A Guide to Gothic Make Up

Ready for something dark and left of center? The gothic look became popular among young people in the nineties, and has held its popularity for years, becoming a full fledged subculture. The look of the “goth” is dark and mysterious; members of this underground group can be found clad mainly in black, and gothic make up follows suit. The most important idea behind the gothic look is to look totally different from everyone around you.

The main color palette for gothic makeup is black, deep red, and dark shades of purple and blue. However, despite the fixation with darkness, the perfect base for gothic make up is a pale one. Goths use white powder or regular cosmetic powder that is several shades lighter than the regular skin color to pull off the pale look. A dark powder is often applied to the cheek bones to give the face a sunken look. The eyes are an area to have fun with when it comes to gothic make up. An extremely bold eye compliments the gothic look best; use a black liquid eye liner, such as Liquif-Eye by Too Faced cosmetics or Smudge Pots by Stila in Black. If you’re hand isn’t steady enough for a liquid, try a glossy pencil liner such as Smolder by MAC; most importantly, the eyeliner should be heavy, bold and thick. Draw the edges of they eye out for a catlike look. Don’t be afraid to add a little bit of color, just keep it dark. Nars makes a Glitter Pencil in shades such as Le Sept (deep purple), Roxbury (silver) and Area (black with colored glitter), all of which will go perfectly with your defined eyes. Lastly, top everything off with a full set of fake lashes.

There are two lip stick choices that are tops in the realm of gothic make up: black and red. Stick to only the deepest blood reds, such as Clinique’s Different Lipstick in Double Fudge, Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Forbidden Red, or MAC lipstick in Underworld. MAC also has a product called Pigment, which is a color rich, multipurpose powder. Since black lipstick is hard to come by, especially in quality brands, try mixing Pigment in Dark Soul (black) with a clear gloss for the perfect black lip color.

Gothic make up is all about creativity, albeit dark creativity. Many that consider themselves Goths go as far as drawing shapes such as spider webs on their eyelids to set themselves a part. Within the color palette, the choices you have are almost endless.