Forget everything you thought you knew about goth makeup being all sharp lines and hard edges. This week's biggest shift in the alt beauty world is softer, blurrier and a lot more swoon worthy. We're calling it Vamp Romantic: think candlelit portraits, wine stained lips and eyes that look like they've been up all night reading gothic poetry (in the best way). 🦇
What is Vamp Romantic, exactly?
If trad goth is about precision and grunge goth is about mess, Vamp Romantic sits somewhere delicious in between. It's flushed, blurred and a bit undone, like you rolled out of a four poster bed looking devastating with zero effort. Deep wine and berry tones replace harsh black, blush does a lot of the emotional heavy lifting, and every edge gets softened rather than sharpened. It's giving Anne Rice's dinner party, not haunted house.
Here's how to build the look from base to lip, using pieces already living in your Jolie Beauty kit (or ones you're about to fall in love with).
Step one: a flushed, blurred base
Skip the heavy contour. The whole point of Vamp Romantic is a "flushed from within" glow, like you've just come in from the cold or been thoroughly kissed. Sweep our Second Skin Powder Blush in Rendezvous high onto the cheekbones and blend it up towards the temples with a fluffy brush. Don't be shy, this shade is meant to look a little intense once it settles.
Step two: wine toned, blurred eyes
This is where the romance happens. Reach for the Til Death Palette, whose deep burgundies and warm browns were basically made for this trend. Pat a plum shade across the lid, then use a smaller brush to smudge a deeper wine tone into the outer corner and lower lash line. The goal is soft and diffused, never a crisp line.
Once your shadow is blended, add the tiniest flick of definition with the Smoulder Eyeliner Pencil in Black along the upper lash line only, then smudge it with your fingertip so it melts into the shadow rather than sitting on top of it.
Step three: lush, fluttery lashes
Vamp Romantic lashes should look thick and a little tearful, never spiky. Our AMPLIFIED Mascara was built for gothic festival wear, so it holds volume for hours without flaking into panda eyes by midnight, which is exactly the energy we want here.
Step four: a whisper of glow
A touch of light keeps the whole look from tipping into gloomy. Dust the Second Skin Powder Highlighter in Dreaming onto the very tops of the cheekbones and the inner corners of the eyes. It's subtle enough to read as "lit by firelight" rather than "lit by ring light", which is the whole point.
Step five: the Vamp Romantic lip
The lip is the moment. Start by slightly overlining just outside your natural lip line with the Eternal Lip Liner in Nocturnal, then smudge the edge inward with a cotton bud so there's no harsh outline, just a soft blur of colour. Fill in with the Eternal Lip Stain in Desire, a deep, blood berry shade that fades beautifully rather than wearing off patchily.
Make it last
Finish with a mist of the Mosh Proof Setting Spray to lock everything in place, whether you're heading to a gig, a graveyard picnic or just your local coffee shop to be devastatingly mysterious over an oat latte.
As always, every single product mentioned here is vegan and cruelty free, because looking like a romantic tragic heroine shouldn't cost anyone their ethics. Now go forth and haunt someone's dreams, gently and with excellent blush placement. 🖤