Kid's Halloween Makeup Tutorial: Lion

Turn your little one into a roaring lion for Halloween with our easy-to-follow makeup tutorial.
Boy in Lion Costume

Kid's Lion Costume for Halloween

Turn your little one into a roaring lion for Halloween with ferocious face makeup and a fluffy body suit with lion ears.

By: Traci Hines, Becky Sapp, and Jason Amos

Materials Needed:

  • face-painting kit with white, yellow, orange, black and brown
  • circular or wedge sponges
  • thin-detail paintbrush
  • cup of water
  • brown eye shadow
  • makeup blending brush

Apply Yellow Face Paint

Begin by dampening a sponge then picking up some of the yellow face paint. Tip: When using dry face paints be sure to get sponge or brush wet before dipping into paint. Have child close their eyes then apply yellow paint to the center of their face and blend out (Images 1, 2 and 3).

Add Orange Paint

Using the same sponge, add orange to the yellow paint's edges and blend out further to create a blended ombre effect. Apply orange paint like brushstrokes to resemble fur (Images 1 and 2).

Add White Paint

Dip a clean sponge in water then in white paint and apply under eye, angling down the sides of the nose (Image 1). Add white above top lip, blending out onto cheeks and down chin to resemble a lion's muzzle (Image 2).

Paint In Eyebrows and Nose

Darken and thicken eyebrows with black or dark brown paint or shadow (Image 1). Dip a thin paintbrush into water then coat with a generous amount of black paint. Paint nose black, focusing on the bottom tip. Next, paint a line connecting bottom of nose to top lip, creating a cat-like mouth separation (Image 2).

Create Muzzle and Add Whiskers

Paint top lip black and extend curving line up cheeks slightly (Image 1). Paint bottom lip black (Image 2), then add black dots to white area above top lip (Image 3). Add whiskers by brushing white paint in small, short strokes around mouth and cheek area (Image 4).

Create Cat Eyes

Add a line of black paint under eyes, angling down the nose to create those striking big-cat eyes (Images 1 and 2).

Add Shading

Use a blending brush and brown eye shadow to shade down sides of nose, down the smile crease and chin, and create some brush texture around edges of face to look like fur (Images 1 and 2). Add a few strokes of white to the forehead and chin for added depth and definition (Image 3).

Finishing Touches

Complete the look by teasing and spraying child's hair to mimic a large mane, or by putting him or her in a furry costume for an even more realistic effect.

Boy in Lion Costume

Kid's Lion Costume for Halloween

Turn your little one into a roaring lion for Halloween with ferocious face makeup and a fluffy body suit with lion ears.

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