Festival-Ready Makeup Looks to Channel Your Inner Headliner

1. Monochromatic Hair & Brows for Festivals

Go bold or go home—we’re starting this list off with a look that’s sure to make you the star of any festival grounds you step foot on. There’s only one way to pull this look off: Pick your fave color and stick with it. We get that not everyone has the luxury of dying their strands, so we suggest picking up a wig or some temporary color spray for the hair part of it. As for the brows? If you aren’t ready to go full bleach, fake it with a concealer close to your skin tone and apply it to your brow hairs. Then, take a colorful eyeshadow palette and apply the shade of your choice to your brows in soft, hair-like strokes.

2. Fresh Faced Festival Makeup Look

If a low-maintenance is more your vibe (we get it, sleep is sparse when you’re having fun), a fresh-faced approach is the way to go. We love this look because all it takes is a little brow gel, some spot concealing, and some tomato-girl blush. If you want to really complete the look, top off your lips with a lip liner or stain that’s close to your natural lip color.

3. Electric Liner Festival Makeup

The most foolproof way to look like THE rockstar at any music festival? Eyeliner. We’re obsessed with this eyeliner look because of its sparkle color and dramatic wing. To get the perfect wing, we love a liner duo that has a gel liner on one side and a glitter liner on the other—this way, you can map out the shape of your wing and trace it with the fun side after.

4. All-Over Glitter Festival Makeup Look

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again—there’s no such thing as too much glitter. This festival-approved makeup look is all the proof you need. The main focus here is the glitter, so whatever you choose to wear underneath it is your prerogative. We do suggest making sure your base is glowy, though, so that the loose glitter has something to adhere to. We also suggest topping off the look with lots and lots of setting spray to keep the glitter while you’re breaking out your dance moves. 

5. Pretty-in-Pink Cheeks Festival Look

If you’re looking to show Sabrina Carpenter who’s boss this festival season, this baby pink look is your girl. The best part, it’s low effort and requires just one product. Reach for a bright pink blush and just dust it on your cheeks, lids, and lips—and you’ve got yourself a sweet, dreamy, monochromatic makeup look.

6. Berry Lips Festival Makeup

Have you ever seen a look more gorgina?! There’s just something about a bold lip that really does it for us. To wear this look at your next music festival, line your lips with a creamy, brown lip liner, making sure to blend the color towards the center of your lips to create that ombre effect. Then, take a berry-colored gloss and apply it all over your lips. 

7. Art Deco Liner Festival Makeup Look

If you haven’t figured it out by now, we’re huge fans of winged eyeliner. And because festival season is the perfect time to experiment with the shape and color of a wing, we’re adding this look to our lineup. This one sports a liquid black liner, but as long as you choose one with a felt-tip pen for precision, the color doesn’t matter. The best part? You’re supposed to have fun with it! Whatever shape and length is calling your name, you do you.

8. Adorned Brows Festival Look

If the ultimate cool girl Doja does it, we love it. Now are we saying to go full throttle and shave your brows for this look? Not unless you want to, but we do think that adding gems or any kind of adornment to your brows is the coolest way to take your music festival look to the next level without much effort. If you pick up some face gems that already have adhesive, all you have to do is place them along the arch of your brow and you’ve got yourself a rockstar-level look.

9. Vampy Lips Festival Makeup

When in doubt, go a little goth with it. To ace this festival look, you need two main things: a black pencil and a red lipstick. First, slightly overline your lips with the black pencil, making sure to really blend out the edges. Then, finish your lip with a bold red lipstick. To keep lips as the main focus, we suggest leaving the rest of your makeup looking pretty simple.

10. Freckled & Sun-Kissed Festival Makeup Look

You can never go wrong with a sun-kissed look at a music festival—they go together like peanut butter and jelly. The best way to achieve it? Reach for your handy-dandy bronzer. First, start off the look by creating pearl-like, glowy skin with your fave skin tint and highlighter. Then, take a fluffy brush and dust a baked bronzer all over your face, making sure to emphasize your cheekbones, forehead, and nose (aka all the places the sun would naturally hit your face).

11. Baby Blues Festival Makeup Look

Icy pastel blue eyeshadow has been having a moment and jet-black wings are an emo girl staple. Put them together and what do you get? A vibey look that Lana Del Rey herself would catch feelings for. This eye achieves its drama with a light blue shadow swept over lids, topped with a pigmented liquid liner. To get that high contrast, Quynh says hugging the lash line is key. “Make sure you bring the liner and mascara into the lash line so you don’t see any skin.” As for the sharp wing? “It’s all about the cotton swabs,” she jokes. (Stash a few in your makeup bag and you’ll thank yourself later.) Dab a bit of makeup remover onto a cotton swab and clean up your wing ‘til you get a shape you’re proud of. Just be sure to fill in any patches that may have been removed while cleaning up the line.

12. Two-Toned Festival Look

Unlike conflicting set times that force you to choose between artists, this two-toned lid lets you have both. We went for shades in the sunset fam but honestly, it’s a festival—you can do whatever you want. To get an intense color payoff, Quynh suggests working with a stiff, flat brush to pick up and deliver color. “Pat, not swipe, onto lid,” she says. To keep free of face flecks, pop on a couple eye patches beforehand to catch any fallout—we can’t get enough of the SKYN ICELAND Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels. The extra boost of hydration will be much needed.

