I think I would go with the red face paint again.
Only this time more violent, more black around the eyes, and then red eye contacts to break that. To convert that to female standards, I would do a broken white color for the red paint, but still the red eyes. Maybe I'd practice some art with the makeup and try to create little scars over the face too. Black hair with red or white highlights maybe. You could play a little with that.
Another idea might be to create a 'poisoned' look with white/green paint. Either way, I'd definately do something with paint. And I'd have you apply it, cause you're good at playing around with art.
