The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 plus 6 letter word EYE SHADOW
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
E
Y
E
S
H
A
D
O
W
More clues leading to the result EYE SHADOW
- War paint certainly used in English borders — a form of woad
- Cosmetic agreement had misery rising all around
- Make up stalker’s oral confession
- Regards root of herb, woad, crushed for war paint
- Cosmetic certainly kept during rising distress
- I picked up programme on TV featuring commercial for cosmetic
- War paint on spectators: commotion between husband and wife
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "war paint" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case war paint = eye shadow.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.