Netflix said in December 2022 that more than 84 million fans had searched TikTok for Wednesday’s viral makeup look, then raised that to more than 100 million in January 2023.
The version people were copying is the wearable one. Plum, grey and pastel take the place of solid black, the eye stays defined, and the base stays pale or matte. Soft goth is the look behind all that search volume and sits closest to everyday makeup, so it’s where most people start. Romantic, pastel, pink and a softened trad version fill out the rest of the range, and they differ mainly in palette, intensity and how hard they are to pull off.
What Makes Goth Makeup Look Pretty Instead of Harsh?
Edge control, mostly.
The pretty version keeps the pale base and the dark liner or lip, then softens both with blending, berry or pastel color and small decorative accents. Lines get diffused and pure black gives way to plum or grey. One feature carries the drama instead of every feature at once.
In practice that means smudged or feathered liner replaces the razor-sharp outline, and grey, plum, burgundy or lilac go where solid black would. Accents stay small, a few rhinestones or one line of glitter.
The harsh baseline comes from early goth. Claire Nally (Northumbria University, 2018) places the subculture’s origins in the late 1970s, with Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus and the Batcave club at the center.
That heavy-liner, dark-lip template still anchors the wider family of gothic makeup styles, and the pretty version is its toned-down end.
Netflix’s Wednesday pushed the softer version into the mainstream after its November 23, 2022 release. Google searches for “Wednesday Addams make-up” rose 526% and “Wednesday Addams lipstick” rose 904%, according to LookFantastic data reported by Dazed.
The show’s makeup designer Tara McDonald told ELLE India she wanted a gothic flavour instead of a full goth look. Her lip was MAC’s Nightmoth lip pencil mixed with a clear balm, which gives a stained plum instead of an opaque black.
Pretty goth also differs from emo-style makeup, where heavy smudged liner is the point instead of a finishing choice.
It isn’t full white face paint or Halloween costume makeup, and it doesn’t stick to a black-only palette.
Which Pretty Goth Makeup Looks Are Worth Trying?
Soft goth, romantic goth, pastel goth, pink goth and a softened trad goth cover most of the style. The technique is shared. Palette and intensity are what change.
Soft Goth
MAC reported a 117% jump in U.S. sales of its Nightmoth lip pencil in the week after Wednesday premiered in November 2022, according to figures the brand gave Glossy.
Soft goth is what drove that spike. It’s muted grey shadow smoked out on the lid, cool-toned blush and a feline flick, and of the five it sits closest to everyday makeup.
Romantic Goth
Romantic goth lands in the middle on intensity. Burgundy, plum and black cherry make up the palette, the liner is smudged, and the lips are stained, with a visible flush of blush higher up.
Lips carry this look, and a soft-edged berry reads romantic where solid black reads trad. Ideas for deep shades are collected in these dark lipstick looks.
Pastel Goth
Pastel goth swaps black for lilac, pink and baby blue, then holds the goth structure with a dark lash line and sparkly liner. L’Oreal Paris names soft pastel shadows, sparkly eyeliner and face gems as its core pieces.
A lilac wash across the lid is the easiest way in, and these lilac eye looks show how far the color can go. Keep the outer corner a little darker than the rest of the lid.
Makeup artist Jade Kisnorbo, in a 2024 House of Wellness tutorial, lays a white cream shadow or jumbo pencil under muted shades so the color stands out.
Pink Goth and Whimsigoth
These two are the sweetest end of the range.
Pink goth, as L’Oreal Paris describes it, pairs rosy eyeshadow and flushed cheeks with traditional dark elements. Whimsigoth takes the same softness toward warm, earthy tones and moon-and-star accents.
Softened Trad Goth
Classic trad goth means a bold matte lip, sharp liner and a full pale base. The softened version keeps all of that structure but uses a satin or diffused lip, blended liner edges and a base closer to your own skin.
L’Oreal Paris pairs bold matte lipstick with trad goth and glossy, diffused lipstick with romantic goth, which gives a quick rule for how far to soften. The structure stays put and only the finish changes.
Which Pretty Goth Look Suits Your Features and Skill Level?