13. ’60s Lids Festival Makeup Look

Woodstock paved the way for modern rock festivals, so to pay homage to the OG fest, we love this 60s-inspired eye that looks like it was plucked straight out of 1969. Luckily, psychedelia lives on—you’ll fit right in with any Tame Impala crowd. “The shade chartreuse gives me a 60s vibe especially when it’s used all over the lids past the crease and touching on the brow bone,” says Avendaño. Using Ojai from the IBY BEAUTY Enlighten Eyeshadow Palette, pat the shimmery lime shade onto lids and into the inner corner, then buff above to crease. “In order for your eyes to stand out while wearing it, you should pair it with a darker shade and rim the eyes with it so that it gives it some depth,” he advises. IBY BEAUTY Enlighten Eyeshadow Palette in Wealth is fab for creating dimension. Avendaño’s secret weapon for that soft, feline shape? Cotton swabs. Yet another reason to keep these in your kit at all times. Top it off with a minty liner (following the same shape), a lot of mascara, peace, love, and music. 

14. Smoky Indigo Festival Makeup Look

For those who can’t resist the dark side, this indigo smoky eye will satisfy. The diffused effect and scaled back lip keep it from appearing too heavy while the sun’s up. How do you achieve this look? “Liner first,” recommends Quynh. “Smudge your pencil eyeliner into the lash line to give an ombré effect before shadow,” she says—we’re using the IL MAKIAGE NEW YORK Long-Wear Eye Pencil in Hero (a matte navy blue). Then with a tapered blending brush, buff shimmery shades over your liner to diffuse. Quynh starts with IBY BEAUTY Enlighten Eyeshadow Palette in Third Eye before layering Spa Day on top. 

15. Bronze Glitter Festival Look

Desert tones are a home run for the festival circuit. Add in a little glitter? You’ve got yourself a grand slam. Pair this sultry, sparkly eye with some boho braids and boots and make your way to Stagecoach, stat. With an earthy mix of colors from the SHAINA B MIAMI Mini Miami Eyeshadow Palette, the model wears Wynwood (a warm taupe) swept onto lids and into the crease, then focused Port Au Princess (a shimmery greige) along the lash line toward the inner corners and Cafecito (an espresso brown) toward the outer edges of the lash line. Now comes the best part. Glitter is fun, but glitter gets ev-er-y-where. “Using a pre-mixed glitter (not loose) will make your life 100 times easier,” says Quynh. True words of wisdom.

16. Dreamy Cool Tones Festival Makeup

Not ready to go full-on bold? We’ve got three words for you: pop of color. This soft, periwinkle lid gets a little help from a magenta friend—kind of like that time *NSYNC showed up for Ari’s set and successfully tore up our hearts. Following Avendaño’s pro moves, take a matte pastel blue shade (we used IBY BEAUTY Enlighten Eyeshadow Palette in Haiku) and a blending brush to create a wash on lids and continue onto the lower lash line. Enter the special guest: IBY BEAUTY Enlighten Eyeshadow Palette in Dragon Fruit, a vibrant pink. “You can really create dimension by bringing in pinks and fuschias into the crease,” says Avendaño. He recommends a stiff brush to build up a halo of pink in the crease and outer, lower lash line. Then, switch to a fluffy brush and blend out any harsh lines between the two tones. 

17. Lil Uzi Vert Festival Makeup Look

Lime green—also known by '90s kids as slime green—might seem like a daring shade at first glance, but you’ll be hooked at first swipe. This kinda edgy, kinda springy hue gives an instant cool-factor to any look. We opted for the IBY BEAUTY Enlighten Eyeshadow Palette in Ojai—a shimmery, neon-lime shade. As with any bold shade, she reminds us that prep is super important for getting high intensity color. “Use an opaque, matte white eyeliner or cream eyeshadow to create a base to let the color pop from lash line to crease,” says Quynh. The up side of this extra step means you’ll have an easy guide for packing on the color. 

18. Purple Haze Festival Makeup Look

Just like this eye look, by day three your mental state might be a little hazy. You made it this far, so give yourself a pat on the back, yet another $12 cold brew, and pack on some shimmery purple eyeshadows with your fingers. You’ve earned that closing show. To get a bigger lift of color, Quynh lends a tip: Prime your lids with a cream shadow before moving onto powders. Once you’ve gotten your cream base, press and swirl your index finger into a shimmery lilac shade and pat onto lids—we used IBY BEAUTY Enlighten Eyeshadow Palette in Crown Chakra. With the same color, smudge a bit along your lower lash line (the pinky is perf for this area). Then, add an aura of pinky-purple by gently blending Peace into your crease with your ring finger. Voila! A no-fuss look to close out your weekend. 

19. Galactic Arches Festival Look

It wouldn’t be festival makeup if spacey inspiration didn’t make its way into the mix—the desert is home to all space babes. Avendaño keeps the palette of this look in sun-kissed bronze and sienna. Start by sculpting the cheeks with a bronzer (we used SPACE CASE Fakecation Bronzer) and topping cheekbones with a megawatt highlighter, like ESTATE COSMETICS Dew Me Baked Highlighter in Lit. For the lids, Avendaño used a fluffy shadow brush to create a matte wash of terra-cotta—we love NOMAD COSMETICS Tuscany Intense Eyeshadow in Cantucci. Ready to beam up? With an angled brush and a bit of silver glitter gel, create an exaggerated arch starting above the crease toward the inner corners and extending out past your brows. “Don’t try to make a perfect line. It’s more impactful when it’s messy and artsy!” Avendaño.