10 Best Elf Beauty & Cosmetic Mods For Skyrim

When I first saw Elf Beauty in Skyrim, the first thing I noticed was how strange they look.

I thought the people in Lord of the Rings would be beautiful and magical with pointy ears, but what I saw was very different and even a little bit scary.

Over time, I came to see them as interesting people with interesting stories, but you can’t tell me they’re “beautiful” by human standards.

I know that many of you won’t stop working on your game until everything is perfect. So I made a list of the best mods to make elves in Skyrim look better.

10. Ashe – Dark elf Preset for RaceMenu

“Ashe – Dark Elf Preset for RaceMenu” is a mod that provides a beautifully crafted character preset for Dark Elf characters in Skyrim.

By utilizing RaceMenu, Apachii Hair, Seductive Lips HD, PureSkinTexture, The Eyes Of Beauty SSE, and The Eyes Of Beauty – Elves Edition, this mod offers enhanced facial features, captivating eyes, and realistic textures to create a visually stunning Dark Elf character.

Don’t forget to arrange the load order by placing Apachii Hair and The Eyes Of Beauty after RaceMenu for optimal results.

9. Tara – High Poly Female Preset (Wood Elf)

“Tara – High Poly Female Preset (Wood Elf)” is a visually stunning mod that enhances the facial details of Wood Elf characters in Skyrim.

With High Poly Head, Bijin Skin Unp and CBBE, The Eyes of Beauty, and KS Hairdos, this mod offers a customizable and immersive experience for creating realistic and captivating Wood Elf characters.

8. Frozen in Time – Definitely Not Another Snow Elf Waifu Mod

“Frozen in Time – Definitely Not Another Snow Elf Waifu Mod” is an engaging quest mod that breaks away from the waifu mod stereotype.

Embark on a captivating journey to reanimate an ancient Snow Elf warrior and help her recover her forgotten past.

Explore new landscapes, solve mysteries, and confront powerful enemies while experiencing a compelling storyline.

This mod offers a refreshing and immersive take on Snow Elf characters, providing a memorable gameplay experience beyond the surface-level waifu concept.

7. Dark Elf Female-Viola

This preset captures the essence of D&D drow, featuring a darker skin tone and striking white hair, evoking an air of mystery and elegance.

With subtle makeup and intricate facial markings, Viola showcases her unique connection to Dark Elf heritage.

Immerse yourself in the world of Skyrim with this beautifully crafted character preset that seamlessly blends traditional Dark Elves with their enigmatic D&D counterparts, the drow.

6. Hi-Poly Female Elven Trio Preset Pack

My main issue with ugly elves in Skyrim isn’t having to interact with ugly NPCs but instead having to become hideous to play as any of these races.

What I mean is that you don’t have to fix every elf to make the game playable.

For example, the Hi-Poly Female Elven Trio by D7Rock88 gives you one humanized, beautiful girl of every elven race to play as.

Alternatively, you can use these presets to create custom followers.

I love these presets because they look different and unique compared to humans while remaining decidedly attractive by human standards.

It’s a thin line that this mod walks well.

5. Pale Elves

One thing that contributes heavily to the elves’ unsettling appearance is their skin’s unusual tones.

Unlike Dunmer, whose skin takes on decidedly alien tones like gray and blue, Bosmer and Aldmer have brownish and yellowish skin tones that don’t exactly fit an elf.

Being a Wood Elf doesn’t mean you’re made of wood – and I don’t even know why the Aldmeri are yellow.

Pale Elves by Caralampio makes their skin tones less saturated, giving elves in Skyrim a more traditional look.

Finally, I can play a High Elf without feeling like an oversized frog.

4. Aesthetic Elves

If you want to further embellish your elven population, you have to do something about that bone structure.

Why would an elf look so much like the Green Goblin? Wrong fantasy race!

Aesthetic Elves by Ruddy88 fixes this mix-up by modifying the base elf head all others are based on.

The changes include shortening the chin, making cheekbones less sharp, and giving everyone an actual jawline.

You’re left with less gargoyle-looking elves that’ll make your Skyrim a lot more appealing.

3. Elegant Elves of Skyrim

A different approach to making most elves in Skyrim attractive is surgically intervening individual NPCs rather than changing the race’s building blocks.

Metalsaber’s Elegant Elves of Skyrim beautifies many female elven NPCs with new face sculpting, complexions, and hair!

It also modifies some outfits to remove hoods and better showcase the character’s newfound facial beauty.

Some prominent characters that received this beauty gift include Riften Stormcloak steward Anuriel, Bosmer farmer Nimriel, and Dark Brotherhood mage Gabriella – but they’re hardly alone.

This mod affects a whopping 20 characters, missing only those already improved by the Bijin mod series.

2. Elven Preset Pack

Let’s face it:

Most of us struggle a lot when sculpting our Dragonborn’s face in character creation.

What are all these sliders? Why do some things apparently change nothing? How do I manage to make my character even more uncanny with every setting I mess with?

Free your mind of such worries and get on that cart to Helgen faster with this Elven Preset Pack by Araviss, introducing stunning elven beauty presets for Dunmer, Bosmer, and Aldmer women.

The Dunmer preset even has some scarification!

It shows how well-designed each of these presets is and how well they represent their race’s culture.

1. Ethereal Elven Overhaul

Almost ten years after it was first released, most people will still recommend Ethereal Elven Overhaul to anyone looking to beautify their elves.

This OG mod by Nuska changes almost every aspect of elf appearance across the three races.

It tweaks their features, bone structure, and complexions while also introducing a ton of new war paints and skin tints for character creation.

What makes Ethereal Elven Overhaul stand (out other than its scale) is how well it balances making elves more attractive, while preserving their distinct non-human appearance.

Just keep in mind that this is a Legendary Edition mod.

To use it in Skyrim Special Edition, you’ll need to apply the SSE Patch first. It’s worth the extra effort!