Pick by the feature that is hardest to change (undertone, eye shape), then by how steady your hand is. The table ranks the five looks on those terms.
| Look | Best for | Difficulty | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soft goth | Beginners, daytime | Easy | Muddy if shadow is under-blended |
| Romantic goth | Cool or neutral undertones, evenings | Medium | Berry lip bleeds without liner |
| Pastel goth | Festivals, light lids | Medium | Patchy color over a bare lid |
| Pink goth | Daytime, lighter makeup | Easy | Reads sweet, not goth, if liner is too soft |
| Softened trad goth | Defined features, steady hands | Hard | Sharp liner shows every wobble |
Skin Tone and Undertone
Soft goth leans cool. In her 2024 House of Wellness tutorial, Jade Kisnorbo matches lip color, blush and bronzer to cooler hues so they sit with the grey eye.
Cool undertones do well in mauve, plum and grey, plus lilac if you’re going pastel. Warm undertones suit brown-leaning burgundy and black cherry, with a bronze-brown smoke in place of grey.
Deeper skin skips the pale base. A skin-matched base keeps the face from going ashy while liner and lip supply the contrast, and this guide to makeup for dark skin covers base matching in detail.
Eye Shape and Color
Hooded eyes need the wing drawn with the eyes open, and the shadow carried above the natural crease so color shows when the lid folds. Blue and green eyes look good against plum and cool grey. Brown eyes can take warm burgundy and brown smoke.
Hooded lids hide most of a standard wing, so a guide to makeup for hooded eyes helps with placement before you commit to a graphic liner.
Skill Level
Start with soft goth. It forgives blending mistakes.
Softened trad goth sits at the other end, because sharp liner shows every wobble and a pale base shows every smudge. Work up to it.
How Pale Should the Base Be?
A shade or two lighter than your skin is enough, and a skin-matched matte base works too. White foundation is optional.
Skin-matched matte is the lowest-risk choice, and the right one for deeper skin. One to two shades lighter adds contrast around the eye and lip without leaving a line at the jaw, which is why I’d pick it for most people. A full pale base belongs to trad goth and takes real blending down the neck.
Match the shade in daylight and on the jaw, not the wrist, which is the core of matching makeup to your skin tone. A pale face above an unblended neck shows at once.
Wednesday took the opposite route. On the 2022 series, McDonald used an extremely sheer skin tint so natural freckles showed through, per Marie Claire UK, then sculpted the cheeks with MAC Sculpting Powders in Sculpt and Shadowy.
Concealer around the nose and under the eyes keeps the base even before any dark product goes on.
Set the base first, so shadow fallout wipes off clean. A lightly pressed layer of setting powder keeps the matte finish without caking.
Finish with a spray. L’Oreal Paris suggests a matte-finish setting spray to hold goth makeup in place from dusk to dawn.
How to Do the Eyes: Soft Smoky Shadow and Winged Liner
Soft goth eyes depend mostly on where the shadow sits and how sharp the liner is. Lash weight is an afterthought.
Shadow Placement
The method follows a standard smoky eye, built in layers of grey or plum instead of black. Keep the darkest tone close to the lashes and blend upward and outward.
Grey or plum goes on the lid, with a soft matte brown in the crease. Smudge a little shadow along the lower lash line too.
On Wednesday, McDonald smudged MAC’s Carbon along the lash line with a shimmering shade called Glitch in the Matrix, according to ELLE India.
Liner Shape and Formula
| Formula | Best for | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Gel pencil (Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On) | Smoked wings, tightlining | Sets fast |
| Liquid felt-tip | Crisp, graphic wings | No blending window |
| Gel pot with brush | Soft-edged wings | Needs an angled brush |
As of October 2026, Cult Beauty’s listing for Urban Decay’s 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil repeats the brand’s description: waterproof, blendable for the first 30 seconds, then smudge-proof. That window is short, so work one eye at a time.
A pretty goth wing stays shorter and softer than a trad one. For the shape itself, a step-by-step on winged eyeliner covers the angle and the flick.
Lashes
Mascara alone is enough for soft goth. Heavy false lashes push the look toward theatrical.
Wispy strips, or a few individual clusters at the outer corner, add length without the weight. Pastel goth can carry more lash than the others, since the lid color is lighter.
Which Dark Lip Colors Look Best?
Burgundy and plum suit the widest range of faces, black takes the most skill, and a stained edge beats a hard outline in every shade.
Burgundy is the safe middle and warm enough for most undertones. Plum runs cooler and matches a grey smoky eye best. Deep red is vampy, with more heat than either. Black gives maximum contrast and minimum forgiveness.
makeup.com (2023) names classic black, a blood-red vamp, high-shine black gloss and a lipstick close to your own skin tone as the common goth lip choices.
That last one is the quiet option. It sends all the attention to the eyes.
