I'm Going to Coachella—Here's All the Makeup Inspo I've Saved (2024)

For the first time in my beauty editor career, I'm packing up my face gems, glitter eyeshadows, and shimmery highlighters to head to the desert for Coachella. Don't get me wrong, I've done the festival makeup thing before—but 'Chella is a whole other ball game, babes. It's been practically a full-time job gearing up for festival season (those 'fits don't plan themselves!) but the most exciting part has been scrolling through Instagram in search of festival makeup looks to copy.

Of course, festival makeup can be as out-there and wild as you want it. Whether your vibe is sticking on a few face gems, dusting glitter all over your bod, swiping bright eyeshadow onto your lids, or simply letting the sweat of the day be your highlighter, anything goes! But if you, like me, are looking for inspo, you've come to the right place, as I've been compiling Coachella makeup looks for the last three months. Keep scrolling for all of my picks, plus products to try and a lil how-to.

1. Festival Makeup Idea: Cobalt Blue Eyeshadow

Is there any better occasion to coat your eyes in the richest blue eyeshadow imaginable? I don't think so. This look features two shades of blue for some dimension, but if you wanna make things easy af, just swipe a blue cream eyeshadow all over your lids and into your brow bone. And to get these soft lines, grab a clean blending brush and buff out the edges of your shadow.

2. Festival Makeup Idea: Glitter Eyelashes

Wanna take a cue from runways? Models wore glittery false eyelashes at the Luar Fall/Winter 2024 show (yup, the one Beyonce was at!). And ever since I saw this look backstage, I knew it would be a hit for festival season. If you want to follow the reference to a T, grab a pair of glittery false lashes and cut them to fit only your outer corners. But if you're down to use this as inspo, feel free to stick a whole strip of tinsel lashes on, then dab some extra glitter on the inner corners of your eyes to bring the look together.

3. Festival Makeup Idea: Doll Makeup Look

I'll be damned if I don't pull out a Chappell Roan makeup look while I'm dancing to Femininomenon!! With this look, more is more, bb—don't be afraid to layer on your bright cream blush with bright eyeshadow and red lipstick. If you know anything about Chappell's go-to look, you'll know it usually involves an ultra-white, full-coverage foundation. But (!) in the effort to feel your most comfortable waltzing around festival grounds all day, you can def just opt for a skin tint and load up on setting powder to keep your skin matte throughout the day without the heft.

4. Festival Makeup Idea: Colored Mascara

Sometimes the simplest looks have the most impact. Case in point: This clumpy, colorful mascara, paired with dewy skin and brushed-up brows. Choose any color you like (I, personally, will be complementing my mermaidcore swimsuit with a purple mascara), so long as it can be built up in opacity for a bold look against your skin tone. For a finishing touch, grab a coordinating eyeliner pencil and line your lips with it à la the look above.

5. Festival Makeup Idea: Metallic Lips

One of the biggest summer makeup trends will be metallic lips, especially in this ombré style (ahem, this look was literally featured on the Palomo runway last fall). But it's basically a dream festival combo, too, since it uses bright colors and shimmer most people reserve for their eyes and cheeks. If you're not into reapplying (who is?), choose a metallic liquid lipstick, which will stay on through belting On My Mama and chugging overpriced water.

6. Festival Makeup Idea: Icy Eyes

Y2K at a festival? ~Groundbreaking~. But if you want a festival makeup look to pair with your jorts and rhinestone belt, then frosty eyeshadow is the way to go. Brush a shimmery light-gray or icy-blue eyeshadow all over your lids and into the brow bone. To bring it all together, dust an icy-white highlighter on your cheekbones too.

7. Festival Makeup Idea: Crystal Winged Eyeliner

What's a festival makeup look without gemstones? It's the simplest way to incorporate some glitz in your look and only takes a few steps, tbh. If you wanna go all out, line your eyes with black liquid eyeliner, then follow that line with gems. You can even go for a full crystal lid, like the look above, if you're into it. But if you're feeling a little less creative, try opting for a set of face gems that are already paired together. Literally just peel off the backing, stick to your skin, and go.

8. Festival Makeup Idea: Watercolor Eyes

Can't choose a color? No prob, just put 'em all on your eyes. This look is shockingly easy—you can legit just swipe each shade on your eyelids with your fingers—but looks so intricate and special all together. Just make sure to blend on a layer of eyeshadow primer all over your lids beforehand for the most vivid color payoff.

9. Festival Makeup Idea: Glitter Eyebrow

Personally, I'll be dousing my entire body in glitter at Coachella. But if you want to keep things a bit more ~sensible~ (read: less messy), go for a glitter eyebrow moment. Just coat your brows in eyelash glue, let it get tacky for 30-ish seconds, then dab loose face glitter on your eyebrows. Or you can just brush on a glitter gel—way less involved with a similar shiny payoff.

10. Festival Makeup Idea: Disco Eyes and Cheeks

There's no other place on earth where you can carve out your cheekbones with a bright-pink, shimmery duochrome highlighter and call it minimalist—so make the most of it. Combine your duochrome eyeshadows and highlighters into one look, then top it off with glittery lip gloss and a swipe of colored mascara. It's the festival way!

11. Festival Makeup Idea: Graphic Eyeliner

Not into color and shimmer? All good, bb, because festival szn is also about the abstract, like this graphic eyeliner look. Play around with lines and shapes, whether you go for this double-winged situation or you add spikes, extra lines, dots, swirls—the options are endless here. But the key is choosing a waterproof, smudge-proof eyeliner that won't budge throughout the day (I am pro liquid liner for this, as you can create much sharper lines, but work with whatever is easiest for you). To seriously keep that liner in place, set it with a black eyeshadow, too.

12. Festival Makeup Idea: Rhinestone Mask

Make the whole place shimmer with a face covered in rhinestones like Emira D'Spain. This look will require a whole lotta face gems and some precision; map it out with a white eyeliner pencil before sticking your gems down to make sure your design is cohesive. Tie it all together with matte skin and long af eyelashes to really make the gems stand out.

Why trust Cosmopolitan?

Beth Gillette is the beauty editor at Cosmopolitan with nearly six years of experience researching, writing, and editing makeup stories that range from lip stains to 2024 makeup trends. She’s an authority in all makeup categories, but is an expert when it comes to festival makeup, thanks to researching and saving ~lewks~ for months in prep for a few festivals she's attending herself.