The Goth Guide 15: Make Up Makes the Man

Goth Slang Word of the Day

• Boi: A variant way to spell boy. Counterpart of Grrl.

Goth Band of the Day

• Ikon [formed in 1991, Australian]

Make up is just as an important fashion accent to a person just like hair. Goths are well known for all of their outfit, but Make-up is also a very crutial part to the look in itself.  The designs can be from simple to complex, from generic to well-detailed and fascinating.  There are some goths that beg to differ that those who have a complex make-up look is wrong and simply gives people the impression that you want to gain attention.  This is not true for most.

Though there are a few that probably dress their face to get looks from people, this does not mean that all goths do that.  There are also a few who should have double-checked the mirror before leaving with a certain pattern drawn along their eyes, because it is not very well-made.  This article is going to be about one of the greatest goths and make-up artists as well as how to gain a few of these looks.

Eye liner and some shadow coupled together can make beautiful gothic eyes. The right blush, powder, and lipstick can accent the rest of the face in a perfect component. However, how do goths get their look in such a defined way?

Some people, upon being asked these questions, would simply shrug off the person asking as someone who doesn't know where eyeliner should go. I've gone through a few FAQs of a few people who seem to not care about helping people better understand how the makeup is applied.

Just like with any other fashion, there is a right and wrong way to apply make up. You will also come to find that, depending on how detailed you want to get, depends on how many supplies you are going to need to get.

A few places where you can find makeup is commonly in your local wal-mart. They have a makeup set called "Hard Candy" that I tend to use more frequently than any other wal-mart brand of makeup. Another good makeup supplier is an internet website called "Good Goth." I have listed these two as well as a few more cosmetic websites.

• Hard Candy at WalMart
• Good Goth Cosmetics
• Urban Decay Cosmetics
• Sephora Cosmetics
• M.A.C. Cosmetics
• Bitch Slap! Cosmetics

if you are unfamiliar with the Hard Candy cosmetics, a woman did some lovely reviews on it. Part one is Here and Part two is Here.

How do goths look so unrealistically pale?

The answer lies within what they are wearing as foundation.

The dead and the undead have been popular cultural icons for goths since the scene began its formation. Naturally, we will all want to pull off a vampiric white color look. However, how far should we take it?

It depends on your skintone to begin with. Generally, it is alright to go one or two skintones lighter than your original and begin from there. Otherwise, it will look a bit cheap and more like halloween clown-face foundation than gothic. If complete whiteness is what you are going for however, by all means, do it. Just be forewarned that complete white-face is for nothing but mimes, clowns, and Brandon Lee. [I shouldn't pick on him.]

There is an actual makeup foundation that is can make you completely white, but this is strictly advised against.  Most goths will agree with this.  There are more ways to make yourself look a bit paler.  That's one of the reasons all of the black is worn.

When applying your foundation, whether liquid or powder, be sure to start off light and gentle, and get an even layer on.  You don't want it caked on, and it will just look unorganized if in thicker doses on different spots of your face.  This is a basic makeup rule for any makeup application.

Another piece of advice is to make sure you blend it into your natural skintone.  It is alright to give it a fading affect by applying it past the jawline and on the neck by a bit.  Just make sure it looks natural.  This is a key feature with makeup of any kind.

How do goths get their eyes to look so dark and even like that?

Time, patience, and practice!

Though some goths tend to simply put on a thin line of black eyeliner along their lids and leave it at that, there are also some that do so much more.

There is really no right or wrong way to goth out your eyes, but there is a few differences in organization. It is all about what you are trying to get. And remember, any part of the eyes does not have to be ignored. You are your own canvas.

However, as stated before, stay organized.

Liquid eyeliner is preferred over pencil, but if you are just learning and need to practice for a bit before moving onto the liquid, then you may use pencil until you feel a bit more comfortable and confident with using the tool.  Eyeliner is for both men and women, though men can have smaller and less obvious makeup applied for the sake of his parents or dresscode if that is an issue.

For a simple traditional look as a beginner, apply your pencil eyeliner along the edges of your eyelid closest to your eyelashes.  Make the black and your lashes seem to meld together.  This is one key feature I use to pull off a darker look.  Be sure that the line on the top eyelid is literally right above the lashes and do not leave any space between the two.  On your bottom lid, it is essential to make sure that, instead of applying the liner underneath your lashes, though it is also good as well, it is more important to go above and draw a line above and adjacent to your lashes.

Mascara is also advised to be worn, and women can even put on fake eyelashes that are longer and thicker.

Upon the topic of eyebrows.  It is generally accepted to simply shave your brows completely off and draw your own on, but this is certainly not something you have to do to be goth.  I personally love my eyebrows.  However, if your eyebrows are naturally a light color and offsets your look, you can rim it with a thin layer of your pencil eyeliner to give it a few shades darker.  You can also wax and pluck it to where it is thin enough or to your liking.

If you are going to get rid completely of your eyebrows, it is advised that you wax it off instead of shaving it off.  Shaving leads to stubble and also to razor burn.  Another way you could take it off is with Nair Hair Removal lotion.  However, not just any will do.  See if you can find one that is for sensitive skin or even for the face.  Follow the instructions on the bottle exactly.  Nair gets rid of hair via burning it off, and it is a careful process, especially around the eyes.  You must truly know what you are doing with this chemical.  I only advise using it if you are absolutely taking all precautions.  Otherwise, don't even try.

If you simply wish to pluck a few hairs, be sure you do it right after a hot bath or shower.  This is when it will hurt less due to your pores being the most relaxed and open.  You should also already have your look in mind before doing it.  Otherwise, you may pluck away one too many and you will not get what you want out of it.

The more complex goth eye looks take a bit more time and a lot more patience than the simple black eyeliner look. There are a myriad of pictures that can strike inspiration for you. The trick is to not copy someone exactly. Though it is alright to make inspired makeup designs, you begin to seem a bit unoriginal if you are copying someone's style.

However, if you are looking for inspiration for a style of your own, you can integrate a few different artists and begin to morph it into what you wish to look like. A few good artists to see to to gain inspiration is Adora BatBrat. I've only known about her for a few weeks, but I have fallen in love with her makeup designs. Though I have become a bit more edgy in my own style and have integrated a few details she uses, I still use my own style I learned to make for my own self. Another good artist is HelenaIsRed. Both of these women can be found on YouTube.  A few more artists include:

• MissChevious
• eRaness

in future articles, i will show a few tutorials and tips on how to work with liquid eyeliner to extend the canvas from your eyes.

Though the lips aren't nearly as hard as the eyes, they still play a specific role in completing your look.  For example, if your look is a vampiric or luscious alluring look, blood red and wine red can be lovely choices.  Purple, burgundy and spiceberry are good picks for when you are going with romantic attire and soft dark eye shadow.

I know that black is the general color, but try to stay away from black lipstick most of the time.  Black lipstick can only make you seem half-done and a poser if used too frequently.

Over all, you should make sure that your entire design looks good and doesn't clash with one another.  Try to stay in theme and color scheme with makeup design, but also remember to ultimately look the way you want to.  It is your face, your life.  Have fun!

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