Pirate & Parrot Halloween Makeup

October 20, 2021

Who else is here for the last-minute Halloween costume ideas? Dressing up as a pirate is seriously so easy, and if you have a friend to join you, a parrot is the perfect complement! I put together this look because once again, I was drawn to the makeup. In my daily life, I don’t really wear a ton of makeup, and definitely not anything too dark or bold, so going all out for Halloween is so much fun for me. I gravitate towards dramatic looks (Cruella, anyone?) and this pirate makeup look is no different. Plus, it’s not hard at all!

All it takes for this pirate look is lots of highlighter, a smokey eye with some smudging, and a dark lip. And the best part is, the less perfect, the better! As you can see, I added some black eyeshadow underneath my eye and smudged it a little with my finger. No need to make both eyes symmetrical. Makes getting ready so much fun and stress-free!

I added a handkerchief to my head and braided three small braids. I added charms to the braids as well – I actually used earrings for this in place of beads. Great if you truly are doing it last minute. When your hair and makeup are this piratey, the outfit doesn’t even matter as much. I wore a black bodysuit. Add some black shorts and some fishnets and you’re done!

As for the parrot, this one was definitely more complicated. The colors could have been a little more vibrant, but I used what I had in my makeup stash. Be careful with yellow if you have a skin tone similar to mine; it really didn’t show up at all. The key here is to use an angled brush to make feather-like strokes. I added some dimension with liquid liner of the same/similar color in a couple sections. For example, on the pink color, I used a purple liquid liner to add small strokes, giving it more of a feather appearance. I did a yellow/orange lip as a beak (ha!) and had some face charms left over from…who knows. A music festival, probably. But anyway I added those at the top for a touch of glam. I added my fab feather earrings, threw on a vibrant, festive top and that’s it!

I had fun with both of these looks, but am vibing with the pirate makeup more this year! Now to decide if I want to dress up as that or Cruella for Halloween!

What is your best last-minute Halloween costume idea?

Pin for Later:

Photos by Ryan Carpenter and Paola Gonzalez.