Picture this: The University of Akron, Halloween night, 2019; you are throwing together your last-minute costume on a college-student budget. Perhaps you’re whipping out the sunglasses for three blind mice, a button-down and socks for a timeless Risky Business, a leather jacket for Sandy or wings for an angel. No matter what costume, you need a bold makeup look to tie your whole look together. Never fear: here are my five favorite makeup products that double as Halloween looks on a budget.
- NYX Professional Makeup Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick
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This lipstick may only be $7 at Ulta, but it packs quite a punch in 24 shades. I own quite a few of these lipsticks, and the color pay off is great! I also don’t have to reapply every hour as they last quite a while. My favorite shade for Halloween is Foul Mouth, pictured above.
- NYX Professional Makeup Face and Body Glitter
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Also available at Ulta for only $5, these little pots of joy last FOREVER. I purchased mine freshman year, and there is plenty left. The glitter, when adhered with the glitter primer, sticks really well to the skin and can be used to create a lot of different bold and flashy looks. Great on eyelids to make eyeshadow pop or on the cheekbones for an extreme highlight.
- Colourpop Super Shock Shadow
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Creamy and bold, these pots of pigmented eyeshadow, much like the NYX Glitter, delivers for cheap. I love sweeping the gold shade over eyeshadow for a reflective look worthy of a Devil or an Angel.
- Wet N Wild Color Icon Rainbow Highlighter
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This is my absolute favorite makeup for Pride festivals and can be easily repurposed for Halloween. The purple, blue and green shades would be perfect for a mermaid or alien, and the red, orange and yellow can spice up any costume with a pop of an expected color. This highlighter is hard to build, so I recommend wetting the brush or even your finger to make sure this color sticks. Word of advice: add each color separately to build a gorgeous rainbow on the cheekbones, brow bones and inner corner.
- NYX Professional Makeup Matte Liquid Liner
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I love NYX liquid liners and for the price of $7 it is easy to see why. These eyeliners are comfortable, smudge-proof and easy to apply. They last basically forever. If I forget to take my makeup off after a long night, my eyeliner is still staring back at me in the mirror the next morning. Basically, any Halloween outfit is not complete without eyeliner from witch to zombie, so this will help many any costume a success.