If you are browsing for Halloween makeup ideas this season, I’ve got you covered. I have four looks that could be up your alley. Not going to lie, they are not the easiest ones to pull off, but you can always simplify them and adapt to your needs or skill set. So let’s dive into the looks and the technicality of the techniques and tools/products used.
Look 1: Cracked Porcelain Doll (Ginger Wig)
Vibe: warm, vintage doll that suddenly isn’t so innocent. The ginger hair brings warmth, so the makeup leans peachy–gold with soft, doll-like features — then we add the crack effect.
Base + “Porcelain” finish
- Get out your greasiest face cream that you can find to moisturise and prep your skin for a clay mask. I use Weleda’s Skin Food.
- I would not suggest any foundation, as your next step will be to layer a black oily paint over your face before applying the clay mask. Below you will find a few options for face paint and a clay mask.
- Just to warn you, the cracked clay looks super cool, but it dries your skin, so I wouldn’t recommend wearing it for more than a few hours. You can opt for a white base and draw the cracks instead if you think that the clay will be too heavy for your skin, and/or apply clay in a few places, like the forehead or cheekbones.
Eyes (go to town)
- For the eye makeup, you can do a variety of eyeshadow colours. I used the same cream face paint mixed with some dry eyeshadows. Really up to you. You can copy my look with blue eyeshadow on the brow bone, or see how I made it on the brunette cracked doll variation below.
- I wouldn’t bother with individual lashes; add the largest lash strip you have at hand to exaggerate the look.
Cheeks & lips
- Blush: peach/pink high on the cheekbones. I used cream blush.
- Lips: soft rose or warm nude with a crisp cupid’s bow. You can even “shrink” the lip shape a bit for that vintage porcelain vibe
Crack effect (clay mask method)
- On clean, dry skin, apply a thin layer of drying clay mask where you want cracks (forehead, cheek, around the temple or the whole face). Avoid the eye area.
- Let it dry fully. Gently flex your face (raise brows/smile) so hairline fractures appear.
- Trace the main cracks with a fine black or dark brown liner if the black base is not coming through, or if you decided not to apply the black base.
- Seal lightly with setting spray.
Contact lens ideas
- Soft doll: Honey brown or hazel lenses to match the warmth of the wig.
- Spooky switch: Pop in one white mesh contact (right or left eye only) for a jolt. It reads unsettling without losing the beauty look.
- Optional contrast: icy blue lenses (non-mesh) can look striking against ginger hair.
Extra details
- Faux freckles (very light) can sell the “toy come to life” story with the ginger shade.
- Add a satin bow or lace headband to finish.
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Contact lens ideas
- Spooky switch: Pop in one white mesh contact (right or left eye only) for a jolt or even something crazier like a bloodshot red contact lens in one eye.
- Optional contrast: vivid green lenses can look striking against brown hair.
Extra details
- Wear a white bonnet as on the video or lace headband it offsets the darkness of the look.
Look 2: Cracked Porcelain Doll (Brunette Wig)
Vibe: I find the second cracked porcelain doll with brown hair even spookier than the one with ginger hair. Let me know what you think.
Base + “Porcelain” finish
- Same recommendations as per the first look. One thing I did differently for this look is adding a bit of egg white to the clay, so it holds better and doesn’t crumble as easily. It worked!
- I have applied the clay on my lips this time and then went over it with a brown lip gloss.
Eyes (go to town)
- In this look, I use a variation of yellow, pink and brown on the outer side of my brow bone, and I love it! I love this combination of eyeshadows better than the one I used for the ginger doll look.
- Same as above: I wouldn’t bother with individual lashes; add the largest lash strip you have at hand to exaggerate the look.
Cheeks & lips
- Blush: red/brown sculpting high on the cheekbones. I used creamy products.
- Lips: nude with empty strokes to simulate the cracks even on the lips.
Crack effect (clay mask method) – Same as above
- On clean, dry skin, apply a thin layer of drying clay mask where you want cracks (forehead, cheek, around the temple or the whole face). Avoid the eye area.
- Let it dry fully. Gently flex your face (raise brows/smile) so hairline fractures appear.
- Trace the main cracks with a fine black or dark brown liner if the black base is not coming through, or if you decided not to apply the black base.
- Seal lightly with setting spray.
Look 3: Skull Makeup
This one’s all about clean shapes and bold contrast. I did it mostly with cream face paint, which blends beautifully and sets down smoothly if you powder it lightly. You can take it full horror or glam-dead pretty—your call.
I chose to leave the base close to my skin colour to emulate the skull bones, you can use here your everyday foundation. Don’t cake it on; two sheer layers look more “bone” and less “frosting.” Set with a whisper of translucent powder so it doesn’t slide when you start shading.
For the eye sockets, map the shape first (a soft oval that hugs your natural eye and dips toward the nose). Fill with black cream paint and feather the edges with a bit of brown or grey so it looks hollow, not just “black circle.” I like to haze a little color above the brow ridge—yellow, pink, then brown—blended softly toward the temples. It gives that eerie, bruised glow and ties the look to your other doll makeups. Lashes are optional; if you want “undead glam,” throw on a big spiky strip. If you want pure skull, skip them and tightline with black.
Carve the cheek hollows from the ear toward the mouth, staying high so the line “floats” above the jaw. Start with a grey-brown cream, then deepen the inner channel with black. Blur the top edge so it fades into the white base, and keep the bottom edge crisper—that contrast sells the bone cutout. Add a small nasal cavity (an upside-down heart/teardrop) in black, then soften the top corners with grey so it looks like a recess, not a sticker.
For the mouth/teeth, blank out your lips with white cream first. Draw a faint horizontal “gum line” from corner to corner. Sketch vertical tooth stems over your lips—shorter near the corners, longer in the center. Shade between teeth with a tiny brush and diluted black (keep the centers lighter), then highlight the tips with white so they look slightly rounded. If you want a grittier vibe, add the tiniest hairline crack through one or two teeth and blur a shadow just under the lower row.
Want cracks in the skull? You don’t need clay here. Paint them: use a fine brush with grey to sketch irregular, branching lines, deepen a few sections with black, then place a razor-thin white highlight on one side so they read 3D. If you’re obsessed with texture, you can stipple the lightest touch of thinned clay around the temples—but creams alone do the job and wear more comfortably.
Contact lens ideas:
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Full scare: black sclera lenses for that endless pit look (limit wear time; they’re thicker).
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Ghostly: white mesh in one eye only—super unsettling and still readable on camera.
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Chill but creepy: pale icy blue or misty grey in both eyes; it keeps detail while feeling “not quite human.”
Finish with powder where you crease (smile lines, under eyes) and a gentle setting mist. Tilt your face toward the light and tap a little white cream on the high points (brow ridge, cheekbone edges) for that slight bone sheen—and you’re done: clean, graphic, and very dead.