The Halloween Queen is BACK! If you don’t know it already, Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday. I love the opportunity to be creative, and all the decor, events, and projects just make my spooky-loving Fall-girly heart so happy. Unfortunately, this time of year can be so hectic and busy, and Halloween costumes can be so expensive. I don’t know about you, but between school and sports and work and birthdays and now hurricanes, October has become our busiest month of the year (can we start bumping a few things to November, please?!), it seems to be getting harder and harder to be creative and do all the fun things I’ve always loved doing.
READ: Halloween Tradition: Spooky Family Photos
So, if you’re feeling overwhelmed and maxed out like I am, I’m here to share some of the DIY Halloween costumes and makeup tutorials I’ve come up with over the past few years to help alleviate some of the stress and financial burden. Feel free to copy! I just can’t bring myself to spend $50+ on a store-bought Halloween costume that falls apart 20 minutes into wearing it and have always hated having the same costume as other kids. So naturally, I’ve instilled those same feelings in my kids (oops). I love using items I already have in my closet to put together a costume and really make it come to life through makeup. It’s so much more fun, inexpensive, and unique!
READ: Tips and Ideas for Easy Family Halloween Costumes
Note that I have two girls, but you could totally recreate similar looks on boys, as well! Just adjust clothes and colors accordingly.
Spooky Kid’s Skull / Skeleton


Costume Tips: You can usually find skeleton pajamas or onesies in stores like Target or Walmart, or you can just shop your closet and find black and white items you already own!
Makeup Tips: You can do this with cream or powder makeup, and make it as spooky, cutesy, or glam as you’d like. It’s super easy, and great for beginners — the smudgier the better. The makeup is really what makes this costume!
@blakeleysblondelife Easy skull makeup tutorial (on my 6-year-old)! Tag me if ya try it. 💀 YOU’LL NEED: ▪️black and brown eye shadow ▪️white and black cream makeup ▪️liquid eyeliner pen ▪️fluffy shadow brush ▪️fluffy blending brush ▪️pencil brush ▪️small detail brush ▪️optional: translucent setting powder TIPS: ▪️If you’re working with a darker skin tone, you can use a light foundation or mix white cream in with foundation to give a paler base. ▪️Use brown eye shadow to help blend out the black and create more dimension. ▪️Always set a cream with a powder to help keep the makeup in place, especially on kids. ▪️keep a clean fluffy blending brush and buff in circular motions to blend out ▪️If you mess up or need to erase, use a dry Q-tip! #halloween #halloweenmakeup #halloweenmakeup #halloweenmakeuptutorial #makeuptutorial #skull #skullmakeup #skullmakeuptutorial #kidsmakeup #kidsmakeuptutorial #kidshalloween #kidshalloweenmakeup #diyhalloween #diyhalloweencostumes
Glam Skull / Skeleton



Costume Tips: Same as above! I like to find black clothes I already own, but I like to glam it up with a pop of color or some sparkles! Think colorful shoes, a rhinestone dress or belt, or a black or sequin blazer with black leggings.
Makeup Tips: You can use mostly black, gray, and white makeup for this, but don’t be afraid to add sparkles to your eyelids or a few jewels on the face to make it fun!
@blakeleysblondelife EASY glam skull makeup tutorial! 💀 Love doing a fun makeup look and incorporating “normal” clothes or things I already own. Let me know if ya give it a shot. Everything I used is linked in LTK / my bio / https://liketk.it/4lPxB #halloweenmakeup #halloweentutorial #halloweenmakeuptutorial #skullmakeup #skullmakeuphalloween #skulltutorial #easyskullmakeup #glamskull #glamskullmakeup #halloweencostume #costumeideas #diycostume #skeletonmakeup #easyskeletonmakeup #skeletonmakeuptutorial #skullmakeuptutorial #halloweenlook #halloweentok #beautytok #mua
Pennywise / Creepy Clown



Costume Tips: Again, I found items in my daughter’s closet for this: a gray tutu dress, an old dance recital tutu skirt that I used as the collar, and some red pompom balls that I glued to the dress. Get a red balloon to really make it creepy, and if they have a sibling, they could wear a yellow raincoat and be Georgie!
Makeup Tips: Another easy one for even the most makeup-challenged because it doesn’t have to be perfect! I teased my daughter’s hair and put it in messy pigtails, then glued red pompom balls to bobby pins and stuck one each side to accessorize a bit more.
@blakeleysblondelife You’ll float, too 🎈🤡 I HATE clowns, but Daisy loves all things creepy, so here’s an easy costume idea if you or your little one does, too! I used items Daisy already had to create this costume (hooray for spending $0!), but it would be very inexpensive to put together. We used a tutu from and old recital costume for the collar, but you could use a tulle skirt pinned tight if you have one, or make one with white tulle and elastic. All of the products and dress are linked in the link in my bio. Tag me if you try it! #pennywise #pennywisemakeup #pennywisecostume #kidpennywise #pennywisetutorial #halloweenmakeup #halloweencostume #diycostume #diyhalloweencostume #creepyclown #clownmakeup #easyhalloweenmakeup #kidshalloweencostume #lastminutecostume #lastminutehalloweencostume #halloweenreels #makeuptok #halloweenfyp #fyphalloween #halloweentok
Cheshire Cat