Black deserves its own rehearsal, because opacity and edges show every mistake. This walkthrough on how to wear black lipstick covers both.
Matte lasts longest but exposes dry patches, so exfoliate and balm first. Satin is the forgiving middle and stays comfortable through a full evening. A dab of gloss at the center of a matte lip softens it without lifting the color.
Lip liner does the edge work. A liner close to the lipstick shade, filled in across the lips, gives the color something to grip, and a guide to applying lip liner shows the order.
To soften a hard border, press a cotton swab with a little foundation along the edge. The color blurs into the skin and keeps its shape.
When the eye is smoked in plum, drop the lip one shade lighter or switch to a stain.
How to Finish With Blush, Brows and Sparkle
Cool blush placed high, a feathered brow and one restrained accent finish a pretty goth face. Each needs a lighter hand than it would get in a trad look.
Blush and Contour
Revlon’s romantic goth tutorial with cosplayer and makeup artist Chrissy Lynn S. builds a subtle hollowed effect with Powder Blush in Mauvelous, a cool tone that reads soft goth instead of harsh contour.
Tap a cool mauve or berry high on the cheekbone, and add a touch across the bridge of the nose for a flushed, romantic effect. Any contour should be a cool, soft shade, blended until no edge shows.
A cream formula sits more softly on a matte base, and this guide to applying cream blush covers the tap-and-blend method.
Brows
Soft brows use feathered strokes in a dark brown or black pencil, which is the choice in Revlon’s tutorial. L’Oreal Paris suggests straight or upward brows for extra flair in goth eye makeup. Bleached or blocked-out brows are graphic and belong to trad looks only.
Brow darkness sets the temperature of the whole face.
Glitter and Face Gems
As of October 2026, the EU has banned loose plastic glitter for uses like crafts since 17 October 2023 under Regulation (EU) 2023/2055, while makeup containing plastic glitter can stay on sale until 16 October 2035 (with a microplastics label required from 17 October 2031), according to the European Commission’s guidance as summarized by Cosmetics & Toiletries.
Biodegradable, soluble, natural and inorganic glitter sits outside the restriction. For anyone shopping in the EU, that makes mineral-based glitter and face gems the safer long-term buy.
Craft glitter has sharp edges and stays away from the eyes. Use cosmetic glitter with an eye-safe adhesive such as lash glue, and keep craft glue off the face.
The outer corner of the eye works well for glitter, as does one line along the cheekbone or a single tear line under the eye.
Pressed glitter shadow is the easier route for beginners, and this guide to applying glitter eyeshadow walks through the method. A single accent looks deliberate. By the third, it starts to look like a costume.
How to Apply a Pretty Goth Look Step by Step
The order runs base, brows, eyes, cheeks, lips, spray. Dark pigment smears, so the base goes down and gets set before anything dark touches the face.
- Moisturize the face and lips, then add primer where makeup slides.
- Apply base and concealer, blending down the neck.
- Set the base with powder.
- Fill the brows.
- Blend the eyeshadow.
- Draw the liner.
- Add mascara or lashes.
- Tap on blush and a light contour.
- Apply lip liner and lipstick, set with a matte spray, then add gems or glitter.
Skip step 1 and every later step fights the skin underneath. Here is how to prep skin before makeup properly.
Lips go late because they transfer onto everything. The finishing mist is covered in this guide to applying setting spray.
For a quick version, do base, shadow, liner and lip, and leave out contour, lashes and gems.
Which Products Hold Up for Pretty Goth Makeup?
A precise liquid liner, a budget liner, a setting spray, an opaque liquid lip and a smudge-proof brow handle the hardest jobs. The table lists each with its main limit.
| Product | Type | Best for | Main limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kat Von D Tattoo Liner | Liquid brush-tip liner | Sharp wings, graphic shapes | Needs oil-based remover |
| NYX Epic Ink Liner | Liquid brush-tip liner | Budget wing practice | 24-hour wear is a brand claim |
| Urban Decay All Nighter | Setting spray | Locking dark pigment | Claim rests on a brand study |
| Lime Crime Velvetines | Liquid matte lipstick | Opaque berry or black lips | Needs oil to remove |
| Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade | Brow pomade | Defined dark brows | Dries out with the lid off |
Kendo Brands Global Marketing Manager Elika Sudo told The Zoe Report in 2021 that the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner formula has not changed since its 2010 launch. That is the brand’s own claim, and some buyers on Sephora’s site say the formula has since changed. Users on Sephora’s community forum say it takes an oil-based cleanser to come off.
