It’s based off kumadori facepaint and thus it is annoyingly intricate. I learned a lot of things about kabuki to do this, but it’s been so long I forgot all of it, haha. Every line and colour means something?? I’m not sure what kind of character the lines are supposed to represent anymore, but purples are generally used for nobility and villainous characters, and the light blues and indigo are for spirits/ghosts. Light blue or grey on the chin specifically are used on sad or despondent characters. A lot of the meaning in her makeup reflects what she was as a maroonblood, not necessarily what she is presently.

She doesn’t wear it most of the time because it’s a pain in the ass to draw over and over, but it’s “proper” subjuggulator paint, probably a kind of war paint. That cult Gamzee belonged to as an indigo still exists in bloodbent; their clown makeup is a purposeful parody of these designs, and some people think it is pretty offensive.