Janelle Monae, Cyan Boujee, Mindy: best and worst dressed for Halloween 2025

BEST

JANELLE MONAE

It would seem the crown for Queen of Halloween might pass from Heidi Klum to Janelle Monae. The singer and actress sported a series of vampire looks for her Paper Magazine cover and Halloween party. A standout was her Cat in the Hat transformation with prosthetics and multiple videos to boot.

PARIS HILTON

Also sporting multiple looks, Paris went all out for outfits inspired by Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman, Toy Story, Tinkerbell and a series of Britney Spears looks to celebrate her week of Halloween costumes.

JAMES CHARLES

The beauty influencer stunned in his drop-head gorgeous look that featured a prosthetic of his head. Fully face beat, of course. The royal guard ensemble also captured his lanky proportions that intensified the illusion of his beheaded beauty.

ZOLA NOMBONA

The many iterations of Joker from the Batman comics and screen adaptations have been a staple for many a Halloween and costume party, but Nombona stole the show with her take. From the dolled-up version of the Heath Ledger clown face and an oversized suit reminiscent of Jack Nicholson’s portrayal, this showcased how to best reimagine a gender-swap costume.

JESSICA BETTS & NIECY NASH

When it comes to stars and their non-celebrity partners, it’s always the celebs who get a lot of attention. However, Niecy Nash’s wife took the spotlight this year for their looks. Committing to her love for drag looks, Betts shone in their boxing outfits and a take on Serena Williams and Kendrick Lamar at this year’s Super Bowl Halftime Performance.

COCO

While her Coraline look with her family was not a big hit, Coco more than made up for it in a vamped-up Chucky costume featuring stilettos and a cropped sweater. The iconic dungarees were transformed into a bodysuit, and rather than a messy short wig, she went for a middle-part bob.

COCO JONES

To capture the famed wig turns from Dream Girls, it took one dress and clever makeup use for Jones to transform into all three of the main characters from the iconic movie.

DEMI LOVATO

The singer and actress honoured a 2015 fictional twin character created on the internet for her Halloween costume. While it was the source of much bane for the star, the Poot Lovato character was finally brought to life with the same gown she wore in the original edit.

TARAJI P HENSON

Creating much fanfare around her replacement of Janet Jackson in the upcoming Why Did I Get Married movie, Henson leaned into the rumours with a homage to iconic Janet moments.

Each look either featured a video much like her now viral scene in For Coloured Girls, or an exact interpretation as per her music videos from Velvet Rope.

CYAN BOUJEE

This year’s biggest fan favourite was undoubtedly Wednesday Adams, but for her look, Cyan went for a take on the character’s mother Morticia Adams. While her makeup was a great take on the character’s Netflix adaptation, the dress with a mesh slit gives it the campiness seen in past iterations.

WORST

MINDY KALING

Kaling’s homage to Kate Hudson’s character in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is ruined by a flimsy synthetic wig and a lack of unique accessories that could make it work for Kaling specifically.

The same could be said for her take on Timothée Chalamet’s viral pic rooting at a sports game. The outfit being oversized loses the original style of what it references, making her look like an older version of Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Raoul Duke in Fear and Loathing.

CIARA

A big letdown was Ciara attempting to capture Michael Jackson’s look from Remember The Time. The video was an epic success, however Ciara’s approach falls flat, not capturing the androgyny depicted by Jackson.

UNCLE WAFFLES

Also honouring music royalty, Waffles went for a Beyoncé look but didn’t quite nail it, missing the sparkle in body makeup and outfit. Perhaps, she would have been better off going for the toned-down version from the originator of the banana dress, Josephine Baker.