Netflix’s Wednesday has the world spellbound – hypnotized by Jenny Ortega’s fresh and complex take on the iconic character of Wednesday Addams, as well as the deliciously dark humour, the enthralling sets, the frankly phenomenal outfits, and of course, the makeup. Igniting a “soft goth” trend, Wednesday’s makeup look has TikTok in a frenzy, with the platform seeing thousands of how-to videos that demonstrate how to get Wednesday’s look. As Jess Pullar of Elle so perfectly puts it: “Wednesday has catalysed a cultural moment.”
A huge part of this moment is acceptance of one’s own beauty – Wednesday Addams’ signature look requires a moody lip, a lightweight, sheer foundation (seeing your skin’s natural “imperfections” is a must), a swipe of smudgy mascara, and that’s it. According to the show’s director of hair and makeup, Tara McDonald, the trick is to ditch the likes of concealer completely, allowing your dark circles to shine. Indeed, we’ve even seen TikTok users wielding lipsticks and eyeshadows to accentuate their dark circles – a breath of fresh air for people who are, like me, genetically blessed with the darkest of dark circles to begin with. Finally, a trend we’re ahead of the game with!
With such a thrillingly relaxed approach to eyes and skin, the real pièce de résistance lies within the lip look. Throughout the series, we see Wednesday Addams sporting a wealth of shades, from moody browns to soft reds and deep berries. McDonald says it’s all in the colour and tone: “Oh gosh, we easily tried around 20 different colours over two weeks”, she spilled in an interview with Elle. For Wednesday’s signature look, she settled on MAC’s classic lip pencil in ‘Nightmoth’ – a cool blackened plum that perfectly complements actress Jenny Ortega’s skin tone. McDonald mixed this with a clear balm to create a slightly smudged, somehow natural-looking hue. The entire look takes her around 20 minutes.
With the lip being such a key part of Wednesday’s makeup look, we thought we’d do a roundup of the best lipsticks in the biz right now – each ideal for recreating Wednesday’s signature soft goth pout.
HUDA BEAUTY HYDRATING LIPSTICK
Combining the juicy look of Wednesday’s balm with the pigment of her lip pencil, this lipstick by Huda Beauty does it all in one fell swoop. ‘Sweet Nude Amore’ is the perfect soft goth shade, boasting hints of purple in a rich pinky brown base.
REFY LIP COLLECTION
Do as Wednesday does, and create her signature look with a liner and a clear formula. The very best way to do this, in my very humble opinion, is via REFY’s duo. Honestly, the payoff is like nothing else I’ve ever seen (it comes with a “setter” to keep your look in place for 10 hours), and the curated shade range is sure to offer you that natural, just-bitten Wednesday look.
BYREDO LIP BALM
Byredo’s bougie lip balm is perfect for recreating Wednesday’s makeup look at home, and it doubles as a thoughtful Christmas gift. With so many balms out there, it can be hard to find ‘the one’, but this one is perfect on all fronts: it’s smooth and buttery, 99.8% natural, super nourishing in just one coat, long-lasting, and vegan.
DIOR LIP TINT
Making it easy to recreate Wednesday’s effortlessly balmy tinted pout, this lip tint features a semi-matte finish, uses 95% naturally derived ingredients, and moisturises for 24 hours. We’re loving the shades ‘Natural Rosewood’ and ‘Natural Berry’ to recreate Wednesday’s softly blushed, soft goth look.
SAIE HYDRATING LIPSTICK
Seamless and easy to blend with a balm à la Wednesday (though you won’t need to, because it’s packed with nourishing ingredients like hyaluronic acid, olive oil, jojoba esters, and berry fruit wax), this is a lipstick, reinvented. It’s comfortable, long-lasting, shine-free but not drying, and totally buildable – from softly blurred to full coverage.
