The Best SFX Makeup Trends of 2025

Happy New Year! We hope you’ve had an amazing holiday period, and that you’re just as excited as us to get the ball rolling on 2026 this January. We can’t wait to see what crazy looks you create next, but first, we want to take a look back on the year just gone by. Let’s reminisce on some of the highs of 2025 together, as it was certainly a jam-packed year that seemed to fly by! 

First off, we want to take a look back at some of the most iconic and craziest trends of the year. In the spring of 2025, we saw the terrifying yet fun yarn makeup trend take off. Do you think this trend might make a comeback this year? This makeup look involves sticking yarn to your face, using a skin-safe solvent, and then applying your makeup on top. This opened up the door for crazy and exaggerated features, and spooky toy-doll-inspired makeup. 

@thatautisticmua created an awesome yarn makeup look, adding a distinct flair to the look with elements of their own style.

Ge is pretty infamous for always creating fantastically horrifying, creepy clown makeup, and we can certainly see some of the love for that aesthetic bleed over into this look. The Blackout Black Contact Lenses add to the haunted and soulless vibe of this look. Rather than go full clown, Ge kept to a muted palette that allowed the black and white contrast between the makeup and the yarn to stand out, emphasising the smaller circumference of the circle, which actually makes it appear more mask-like. The subtle, pale pink, circular blush is a nod to the clown makeup, however, as the rest of the makeup is in black and white, it is reminiscent of mimes and pierrot clowns. 

Blackout Black Costume Contact Lenses (Daily)

Create terrifying results with thenbspemBlackout Black Contact Lenses/em the lens that diminishes any of your natural eye colors and provides a bold statement with its deeply pigmented coverage. Perfect for Halloween or Cosplaying, these daily lenses are a must!/p

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Did you miss out on the yarn makeup trend? Follow this tutorial to discover how to take part: https://www.crazylenses.com/en_GB/blog/how-to-the-yarn-makeup-guide!

Similar to the woollen yarn trend and its satisfying removal came the latex peel makeup. Create unique designs across your face, from shapes and symmetric patterns to asymmetric lines that form a unique map. Then, once you’ve put down your design in latex (you may want a few layers), cover with color! Erin was inspired by the patterns and colors of her Wild Fire Contact Lenses, creating a beautiful gradient design based on the red contact lenses. We also have a more in-depth tutorial available thanks to @makeupby_esc: https://www.crazylenses.com/en_GB/blog/latex-peel-makeup-tutorial. Although this trend never got as big as the yarn makeup, we loved to see the freedom in the designs, and we would love to see your creations if you made your own attempt! 

Zombies, like we thought after the release of 28 Years Later, made a huge comeback throughout the year, and we loved this Halloween’s twist on the classic zombie makeup. We saw a rise in pop-art style zombies in October, and this bright makeup definitely left an impression! Mixing up the cartoonish style with the scare factor brought a fun and light-hearted energy to these spooky Halloween looks. 

@aleyshamcquade_mua killed this pop art zombie look, matching the blue ‘zombie’ skin to the bright blue contact lenses; these Ice Walker Blue Contact Lenses help to keep the look balanced, adding some of the vibrant color to the left side of the face. We love the use of vivid, bright colors in these Halloween looks, creating costume designs that would certainly stand out in a crowd of more ‘realistic’ zombies! 

@thenefariousway delivered pure pigmentation in her zombie pop-art looks - yes, we were treated to multiple! 

In this first zombified look, @thenefariousway stuck to the half-and-half split down the face that many others taking part in this trend used to show off a stylised pop-art makeup look on one side, and the zombie version on the other! White dots, inspired by Roy Lichtenstein’s artstyle, line the edges of the forehead and cheek, and sharp white lines are used for highlights to contrast with the defining black lines. High contrast and bold color were key to the pop-art movement, and this can be seen in @thenefariousway’s super pigmented pieces. In the look above, @thenefariousway took color-inspiration from her vibrant Wild Fire and Angelic Blue Contact Lenses.  

In this second pop art zombie look, @thenefariousway drifts a bit more from the origins of the trend, this time choosing to do a full face of colorfully pigmented paint. We’re not complaining, though, as we love this bright and bold makeup! A dark, black liner is still used to create definition, and the Enchanted Pink Contact Lenses add an extra pop of color to his look. 

Enchanted Pink Costume Contact Lenses (30 Day)

Bring your cosplay creations to life with a pair ofnbspEnchanted Pink Contact Lenses. These fantasy pink lenses inspire and transform a variety of exciting character looks and costume designs!

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Still utilising a distinctly pop art/cartoonish style, @ohamarie once again develops this trend by creating a more ‘realistic’ zombie that you’d be likely to see on the screen. This lime green zombie look involves our Blind White Contact Lenses, ideal for a spooky zombie costume! These blind white lenses create the perfect cloudy, undead appearance by completely covering the pupil for a seamless result. Our blind contact lenses do obscure vision, as they also cover the pupil. 

Blind White Costume Contact Lenses (Daily)

Create your next cosplay look with the White Blind Cosplay Contact Lenses. These white costume contacts feature a Blind style as well as a daily duration making them great for conventions and events.👁️‍🗨️ Please Read Note-These Blind lenses WILL impair your vision, so make sure you save them for a cute photoshoot, and don't wear them anywhere dangerous!

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The deep purple shadows and red undereyes contrast perfectly with the vibrant green skin tone, with plenty of black lines and white highlights to add that cartoonish, pop-art style emphasis to the contours and ‘wrinkles’ of the face. @ohamarie uses this harsh contouring technique to create the impression of weathered and beaten skin that’s drooping and sliding down the face.

We saw many get inspired by otherworldly and extraterrestrial beings in July; from abducted cows to fashion-forward blue martians, there was a wide range in these alien-inspired designs. @juliaredmakeup was inspired by the aliens of the deep, creating this gorgeous siren makeup with glistening skin, shimmering eyelids, and pearlescent gemstone prosthetics across the bridge of the nose. The Dragon Mist Grey Costume Contact Lenses add a mystical touch to this entire look, creating an unnatural eye shape that instantly attracts attention. 

Dragon Mist gray Costume Contact Lenses (Daily)

Transform your eyes with these gray Dragon Contact Lenses. These contact lenses completely cover up your natural eye color!

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@bark.ruffalo took your average futuristic martian and made them fashion-forward too, blending alien blue paint with gyaru makeup to create a cute and unforgettable look. If you ever want a stand-out Halloween costume that still looks good, we recommend looking to Alex for inspiration! 

Using the Black Mini Sclera Contact Lenses to create a wide-eyed appearance that is subtly inhuman, the wider diameter of the mini sclera contact lenses complements the exaggerated features of the gyaru makeup style. 

Mini Sclera Black Costume Contact Lenses (Daily)

Bold and scary, these Mini Sclera Black Contact Lenses are the ultimate crazy lens! These blackout contact lenses completely block out your natural eye color.

Out of stock

Did you take part in any of these, or have your own favorite trend of 2025? We can’t wait to see what new, creative, and resourceful makeup trends take over in 2026, and how we can use our contact lenses to add an extra edge to every look. From SFX makeup to costume contact lenses and natural contact lenses, we’ve got everything you may need to create the next viral moment.