© GettyImages Wednesday Netflix Show

Nail Wednesday’s Iconic Soft-Goth Make-Up Look At Home

The world of the weird is having a major moment through Netflix’s latest fantasy release: Wednesday , which has spent the past week in the number one spot on the streaming platform. The loose adaptation of The Addams Family, a brain child of Tim Burton himself, revolves around the daughter of Morticia and Gomez Addams; a character that had first been made screen-famous via Christina Ricci’s rendition in the 1991 film.

This time around, Jenna Ortega delivers an equally morbid, yet fresh take on the iconic role of Wednesday—clearly winning the hearts of its audiences so far. The outcasts are finally in!

And with all the episodes having been released in one go, the binge parties—and the inevitable TikTok/Instagram goth-inspired make-up and fashion trends—have officially emerged. Beauty enthusiasts are going gaga over the buffet of hair, make-up and manicure moments in the show, and have been recreating the looks nonstop.

From Enid’s (Emma Myers) eclectic rainbow-inspired hair and claws, Bianca’s (Joy Sunday) wet, glossy pout, and Wednesday’s nearly dead, smoky eyes—it’s evident that each beauty detail is intricately crafted to flawlessly portray the characters. All the pop-culture defining looks have been creatively birthed by make-up and hair artist Tara McDonald.

Wednesday’s dark, goth lip, smokey eye shadow, hollowed-out cheeks and contoured jawline is a perfect encapsulation of her character, which appears even more nuanced in contrast to Morticia’s more mature, regal look as her mother.

As well as coveting Ortega’s brilliant Wednesday dance moves, people are now attempting to mimic her make-up, with the term “Wednesday Addams makeup” garnering close to 50 million views on TikTok and Instagram.

So, how do you get the perfect soft-goth make-up look?

In the show, Ortega is seen wearing an ominous smudged black eyeliner around her signature Tim Burton eyes and a deep plum lip colour on her lips, paired with Wednesday’s signature long black braids. You can easily DIY the “half-dead, but still fresh and modern look,” as described by the star’s make-up artist, at home using just a handful of products.

  1. Start by prepping your skin with moisturiser and applying a light foundation or sheer skin tint to allow your natural freckles to peek through. The goal is to create a softly-blurred base.
  2. Then, contour your cheeks to make them look more defined and hollow.
  3. Start off the eyeshadow look by blending a warm brown shade on your lid, crease, and under eye. This will create the illusion of under eye bags, staying true to the character’s pale and muted colouring.
  4. Next, apply a true black shade underneath your eye and swipe a darker shade onto the upper lash line and smoke it out with a brush.
  5. Once that is done, apply a soft red eyeshadow shade underneath your eyes to channel just the right amount of sleep-deprived and goth energy. If you aren’t blessed with natural freckles, this is the point where you can draw on some faux ones with a pointy brown eye pencil or a brown eye shadow and a sharp brush.
  6. Diffuse the drawn-on freckles with your fingers or a sponge to pull in the look together.
  7. For the lips, use a dark purple lip colour mixed with clear balm. If you don’t have a dark shade, Wednesday’s softly blurred, brown-plum lip can also be achieved by mixing the liner and some balm in a make-up pot or on your hand.
  8. Instead of applying the colour with a brush, dab the Frankensteined product directly onto your lips and blend and diffuse with your fingers.
  9. Set your face with a translucent powder and finish off with a few spritz of your regular make-up setting spray.

Who says you have to wait for Halloween to go goth? We’re seeing a resurgence of the soft goth aesthetic this Christmas and we’re not mad about it!