Halloween Make-up That Still Looks Good When Someone Leans In

Face paint and heavy pigment sit badly on dry skin, cracking by ten o'clock. Moisturise properly, give it five minutes to sink in, then use a primer. A gripping primer helps everything stay put, and a thin layer of your usual base makes the costume look polished rather than painted on. Always patch test anything new, especially bright pigments and glitter, on the inside of your wrist the day before.

The easiest Halloween look and the most wearable. A sharp, extended wing turns any outfit into a cat. Draw it longer and flick it upward for a vampire, or double it with a floating line in the crease for something more editorial. A felt-tip liner like NYX Epic Ink is easier to control than a gel pot. Tape helps for a clean edge; place it from the corner of the eye towards the end of the brow.

Add whiskers with the same liner: three dots each side, flicked outwards. Finish with a tiny black triangle on the tip of the nose. Done.

Go a shade lighter than your usual foundation, or mix a drop of white into your own. Skip blush, contour under the cheekbone with a cool grey-brown, and smudge a little burgundy shadow around the eyes. The lip does the talking: press a deep berry or oxblood lipstick into the centre with a finger and blur the edges so it looks freshly bitten rather than neatly lined.

Fake blood is optional and best used sparingly. A single drip from the corner of the mouth reads better than a chin full of it, and stays off your outfit.

Paint one half of the face white with a water-activated face paint. Snazaroo is the easy, affordable option sold at Boots, and Mehron and Kryolan are what professionals use. Fill the eye socket and the side of the nose with black, then shade the hollow of the cheek in grey. Draw teeth over the lips as vertical lines. Keep the other half of the face beautifully done, with lashes and a nude lip. The contrast is what makes it.

For anyone who wants to dress up without dressing as anything, a scatter of face gems under the eyes or along the brow bone works with any costume. Use cosmetic-grade glitter only, never craft glitter, and press it on with a glitter glue or a dab of lip balm. Silver on cool skin, gold on warm.

However late it is, don't sleep in it. A cleansing balm dissolves face paint and long-wear liner far better than wipes. Clinique Take The Day Off is a reliable choice. Massage it in on dry skin, add water to emulsify, then follow with your usual cleanser. Glitter comes off best with a strip of sticky tape before you start. Still planning the outfit? Our Halloween costume guide has plenty of ideas.