Trad goth, step by step
- Even, matte skin. Use a foundation that matches or sits slightly lighter than your skin — the look is about contrast, not about a shade that isn't yours. Set everything with powder.
- Soften the brows. Brush them up and set with clear gel, or block them with a glue stick and powder if you want a dramatic arched brow drawn higher.
- Shadow first. Matte black pressed on the lid, blended up toward the brow bone with grey at the edges.
- Geometric liner. Use gel or liquid liner to pull points out from the outer and sometimes inner corners. Mark the tip of each point with a dot first, then connect.
- Lips. Line with black or deep wine, fill, blot, reapply. A matte formula won't transfer onto your drink as fast.
This look traces straight back to the late 1970s and 1980s post-punk scene in Britain. Siouxsie Sioux's dramatic winged black eyes, Robert Smith's smudged red mouth with The Cure, and clubs like the Batcave in London's Soho turned stage makeup into a street uniform. Copy the spirit, not just the shapes.
Soft grunge: the lived-in look
What you'll get: smudged brown-black liner on both lash lines, a sheer berry stain on the lips, skin left mostly natural. The goal is "I slept in this and it looks great." Pencil liner smudged with a small brush, then pressed over with a matching shadow, lasts far longer than pencil alone. Grunge rewards imperfection — if your liner is too neat, rub it with a fingertip.
Punk graphic liner
What you'll get: a floating crease line, a broken wing, or bold blocks of red against black. Graphic liner is about clean edges, so use tape or the edge of a card as a guide, and a cotton bud dipped in micellar water to sharpen. Water-activated cake liners give the most opaque, matte lines and are what many theatre and drag artists rely on.
Cyber chrome and modern alt
Recent TV has pushed alternative makeup into the mainstream. The work of makeup head Doniella Davy on Euphoria made face gems, coloured liner and glitter tears everyday talking points. The cyber version leans on metallics: silver cream shadow pressed onto the lid, chrome highlighter on the high points, and small rhinestones placed along the brow. Use eyelash glue for gems on skin, never nail glue or superglue.
Making alt looks last
Alt looks usually mean heavy pigment and a long night. Prime, set, and use a setting spray between layers. Keep a small touch-up kit: cotton buds, micellar water in a tiny bottle, your lip colour, and blotting papers. And remember the most punk thing you can do is take it off properly — oil cleanser first for waterproof liner, then a gentle second cleanse.
