Goth is an interesting beautiful makeup style embraced by many goth music lovers around the world. In this guide, we will go over some easy goth makeup styles like pastel and Egirl. We will also discuss goth makeup for school and for guys.

What is Goth Makeup?

Goth makeup is best described as a style of makeup that consists mainly of black and white. These colors are used for everything from foundation, eye shadow, lipstick, and nail polish. The face is kept pale while the black colors highlight the sharpness of the face and bring attention to the person’s eyes and lips.

The goth culture began to emerge around the 1970s when a subset of punk bands began to incorporate more dramatic makeup into their performances. Their music became focused on more gloomy or supernatural aspects, hearkening back to the authors of the Romantic period like Edgar Allen Poe and Mary Shelly.

Modern authors of the time also influenced the style, like Anne Rice and her vampire novels. The past styles of those books and of the Romantic authors began to bring back lace and silk into fashion. Many fashionistas of the time pulled from Victorian mourning clothes as a way to give themselves a fashionable look that was completely black.

The pairing of the clothing and makeup has given rise to the goth culture, along with its many subsets. Fashion keeps expanding as time goes on, but styles like goth still find their way back into the culture of today. 

What Makeup Do Goths Use?

Goths use the same kinds of makeup that everyone else does, albeit in more dramatic shades and tones. If you’re someone who wants to evoke a goth look in their makeup, steer clear of anything you usually use to provide a natural-looking style.

Any foundation for a goth look must be paler than your skin tone, bordering on white. Then, they utilize dark or black colors for everything from eyeshadow to lipstick. The dark colors against a lighter skin tone make the colors appear harsh and accentuate anything that they touch, whether it’s lips, eyes, or cheeks.

How to Do Pastel Goth Makeup (Step-By-Step)

Pastel goth is a branch of goth makeup that, instead of relying solely on black and white, pairs black with softer, pastel colors. This can come from not just the makeup that someone is wearing, but from the clothing and even hair colors they pair up as well. There is also a requirement for a bit of flare that, with the colors, differs from the traditional goth aesthetic.

For a pastel goth makeup look, you’ll need to make sure that your face is not a powdery white, but still very clear so that the colors of your lips, eyes, and cheeks are able to be seen.

Step 1: Wash your face, then prime it with your favorite primer. Try to go for a more matte finish so that the colors will really pop.

Step 2: You’ll need to apply your foundation. Unlike some other goth looks, pastel goth relies on a more natural color for your skin. Keep your foundation light so that you can apply heavier eyeshadow and blush without piling on too much makeup.

Step 3: A key to a perfect goth look is through highlights. Utilize a bronzer or blush powder and brush up against your cheekbones to accentuate the sharpness.

Step 4: Next is your eyes. Start off with a soft brush and a light color in order to make sure that the color stands out against your skin.

Step 5: Now you can play up the colors of your eyeshadow. Start with a color in the middle of your lid with an eyeshadow brush, then add a new color to the edge of your eye. Make sure to use a soft brush for blending to keep the soft look, not pressing too hard.

Step 6: Think you still need to keep up light colors for your eyes? You’ll need a dark or black eyeliner to make sure that the colors of your eyes are stark against your lids. The best type of liner would be liquid, adding a shiny look to the matte color of your foundation and primer.

Step 7: Next would be your lips. First, start with a nude shade, then pair it with a darker lip liner that will provide a gradient to your lips. If you want to go even bolder, try a pastel pink or blue lipstick without a liner.

Step 8: This step is completely optional, but seems to be a trend with the pastel goth fashion: utilize face gems. Add some light-colored gems that match your eyeshadow or lips to create a uniform look while also adding a flair of drama to your look.

Step 9: Set the look with a setting spray and you’re done!

How To Do Goth Makeup for Guys

Goth makeup can be worn by anyone, regardless of age or gender. There still seems to be a stigma that makeup is not made for anyone but women, but with where it originated, the goth look was heralded by men of punk rock. Heavy eyeliner and accentuated lips are a look that can make a man’s features pop.

To keep the goth look, regardless of how much makeup you want to put on, the accent on your eyes is a key factor. Utilize dark mascara and black eyeliner, if you’re looking for a subtle way to accentuate your features. Adding dark shadow will make your eyes pop, but can be a bold look that not many want to wear out.

For the full goth look, make sure that you focus on your lips as well as your eyes. Accentuate your cupid’s bow by placing a bit of sheer powder near your lips. Black lipstick will make sure that your lips pop. For the rest of your face, use a dark powdered highlighter to sharpen your cheekbones. 

How To Do Goth Makeup for School

A school is a place where you can showcase different styles and rely on your peers to let you know if it’s a good look or if you’re better off trying something else. It’s a place where you can learn more about your style from your peers and work through what works best with your individual tastes.

Before attempting a goth look at school, first, make sure that you know what your school’s guidelines are for makeup. You don’t want to come into school with a full face of goth makeup, only to be given a demerit or told to wash it off. This doesn’t mean you can’t incorporate bits of the goth style into your makeup.

Work with your eyeliner and eyeshadow to create a dramatic look by utilizing darker colors in comparison to your skin tone. For your lips, work with a dark color, even if it’s not black. You can use a darker lip liner to add a darker tone to your lips that meld with the dark color you chose.

How To Do Egirl Goth Makeup

The Egirl goth makeup look uses additional brighter “electric” colors to highlight key features on the face. Examples of these could be neon hair highlights, electric blue eyeshadow, and pink cat eyes.

To do the Egirl goth makeup look, determine which area of your face you want to highlight with electric color, then substitute the usually dark color that you would apply to that area with the electric color that you have chosen.

A common Egirl goth makeup look is to simply combine the pastel goth makeup look (describe above) with neon hair highlights of your choice.

Do You Have To Wear Makeup to Be Goth?

No, you don’t need to wear makeup to be goth. Goth is a music-based subculture. If you love goth rock and goth music, then you might be goth at heart. It doesn’t matter what makeup you have on the outside, it’s what’s inside that matters.

There are a lot of people who apply makeup to look goth but are not. This shows makeup is popular in goth, but it’s not needed.

How To Look Goth Without Makeup?

It’s possible to look goth without makeup. Here are a few things you can try:

Dark Clothing –  Dark goth-style fashion can help you improve your goth expressions instantly. Chose black clothing with gloomy or shadowy designs, like skulls and bones.

Tattoos – A well-placed gothic tattoo in an area that draws attention to the eyes can help you express your gothic self.  Common areas for gothic tattoos include the arms, thighs, and neck.

Piercings – Lip, nose, eyebrow, nose bridge, and ear piercings are common in the goth community. It’s best to choose piercing jewelry that is minimal and with a single color (usually chrome) and material.

Jeweler – Add to your look skull rings, black bracelets, and barb-wire necklaces. These are all examples of jewelry that you can wear to instantly enhance your goth look.

Dark Framed Glasses – If you wear glasses, choose black-framed glasses to blend in with the rest of your goth look.

Black Hair – Dying your hair black can be a simple