Sunday, December 18, 2011

Modern Gothic Romance (Inspired by Jordan Liberty)

Black liner, hot pink cheeks, and Noir lips, with slate grey nails
Is "wearable Goth" makeup an oxymoron? 
Not exactly. 
This is not really Goth 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.

For this look which is inspired by Jordan Liberty, 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 I don't look like a reanimated corpse, I threw in an intense pink flush on the cheeks for a doll-like twist.

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.

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.

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 outer edge angle of your lashes should follow the curve of your liner earlier.

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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

9 comments:

  1. ooh, nice!
    i don't think i could pull something like this, but i can't help but admire your look! :)

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  2. Thanks Lena!
    Actually until you try it, you;ll never know... ;)

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  3. GORGEOUS! This is beyond words beautiful. I wish I could wing as prettily as you do.

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  4. Hi Eden, thank you!
    Actually half the trick is creating that "razor-sharp" end on your flick. The rest of the liner is relatively easy to get on.

    Try this trick:

    1. draw the basic outer flick first

    2. use your finger nail to gently scrape the very BASE of the line outwards along your skin in a single firm movement(imagine you are drawing on your skin with your nail)
    This creates that incredibly fine tip that's just not possible with most brushes.

    4. fill in the rest of your liner after that, but leave the outer-most ends alone or you will ruin the super-fine tip.

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  5. Hi, this entry is so helpful! To be honest, I think this makeup look could work for everyday use. You see, I've been Googling around for ages on how to rock black lips or dark lips properly without looking too goth and now I found my answer! I like the idea of having hot pink cheeks because it gives life to the look. Thank you so much, I can't wait to try this look out for myself!

    Btw, it's great to see how this look on a fellow Asian person, now I'm excited.

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  6. توصيات اسهم مضمونة يتم توفيرها آلياً بواسطة منصات التداول

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