Fashion

Last Minute, One Product Halloween Makeup Ideas

by Rachel Nussbaum

Halloween is coming for us all, and as anyone who's stopped by a costume store in the last month can tell you, it's gruesome out there. Or in there, as the case may be— screaming children, screaming adults, a mob scene over the passable costumes under $80 bucks, eventual acquiescence to the fact that you might spend $80 bucks on Lycra. It's just not worth it. Instead, go to Sephora, and pick up one of these last minute Halloween makeup ideas that only use one product. It's quick, easy, and a lot less crowded. Hey, you've gotta take what you can get when you've waited 'til the last minute!

Chances are you already have one of these products on hand, but if you don't each one is easy enough to find.. These ideas range from standard spooky fair, like your ghosts 'n' your ghouls, to the more topically unsettling, like an effortless French woman. How does she do it? No one knows. Or maybe you're that most alien creature of all, a beauty vlogger using 100 layers of a makeup product. Welcome to the House of Last Ditch! It'll be over soon, I promise.

But for now, here are a few ways to find inspiration in you rmake-up collection.

1. An Effortless French Woman

The truest one-product costume of all. Grab a blue-red lipstick and a striped tee and you're set. Make like French makeup artist Violette, above, and wear a boatneck shirt for bonus points. Maybe add a beret if you want to be obvious.

Revlon Super Lustrous Creme Lipstick in Cherries in the Snow, $8.49, Walgreens.com

2. A Vlogger Using A Hundred Layers Of Product

If you're part of the makeup Youtube subculture, you're probably familiar with the new phenomenon of people coating 100 layers of this or that makeup product on their faces and filming the process. I will say this one isn't ideal for dance floor makeouts, or sweaty parties in general, but it'll be worth it when the one person who knows what you are gets it. Pick up an inexpensive, waterproof foundation and layer on as much as you can.

RIMMEL LONDON Stay Matte Foundation, $4.99, Ulta.com

3. A Cat

Everyone gets this one, it's a classic. Liquid liner your way to a quick cat eye, draw on a few whiskers, you're done. A waterproof formula with a felt or brush tip, like the Kat Von D below or Stila's Stay All Day liner, is your best bet. Follow the tutorial above, or take it to meme-levels and add a rainbow for an easy Nyan look.

Kat Von D Tattoo Liner, $20, Sephora.com

4. A YouTube Makeup Guru

Just so much highlighter. You really want to shine like the sun for this one, so I'd recommend packing something like the Becca x Jaclyn Hill Champagne Collection on your cheekbones, while an out-there shade of matte liquid lipstick takes you home. This one is technically cheating with two products, but the combo makes it.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in Potion, $20, Ulta.com

5. A Ghost

A super-pale pancake foundation will work to give you that ~ghostly~ look this Halloween. Pat a powder formula all over your face and neck with a fluffy brush, then wear a white dress.

OCC SKIN: CONCEAL, $23, OccMakeup.com

6. A Green Zombie

Get this: use that green color corrector you bought but still haven't touched, only don't cover it with concealer or foundation. Instead, smear it all over, building up the opacity as much as possible (the above is impressive, but any green tinge will work). Done. You're a classic Hollywood zombie (although I won't claim that it will actually look as good as the makeup above).

NYX COSMETICS Color Correcting Concealer, $11.99, Ulta.com

7. A Purple Zombie

Finally put the purple color corrector in every palette to work. Smear it all over for a different zombie look, or if it's dark enough, concentrate it in the hollows of your cheeks. Finish with a dusty gray or lavender lipstick for the lowest-effort zombie on the block.

& Other Stores CC Quad, $15, Stories.com

8. Raggedy Ann

Pop some bright red blush in unblended, stark circles on your cheeks (like this surprisingly everyday-wearable Nars), and braid your hair into pigtails. This also works for a Pippi Longstockings costume, depending on which you grew up with.

NARS Blush in Exhibit A, $30, Sephora.com

9. Instagram Makeup Artist

Follow a contour tutorial to the step, complete with all of the colors you normally leave untouched in your palette. Then leave them unblended and watch the screams roll in!

tarteist™ PRO glow highlight & contour palette, $45, Tarte.com

Happy last-minute Halloween-ing!

Images: ItsMandarin/YouTube, Giphy, Courtesy of Brands