In today’s society, gothic makeup is frequently seen as overly harsh, but for those that like the style, it’s simply another expression of their unique personality. A gothic appearance is one characterized by a pale complexion, black clothing, and other characteristics deemed too daring by the general public these days.
Men and women alike use black eyeliner, dark nail paint, and dark lipstick to draw attention to the cupid’s bow and the edges of their lips with the gothic style of makeup application. Often, eyebrows are removed and repainted in a new form.
It doesn’t matter whether gothic hair is long and straight or if it’s tangled, spiked, or partially shaven. Goth hair is almost always black and dramatic, although other bold hair shades like lilac are often used to complement gothic makeup too. If you feel you have the attitude to carry this guise, here are some makeup suggestions to get you started! You’ll also get to discover how this look was first influenced, and how gothic makeup came to be!
Influences on Goth’s Pioneering Works
The Romantic era had a major impact on goth subculture early development. Mary Shelley and other great writers like Edgar Allen Poe and Bram Stoker didn’t hold back when it came to delving into the macabre and the supernatural, which terrified and horrified their audiences. Several Gothic rock performers incorporated these dark and gloomy themes into their songs.
Post-punk was an avant-garde extension of the punk movement. The goth aesthetic came out of this movement. To the gothic fashion aficionado, punk or gothic trends included spiked hair, and fashion components like combat boots. This look revolted against social standards back then, whereas today, gothic makeup is often used as an expression for cosplay. That said, there are those who use this form of makeup to express individual style!
What are the Main Characteristics of Gothic Makeup?
What Skin Looks Like
The gothic makeup look is designed to emphasize pale skin tones, while most other makeup styles tend to emphasize bronzed complexions. Don’t stress about acquiring a tan so you can fit in anywhere; instead, acquire makeup that will rectify uneven skin tone, if necessary. Your chances of success increase with your level of skin whitening. When it comes to this look, powdered and matte are the most popular options, but you may also choose a mineral base.
A Gothic Look Is Never Sans Dramatic Eye Makeup
Darker is best for gothic eye makeup. To draw attention to their eyes, many Goths choose to wear black or extremely dark eye shadow over thick black eyeliner. In terms of eye makeup, goths aren’t afraid to go crazy, donning lime green or florescent pink eyeshadow at will. The gothic effect may also still be achieved if the look is completed with plenty of mascara.
Lipstick With a Gothic Flavor
For a gothic style, the kind of lipstick you choose is more important than anything else! True goths often use dark hues like purple to make their lips pop. If that doesn’t achieve the effect they want, most goths even wear black lipstick. However, if you don’t want to go so dark, a deep red lip color can work just as well.
Image credits: Pinterest
How to Do Simple Gothic Makeup
What makes goth makeup so different is because, like everything else in the alternative movement, there are no specific criteria. The way individuals dress and apply their makeup was always a safe haven for those who identify as goths. Nevertheless, if you’re new to this, here are some pointers.
- The first step in applying a perfect foundation is to prepare the skin. Characters like Morticia Addams were symbols of the gothic style in the 1980s and 1990s. Regardless of your skin tone, you can get the same impression by ensuring sure your skin is as flawless and figurine-like as possible.
- Choose a dark-colored eyeshadow pallet. You’ll need a wide range of colors though. Leaning toward the dark side will easily help you achieve a gothic look.
- Try out a variety of different types of eyeliners until you find one that you feel most at ease with. When it comes to eyeliner, you can’t go wrong with black, but don’t be afraid to explore!
- If you don’t want to use artificial eyelashes but still want a dramatic appearance, try a super black mascara that enhances the volume of your real lashes.
- Choose a dark or deep shade of lipstick in whatever color you choose.
Tips for Simple Gothic Eye Makeup
As far as Gothic lip colors and base makeup are concerned, the only difference from the conventional is hue! Gothic eye makeup, on the other hand, may need some guidance. Here are a few easy goth eye makeup application tips.
- Apply concealer to your eyelids as a basis.
- For the innermost 1/3 of your eye, you’ll need an eyeshadow that’s light enough to cover your brow bone, a medium-dark shade for the middle 1/3 of your eye, and a darkish shade to cover your crease and beneath your eyelids. For a smooth appearance, ensure that both of these hues merge into the other.
- Don’t make your eyes look smaller by applying eyeliner in a circle around them. Instead, keep it on the outside third of your lash line. Get creative with the flick of your eyeliner! Even if all you want to do is a basic cat eye, you can make a variety of gothic patterns that flick out from the outermost corners of the eyes.
- To finish your look, it’s also good to experiment with a lipstick that matches one of your eyeshadow shades.
Transform a Regular Look Into a Gothic Look!
With a few easy steps, you can give your makeup a slight gothic touch while still wearing your favorite glitter eyeshadow and movie star lip shades. Without a doubt, a gothic aesthetic may be achieved without seeming like a costume.
Bold Lips
In order to get the gothic appearance, you need a dark matte lip, but this doesn’t mean that you have to wear black lipstick! Gothic flair may be achieved by wearing shades like purple, maroon, and brown too, provided it’s applied correctly. Make sure to use dark matte lipstick with clean skin and sparse eye makeup if you want to pull this look off.
Sultry Eyes
The adaptability of black eyeshadow means that it may be used for a variety of different cosmetic looks. Blend a sufficient quantity of black makeup beneath your eyes to get a gothic look. Make a rich, smoky cat eye by concentrating the color near to your lash line and blending it downward and outward. Add teal and mauve eyeshadow to your neutral makeup to transform it into a goth look. Just the right amount of dramatic flair is provided with these cool, hues.
Violet Cheeks!
The goth style is focused on cooler hues. Maintain this cool aesthetic with a violet or magenta blush instead of a pink one. You may think it’s odd to use violet blush, but it really illuminates your face.
Adding a Cool-Toned Highlighter
Goths will convince you that warm colors are a bad thing. To this end, you should definitely forego the bronzer in favor of a plethora of icy colored highlighters.
FAQs
A lot of it relies on how daring you are when it comes to wearing gothic makeup look in public. Purple and black are the most common hues used with a gothic makeup look. However, if you’re trying for a more a more flamboyant image, you can always add additional colors.
Apply your foundation as a final gothic makeup step. A little fallout from the darkish eyeshadows is likely, so utilize your foundation brush to remove it. Darker complexion types should not follow the usual gothic makeup recommendation of using a lighter shade of foundation. Alternatively, go for a radiant finish on your foundation to counterbalance all the darkish make-up on your face.
