Blacklight Makeup Ideas

If you are heading to any sort of event with black lights, you will look amazing if you decorate yourself with blacklight makeup. Below we have listed a bunch of glow in the dark makeup ideas to make sure you stand out in the crowd. Whether it's for a themed event like a Halloween Party, a Music Festival or a Neon Glow Party, you will look incredible and have a lot of fun creating glowing designs on your face and body.

What makeup glows under Blacklight?

When placed under a blacklight, many everyday materials are able to glow or fluoresce, this happens because the blacklight transmits UV rays that are absorbed by the materials and reflected almost instantaneously, making the materials appear to glow. Neon colors such as Pink, Green, Yellow, Orange and Light Blue tend to work best as these colors contain fluorescent pigments that react under the black lights. If you have a black light at home, before going out to buy black light reactive makeup, check the makeup pallets that you already own underneath the UV light. If you own colorful makeup, you may find that you have some products that contain the color pigments required to glow. You can use these colors to create your look. If not there are a bunch of blacklight makeup products that can be found online. We have listed some great blacklight makeup supplies below. Alternatively you can try to make your own blacklight makeup by adding fluorescent pigment powder to your existing products.

Which products should I use for blacklight makeup?

When doing blacklight makeup for a glow party you can use a range of products to create your look. Neon eyeshadow and eyeliner can make your eyes look stunning. Fluorescent face paint or highlighter pens can be used to paint or draw designs on your skin. There are lip glosses specially designed to glow under UV light. You can also use the face paints to paint your eyebrows, lips and false lashes in bright neon colors. To make your hair glow there are a few options. You can use neon colored hairspray, wear a fluorescent colored wig, or simply throw fluorescent pigment powder through your hair. There are also UV reactive nail polishes that can be used to paint your fingernails and toes.

Blacklight makeup supplies

Do all highlighters glow under black lights?

Not all highlighter colors will glow the same underneath blacklights. We have found that often blue, purple and red colored highlighter pens don't react very well. We would recommend you stick to using pink, green, orange and yellow colored highlighter pens. Highlighter markers are always a cheap and easy way to guarantee an awesome and cool look underneath black lights. Highlighter pens don't create the mess that paints can. They are also low cost, so you buy a bunch of them and hand them around at parties for everyone to use, getting creative with unique glowing designs. The awesome designs on the people in the photo below were created purely with highlighter pens!

How do you make glow in the dark make up?

While you can buy UV reacting paints for a blacklight party, it is also possible to make it yourself. Below we have listed a recipe for a safe, non-toxic glow in the dark paint to use on your face and body. It's usually cheaper to make your own products, and you can customize the colors to get exactly what you want!

The Recipe:
- 4 tablespoons corn starch (or talcum powder)
- 2 tablespoons cold cream or thick lotion
- 2 tablespoons glow pigment.

The glow pigment is the main ingredient, since it's where the "glow" comes from. The corn starch is used to help the painting stick to your skin and the lotion gives the paint a consistency and make it flexible so it won't crack or peel.

Best ideas for blacklight makeup

The rule here is to get creative and use your imagination, use what you have available to come up with cool ideas. You can use your DIY makeup or the makeup you've especially bought for this occasion, just be sure to add lots of color! Here are some examples for inspiration:

Blacklight outfits and decoration ideas

Don't forget to think of your glow party outfit and make sure it combines with your make up! Here is a guide to "What to wear to a Glow Party".
Also, transform your party space with these awesome black light glow party decorations.

Which black lights to use for a party?

We believe the best black lights for glow parties are the Glowave black light kit. Each kit contains four long black lights to surround your party in UV light. Click here for more information on black lights.