Bold Goth Makeup Looks With a Touch of Elegance
One of the best parts of makeup is being able to change up your look as often as you want.
Sometimes, you want to show off a sultry evening look, while other times, you might feel like trying out the fresh-faced, clean-girl aesthetic. When you want a look that creates maximum drama with just a touch of elegance, a goth makeup look is exactly what the doctor ordered.
Not sure what counts as goth makeup? We’ve got you covered. Keep reading for a primer on this glamorous makeup style, including tutorials for our favorite goth looks.
What Is Goth Makeup?
Goth makeup has a haunting, timeless quality to it and pops up on the runway as frequently as it does on your favorite makeup artist’s Instagram page.
Believe it or not, the word “goth” has been around since the time of the Roman Empire, although the idea of goth style didn’t take off until the ‘90s.
Goth makeup usually includes a few key elements, including:
- Cool-toned, matte skin
- Heavy eyeliner or eyeshadow
- Dark lipstick
- Shades like brown, black, gray, and burgundy
However, there are many different ways to interpret this eye-catching makeup style, so don’t be afraid to get creative! Here are just a few of our favorite glamorous goth makeup looks.
1. Classic Goth
To rock a classic goth makeup look, you’ll want to start with matte, even-toned skin. Be sure to wash and moisturize your face before applying makeup — moisturized and hydrated skin is the secret to a flawless makeup look.
Prep
Once the moisturizer has sunk in, pat a few pumps of primer all over your face. We recommend our Good Grip Hydrating Primer — the oil and silicone-free formula won’t cause breakouts, and the ultra-lightweight texture melts right into your skin. It will hold your makeup all day long without feeling heavy or greasy on your skin.
You can start applying makeup as soon as your skin has been prepped and primed.
Base
Vampiric skin is a cornerstone of the goth look, so we recommend grabbing a foundation or face powder one to two shades lighter than your natural skin tone for this. Unlike the “clean girl” and other fresh-faced looks, you’ll want heavier coverage for this one to nail the even-toned, matte consistency.
To achieve this, we recommend our Skin Magnet High Coverage Foundation Stick. The technology-driven formula blends right in with your real skin while covering up any blemishes, shadows, and fine lines. (P.S., It’s also portable and super easy to use, making it an ideal travel companion as well.)
Once your skin is smooth and blemish-free, you’re done with it — no need for highlighting or blush today. Instead, it’s straight to the eyes.
Eyes
Start off by combing and filling in your brows. A tool like our Set Me Up Brow Gel kit is perfect for this — it comes with a little spoolie brush, so you can comb your brows into the exact shape you want, then use the gel to essentially hairspray them into place.
Give your brows a few minutes to dry, and then you can fill them in with a brow pencil that either exactly matches your natural brow shade or is just a shade darker.
(For instance, if you’re naturally a shade “Taupe”, you might want to try shade “Auburn” for this look.)
Last but definitely not least is the quintessential goth eyeliner. For the classic eyeliner look, keep your lids free of any eyeshadow and go in with your favorite black eyeliner to create a dramatic, thick wing.
Pro tip: Using a felt-tip pen, such as our Pro Precision Waterproof Liquid Liner, makes it easier to draw a flawless, even wing.
Nail the classic goth liner by starting in the middle of your eyelid, just over the center of your pupil, and drawing the wing towards the outer corner of your eyelid, getting thicker as you go.
You might be tempted to draw the liner on with your eye closed so you can see the whole of your eyelid, but it’s best to do this with your eye open. That way, you know what the eyeliner will look like 99% of the time when your eye is open.
Voila, you’ve completed the classic goth makeup look! If you’re eager to step up your skills with a more look, keep reading – we’ve got a few ideas.
2. Graphic Liner
To add a bit more personality to your look, try leveling up your eyeliner. Start off this look with a foundation of pale matte skin and well-shaped eyebrows, just like you did for the classic goth look.
Now, instead of creating winged eyeliner, we’re going to try something a little more complicated. Using that same felt-tip liquid eyeliner, draw a thin line across the top of your entire eyelid, staying as close to the lash line as possible.
Gradually thicken your liner as you get closer to the outer edge of your eyelid, just like you would for a typical winged eyeliner. Let the liner dry.
Keep your eyes open and look at your eyelids in a mirror. Right where your brow bone meets the top of your eyelid is a crease, and this crease varies in depth and position for each person. Just slightly above that crease is where you’re going to draw the second part of your eyeliner. The goal is to create a smooth line that can be seen even when your eyes are open.
To achieve this, draw the eyeliner onto your lid just above the crease, following the shape of your eyelid until the top and bottom lines of the eyeliner merge into one wing. It may take some practice to get this right, but once you do, the dramatic double-liner look will ensure you’re turning heads no matter where you go.
Pair your graphic liner with a deep red lip for the ultimate glam goth look. We recommend trying our Starlight Velvet Lipstick in shade “Wine & Dine” or “Flame” for a buttery soft matte lip.
3. The Smokey Eye
For our final look, we’re going to zero in on one of the best tools in the goth makeup toolkit: A really good smokey eye. This look calls for a lot of eyeshadow, so prepwork will be essential. Begin by patting a bit of eyeshadow primer onto your lids.
We recommend our Ready Set Eyeshadow primer, which is packed with antioxidants to keep your skin hydrated and healthy even while holding onto that makeup.
Give your primer plenty of time to dry, and then go in with your first shade, which, for this look, will be a matte nude. We recommend trying our Live to Roam palette and using whichever shade most closely matches the natural shade of your eyelids.
Use a fluffy eyeshadow brush to sweep it over your entire eyelid, blending into the corners of your eyes and into the crease as well.
Next, use the same brush to go in with a darker shade in the crease of your eyelid. Our Deep Feelings palette is perfect for this — we particularly love shade “Abyss.” Use that brush to buff out the dark shade into the outer corner of your eye and through the whole crease until you’ve blended the shade out.
Now, use a lighter shade to create a little more depth. For instance, if you used “Abyss” for the crease, choose shade “Decadence” (from the same palette) for this next step.
Using a denser eyeshadow brush, tap just a bit of that lighter shade into the outer corner and crease of your eyelid, right above where that smokey shade was applied. Switch back to the fluffier eyeshadow brush and buff it out so the two shades blend together.
Finally, choose the lightest, sparkly shade – from “Deep Feelings,” we recommend shade “Toasted Hazelnut” – and go over your entire eyelid, including the inner corner. Don’t cover up the darker shades you’ve already applied, but blend them in with the new shade to create a soft glam ombre effect.
And there you have it! A stunningly elegant but still perfectly goth smokey eye. Pair with pale face makeup and dark lips to knock this look out of the park.
A Makeup Look for Everyone
Going all-in on a goth makeup look might feel intimidating, but the truth is that this makeup style requires just a few basic principles – the rest is totally up to you.
Whether you feel most comfortable expressing yourself with goth makeup or just want to give it a try, follow these tutorials, and we guarantee you’ll be turning heads no matter where you go.
Sources:
Soft goth looks to try from the fall/winter 2023 runways | Vogue
The History of Goth — A-Line Magazine
6 Reasons Why People Avoid Silicones in Skin Care | Healthline
Antioxidants for skin: Benefits, drawbacks, and sources| Medical News Today