NYX describes Epic Ink as waterproof with up to 24-hour wear, in a product description listed by Clicks. Treat the 24 hours as a ceiling, not a plan.
Urban Decay’s own 7-day study of 50 participants found 78% said All Nighter helped their makeup last 16 hours, as listed by Nordstrom. It is self-reported and brand-run, which is a small basis for a big promise.
The brand’s directions say to hold the bottle 8 to 10 inches away, mist 2 to 4 times in an X and a T, and close the eyes first.
A liquid lipstick dries to a matte film, and Lime Crime’s directions for Velvetines call for lip balm 15 minutes beforehand with excess oil patted off. A lip brush refines the edges, and oil or waterproof remover takes it off.
A brow pomade like Dipbrow stays blendable briefly before it dries matte, according to a Bluemercury listing. If the pot is left open it dries up, and Beauty Bay’s note says a couple of drops of face oil rehydrate it.
Sephora stocks the Kat Von D liner and most mainstream long-wear picks. Hot Topic and Dolls Kill lean alternative, and Sugarpill Cosmetics is where to look for saturated pastel shadows if you’re going pastel goth.
The decision rule is short. NYX while you practice, Kat Von D once the wing is steady.
What Goes Wrong With Pretty Goth Makeup and How to Fix It
Most failed attempts come down to a cakey base, ashy skin, smudged liner or lips, fading by evening or muddy shadow. All of them trace back to prep, shade match or formula choice.
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Cakey base | Thick layers on dry skin | Moisturize, press thin layers |
| Ashy skin | Base cooler than undertone | Re-match to skin |
| Smudged liner or lips | Oily lids, unset formula | Set with powder, waterproof formula |
| Faded by evening | No setting step | Matte spray, lip touch-ups |
| Muddy shadow | Over-blending dark tones | Build light to dark, clean brush |
Smudging is a formula problem more than a technique problem, and this guide on how to stop eyeliner from running covers oily lids.
Fading hits the lips first, because they meet food and drink all day. A guide to making makeup last all day covers the touch-up kit.
Pretty goth fits poorly on very oily lids with no primer or setting step, since liner and shadow slide within hours. Dry, flaky lips are another bad match, because a matte dark lipstick exposes them patch by patch. And if your eyes are sensitive, glitter and waterproof liner raise the risk of irritation.
Pretty Goth Makeup Looks FAQ
Can you wear pretty goth makeup to work or school?
Yes, if the look stays soft. A grey smoky lid, a stained berry lip and cool blush read as polished instead of costume.
Face gems and glitter draw the most attention, so check the dress code before adding them.
Which changes work best when adapting a look for Halloween or a concert?
Raise the intensity one notch, not three. Deepen the lip or sharpen the liner, and add a single accent such as a tear line.
Switch to waterproof formulas and a matte setting spray for heat, crowds and long nights.
How do you remove waterproof liner and dark lip stain without staining skin?
Dissolve it with oil instead of friction. Press an oil-based cleansing balm over the eyes until the liner softens, wipe with a damp cloth, then wash the face.
For lip stain, hold an oil-soaked cotton pad on the lips first.
Is pretty goth makeup the same as emo makeup?
No, though the two overlap. Emo makeup treats heavy smudged liner as the point, while pretty goth keeps shapes controlled and shifts the palette.
L’Oreal Paris suggests mixing romantic goth with a touch of emo smudginess when you want both.
Pushing Pretty Goth Makeup Looks Darker Without Harshness
Pretty goth makeup looks darken best one change at a time. Deepen the lip or sharpen the liner, never both at once, and leave the base, blush and blended edges alone.
Wear each change for a full day before choosing the next.
Start with the lip, moving from berry toward black, then take the liner from a short wing to a graphic line. The base comes last, one shade paler.
That order follows reversibility. A lip wipes off in seconds, while a paler base shifts every other shade on the face.
Each step darker adds cleanup time and shrinks the margin for error, because dark pigment against a pale base shows every slip.
A wider range of dark makeup looks shows where the next step leads once the soft finish feels secure.
She started writing on the site after fielding the same questions from clients and friends often enough to just write the answers down: which red won't turn orange on a warm undertone, how to keep lipstick from feathering into fine lines, why a "12-hour" formula rarely survives dinner.
Every review on the site follows the same rule she uses with paying clients: wear it first, then decide if it's worth recommending.
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