Beetlejuice makeup is the most forgiving character look of the season, because it is meant to look like it has been in the ground for a while. Mossy gray green skin, smudged raccoon eyes, a little green mold shading at the temples and jaw, dark cracked lips, and wild, teased white hair with a green tint. Here is the whole look step by step, plus the Lydia look for whoever comes with you.
What makes it read as Beetlejuice
Two things: the grimy, mossy skin and the wild white hair. The black and white striped suit finishes it, but the face and hair are what people recognize. Neatness works against you here; every step should look a little messy.
For how this compares with the other characters of 2026, see the trending Halloween costumes roundup.
Beetlejuice makeup, step by step
1. Gray the skin
Sponge a thin layer of pale gray or gray green face paint or cream over the face, ears and neck, and set it with powder. It should look sickly and dull, never bright.
2. Add the mold
Dab a matte green eyeshadow and a little brown at the temples, along the jaw, around the nose and at the hairline with a stippling sponge. Uneven patches look right; smooth blending looks like contour.
3. Smudge the raccoon eyes
With your finger, smudge black and charcoal shadow all the way around both eyes, well past the lash lines above and below. Leave the edges rough, as if you slept in your makeup.
4. Darken the lips
A dark gray or brown lip, then a few fine dark cracks drawn across it. Smudge the edges slightly.
5. Finish with grime
A few specks of brown and green stippled on the cheeks and forehead. Set with setting spray.
Make it last all night
Face paint and cream makeup move as your face warms up, and the mold patches are the first thing to smear. Set every layer with a translucent powder pressed on with a puff rather than swept on with a brush, and finish with a setting spray held at arm's length. Carry a small compact of the gray base and a cotton swab, and check the corners of your mouth and nose an hour in, which is where it wears first.
Because the look is meant to be grimy, a little smudging only helps it. What does hurt it is a clean, bare patch showing through on the chin or forehead, so touch those up first.
The striped suit and the details
The suit is what makes a gray face into Beetlejuice. Look for a black and white vertical striped jacket and trousers, slightly too big, with a white shirt and a skinny black tie loosened at the collar. Scuff the jacket with a little brown eyeshadow on the cuffs and hem so it matches the grime on the face. A few plastic beetles pinned to the lapel are a good finishing joke.
Beetlejuice hair
Tease dry hair hard at the roots so it stands up and out, spray it white with a temporary color spray, then dust a little green eyeshadow through it with a big brush. A wild white wig is quicker and cleaner. You can preview a light shade on your own photo first: platinum blonde on messy, teased hair is close to the look.
The Lydia look, for a friend
Lydia, the goth teenager from the same film, is the natural partner costume. Pale matte skin, dark shadowed eyes, a dark red or black lip, spiky short dark bangs and all black clothes. It is close to the Deadpan Goth look in HairGlam; our Wednesday Addams makeup guide covers the same pale, dark lipped base in detail.
For another afterlife character, the Corpse Bride makeup guide has the pale blue bride with huge eyes. For more ways hair finishes a costume, see our hair ideas by season guide.
See Beetlejuice on your own face first
Gray green skin and heavy black eyes change how the whole face reads, and the white hair changes it again. HairGlam's Halloween Studio puts the Afterlife Ghoul look, wild hair included, on a photo of your face in seconds. Your first 4 Halloween looks are free, on iPhone and iPad. Try Beetlejuice makeup on your own face in HairGlam before you buy the paint.
Try Beetlejuice makeup on your own face
Your first 4 Halloween looks are free. 39 face paint and costume looks, no mess, nothing to wash off.
Character names describe costume looks only. HairGlam is not affiliated with the shows or films mentioned.
Questions people ask
What do I need for Beetlejuice makeup?
How do I do the Beetlejuice raccoon eyes?
How do I get Beetlejuice hair?
What goes with a Beetlejuice costume for a friend?
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