Costume Tips: We wanted to dress as Alice In Wonderland for the Zoo Spooktacular, but I didn’t want to buy costumes to wear just for one night, so we shopped our closets! I did order Daisy the ears, tail, and skirt kit from Amazon, but the rest we already had. And I made my husband’s hat out of a cheap small top hat that I made larger and more “Mad Hatter-like” out of aluminum foil, a black plastic tablecloth, hot glue, and a scarf!
Makeup Tips: Another super easy look. Pink and purple for the eyes, black eyeliner for the whiskers, and white for the mouth. I’d suggest using powder or liquid products over cream if possible since kids tend to touch their face a lot, but if you do use cream just set it with a translucent powder.
@blakeleysblondelife Easy Cheshire Cat makeup tutorial! You’ll just need pink and purple eye shadow, pink cream makeup (or pink lipstick), white cream makeup and a liquid liner or liner pen. Let me know if you try it! #halloween #halloweenmakeup #halloweenmakeuplook #halloweenmakeuptutorial #easyhalloweenmakeup #easyhalloweenmakeuptutorial #lastminutecostume #lastminutehalloweencostumes #cheshirecat #aliceinwonderland #cheshirecatmakeup #cheshirecatcostume #kidscostume #kidsmakeup #kidsmakeuptutorial #diyhalloween #kidshalloween #kidshalloweencostumes
Lion / Zoo Animals



Costume Tips: Another fun costume for zoo trick-or-treating! For any animal, I just like to use clothes that compliment that animal’s fur colors. If you don’t already own them, you can usually find items that you’ll be able to wear again without having to go full costume. For the lion, I wore an orange(ish) sweater and brown leggings.
Makeup Tips: Try recreating the animal’s fur patterns on your face in some way. Be it just using the colors for eye shadow and contour, or full-on doing stripes or spots. For me, I like to use eye shadow for most makeup over creams and paints. It’s easier to control and blend, and easier to remove if you mess up.
@blakeleysblondelife Easy lion makeup 🦁 Everything I used for hair and makeup is linked here: http://liketk.it/3qBZO#halloweenmakeup #halloweenmakeuptutourial #lionmakeup #easyhalloweenmakeup #fyp #beautytutorial #beautycreator #mua #makeupartist #halloweenmakeup #halloween #halloweencostume
Spiderweb / Witch
This is an easy one to pair with a witch costume, or if you just want something festive for school or the office without having to go full costume. And very easy to adapt to your own style! You could use colorful eyeliner, glitter, or just a black liner pen for the spider web to simplify it even more.
@blakeleysblondelife Easy spiderweb makeup for halloween. Would go cute with a witch costume! #halloween #halloweenmakeup #halloweenmakeuplook #halloweenmakeuptutorial #halloweenmakeuptutorial #makeuptutorial #easyhalloweencostume #easyhalloweenmakeup
Other Must-Try Costume Ideas
I don’t have tutorials for these, but maybe the photos can at least serve as inspiration! Here are a few more of my favorite costumes we’ve created and Halloween makeup we’ve done over the past few years that can be done in a pinch or on a budget.
Audrey Hepburn from Breakfast at Tiffany‘s: One of my favorites! We had everything but the gloves, but it just took a black dress, black gloves, pearls, and sunglasses. We edged her up a bit with the boots, fishnet gloves, and a rhinestone barrette instead of a tiara and I just loved how it came out. We stopped into Tiffany and Co. to ask for a bag… and once they saw Daisy dressed up they handed her one with a smile.



Scarecrow Family: Any excuse to wear flannel, I’m in! Perfect for scarecrows. I picked up the hats and straw accessories at Spirit Halloweeen.



The Flinstones: I used fabric I bought at the craft store to make Fred’s outfit, added cut-out pieces of fabric to existing clothes for Pebbles, and cut up a dress I already owned for Wilma. I found the large pearls at Jo-Ann and strung them on the ribbon to create the necklace, and found Pebbles’ bone hair clip at Spirit Halloween.




A Family of Monsters (MOMster, FrankenDad and Little Monster): A quick and easy one! I made these shirts on my Cricut machine and did simple monster makeup on all of us for zoo trick-or-treating.



Pop Art Characters: This was pre-kids, but super easy and fun! I created the “pow” sign on the computer, used paint to outline the seams of our clothes, and did our makeup to make us look like comic book characters. This would be so cute for a whole family!
Jester / Clown: Easy makeup, and you can use any colors you want! I grabbed a fun black dress I’d had in my closet for a few years, accessorized with red shoes to compliment the makeup, curled and teased my hair, and picked up the hat at Spirit Halloween.



Little Red Riding Hood, Big Bad Wolf, and Granny: One of my favorite family costumes we’ve done! In full transparency, I did buy Daisy’s Little Red Riding Hood costume and my wolf accessories from the Halloween store, but the rest was used from items we already owned. And yes, my husband did already own that nightgown 😂.




Please tag me on Instagram @blakeleysblondelife if you end up recreating any of these DIY Halloween costumes, or using them as inspo. My Halloween-loving heart would love to see your creativity!!