The Makeup Box

Gothic Romance Tutorial: Black-Purple Lipstick with Winged Eyeliner (Inspired by Jordan Liberty)

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Pic above: Black liner, hot pink cheeks, and Noir lips, with slate grey nails

Is “wearable Goth” makeup an oxymoron? 

Not exactly. 

This is not really a Goth look in the modern sense of the word, but rather, pulls from the late-medieval Gothic age, with its strange blend of opulence and dark dramatism. It’s not always about matching over-the-top black lips and eyes. 

Sometimes, beauty is as much what you do, as what you choose not to do.

This look is a recreation of a Jordan Liberty look, and actually follows the very classic, feminine, 50s tenets. The eyes are extremely clean and more reminiscent of a 50s kitten eye than anything overtly “Goth”, and the only touch of drama comes from the flicked liner and long flared lashes. The lips are the only thing that is slightly edgy about the look, blending black with a dark metallic purple for a 3D lip.

To pull everything back so you don’t look like a reanimated corpse, throw in an intense pink flush on the cheeks for a doll-like twist.

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Step 1: Apply a matte beige to the lids, and a slightly warmer medium toned apricot (both from the Wet n Wild Greed Palette) to the outer halves of the socket line for very subtle definition. As we want the look to be very clean, the eye lids should not be discolored.

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Step 2: With a flat liner brush, apply black gel liner (Maybelline Lasting Drama) to the lids. As always, draw in the flick first, then the lash line. This allows you to really control the length and angle better. 

The finished liner should give your eyes a slightly exotic tilt but not be so thick or angled upwards that you look like you’re channeling a Sophia Loren look.

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Step 3: False lashes. I applied very full synthetic lashes (Fairy Lash #10 from Sasa), longer at the outer corners than the inner. The longer outer edges will lift your eyes upward. (Try something like Red Cherry 043s for a similar shape, although these are not as full.)

The curve of your lashes should more or less follow the curve of your liner earlier.

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Step 4: Apply a hot pink blush (NYX Pinky) high on the cheeks. Pull it in further towards the center of your face than you would normally wear, just to give it a bit more of a doll-like look. And I hate to say this, but you CAN go a bit heavier than usual, as it needs to balance out the strong black lips.

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Step 5: This is the scary part. Use a black liner to rim the edges of your lips. If you have small lips like me, leaving the center of the cupids bow bare so you don’t close off your whole mouth. 

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Step 5: Fill in the outsides with black lipstick (L.A. Girl Creme Lipstick in Dreamer), and then run a dark metallic purple (Make Up Store Magic lipstick) in the center of the lips and blend outward slightly. If you can’t find a dark purple metallic lipstick, the EASY way to do this is to dab MAC Grape pigment around the center of your lips and then press them together to distribute. Then apply a tiny touch of Vaseline or Rosebud Salve to return some shine without making the lip look glossy.

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You can always choose to go all-black on the lips, as long as you keep the overall texture creamy, not matte. The look you’re going for is enigmatic, but still pretty and soft. (Well, as soft as a look can be with black lipstick anyway.)

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On the Nails: Revlon Top Speed Nail Enamel in 810 Hazy

Face of the Day: Dark Chocolate Eyes with Angel Lipstick

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[Pic taken literally before I stepped out the door. Excuse the messy hair.]

It’s the weekend, and I wanted to do something neutral, but still intense rather than stick to the same soft day-time browns I use for work.

I kept the shape simple (no winging… no reverse liner…), skipped shading and multiple colors, and just made one neutral color really strong by layering a paint pot, shadow, AND liner in the same shade. 

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This is so simple to do that I won’t even bother with a tutorial. Just slap these on:

1. MAC Constructivist Paintpot all over lids (including lower lash line) up to hollow of socket, but not extending past that.

2. Coastal Scents Hot Pot S35 all over the paintpot. You can use any dark, rich metallic brown that is slightly cool toned. MAC Satin Taupe is a good one. 

3. Line the water line and upper lash line with a chocolate brown gel liner. I used Maybelline Lasting Drama #02.

4. Apply black mascara. I’m loving Revlon Grow Luscious at the moment.

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Cheeks and Lips:

I just dusted on bronzer (MAC MSF in Comfort) and then slicked on Angel lipstick.