush is more precise but your hand will probably make you look crazier.
Temporary coloured hair wax: If you really want to go all in then you can dye your hair green to match The Joker’s. You could also find a green wig to wear, but making your hair look green will look better. The temporary green hair dye from OCHILIMA is strong enough to make your hair look bright but should wash out easily.
Zombie Halloween Makeup For Men
This look is more expensive and more difficult than the other two men’s Halloween makeup looks but if do have the money and time, it’s worth it.
What you’ll need
- Zombie face kit
- Water-based glue
- Alcohol-gel
- White base
- Brick-coloured eyeshadow
- Purple eyeshadow
- Coloured hair wax
Prosthetics: To make your zombie face look realistic, stick-on prosthetics will make your face look more gaunt. You can get all sorts of prosthetics, but if this is your first time the forehead and cheekbones set (£5.99) from Etsy is a good starting point. To stick your Halloween prosthetic to your face, you’re then going to need water-based glue, like this one from Screenface (£10). Once you’ve got the zombie prosthetics in place you can paint them with alcohol-activated paint or use fake blood to make them the colour you want. Just make sure to do a patch test before using any silicone prosthetics in case you have an unknown allergy to the product.
Base: Seeing as you’re dressing up as the dead reborn, your skin tone needs to look the part. The Sideshow 8 Gore (£36) gives all the tones and colours you need. Start with giving your face an off-white colour, followed by adding a brick-type colour to your temples, eyes, and around your mouth and nose. A purple colour around your ears and the corner of your eyes will help give your face a deathly shadow. You do need to activate these colours with alcohol, like the Maekup Etha-Gel (£6). You could alternatively use a cheaper, standard eyeshadow palette with these colours, and we recommend the Amazon deep red shadow (£4) and purple passion shadow (£4).
Fake blood: You can also use the red from the Gore palette to create a look of blood on your face, but if you’re looking to match the zombie tutorial, you’re going to want to use fake blood. The Classikool fake blood from Etsy (from £3.99) is safe to use in and around your mouth. It’s easy to apply and you can make it as pale or dark as you like, by using a sponge to smudge it in or leave it dripping from your lips.
