Grab your washi tape, witches: there's a new liner trend haunting our For You pages and it's sharper, moodier and infinitely more gothic than the pastel "cold girl" version that started it all. We're calling it Tape Goth, and it's easily the most fun we've had with an eyeliner brush all month.
The original tape makeup trend uses strips of tape as a stencil to block off clean negative space shapes (think stars, hearts, soft geometric wings) before filling them in with colour. Take that same technique, swap the baby pink for ink black, smoky grey and jewel toned shimmer, and you've got a look that belongs somewhere between a deathrock flyer and a Victorian mourning brooch. It's precise, it's a little bit witchy, and honestly, it's easier than freehand winged liner ever was.
What you'll need
Before you start, raid your kit (or ours) for a few key vegan and cruelty-free essentials. You'll want a fine tip pen liner for crisp outlines, a soft pencil for smudging, a shimmery liquid shadow for the fill, mascara, a bold lip, and a setting spray that can survive a night out in the crypt.
Step 1: prep and plan your shape
Cleanse and moisturise as usual, then lightly set your lids with a translucent powder so the tape doesn't drag or pull. Decide on your shape before you touch the tape: a sharp diagonal wing, a lightning bolt flick, or a little floating triangle at the outer corner all work beautifully. Cut two small strips of skin safe tape (medical tape or washi tape both do the job) and press them onto the back of your hand a few times first to soften the stickiness.
Place your first strip along the angle you want your wing to follow, starting from the outer corner and sweeping up toward your brow. Place the second strip beneath it to define the bottom edge, leaving a clean triangular gap between the two.
Step 2: outline with precision
This is where a genuinely fine tip matters. Our Infinity Eyeliner Pen has an ultra fine waterproof brush tip that glides right along the tape edge without bleeding, so your shape comes out razor sharp every time.
Trace along both strips of tape to lock in your outline, then fill the shape in solid black. If you want a softer, smokier edge along your lower lash line rather than a crisp graphic line, blend in a little of our Smoulder Eyeliner Pencil in Black before you peel the tape away. It smudges like a dream and won't fight the sharp shape above it.
Step 3: build depth with shadow
Once the tape comes off (peel slowly, away from your eye, never toward it), you'll have a crisp graphic shape ready to style. Sweep Prime Time & Line in Smokey Grey through your crease and just beyond the edge of your black shape for a bit of gothic smoke.
For extra drama, dot a little Multichrome Liquid Eyeshadow in Dystopian into the very centre of your negative space shape.
It shifts between deep green, purple and black depending on the light, which reads as genuinely otherworldly under club lighting or candlelight (we don't judge how you spend your evenings). If you'd rather keep things cooler toned, our Sea Sparkle shade gives the same effect in icy teals and silvers, gorgeous against trad goth black or a soft grey smoke.
Step 4: lashes, lips and lock it in
Curl your lashes and load them up with AMPLIFIED Mascara, our tubing formula built to survive gigs, weather and the odd graveyard visit without flaking.
Keep the rest of the face soft so your eyes do all the talking: a bit of cream blush, groomed brows, and a lip that echoes the mood without competing with it. We're reaching for Air Matte Liquid Lipstick in Haunted, a deep, blackened berry that finishes the whole look without a trace of pastel sweetness.
Finish with a few spritzes of Mosh Proof Setting Spray to lock everything in place, tape technique included. It's built for mosh pits, so a night of dramatic eye contact and dancing in the dark is well within its limits.
Make it yours
The beauty of Tape Goth is how endlessly customisable it is. Swap the wing for a floating triangle, run the tape vertically for a sharp cat eye cut crease, or use three strips instead of two for a stacked, architectural shape straight off a runway. Every product in this look, from the eyeliner pen to the setting spray, is vegan and cruelty-free, so you can build your sharpest look yet with a completely clear conscience.
Try it, tag us in your results, and let us know which shape you landed on. We'll be here in the comments, black cat eye in hand and (as ever) a little bit obsessed. 🦇