GOTHIC AND LOLITA LIPSTICKS: DARK BLUE AND BLACK LIP SHADES, GOTH MAKEUP.
Blue lips are a sign that a) you’re about to die of hypothermia; b) you’re an awesomely ostentatious Visual Kei rock star. Most people limit their lip colors to healthy reds and pinks, but we Goths embrace a different kind of beauty. Smear on the black, blue, and porphyry!
Obviously, you won’t find these shades on the Bonnie Bell rack. Mana’s Elegant Gothic Lolita brand Moi-Même-Moitié offers one tube, but it’s a generic red that will set you back $34 on CDJapan. Surely we can do better than that.
First, where not to look: Halloween and novelty stores. You’ll find horror movie shades for under $5, but you might as well paint your lips with a Crayon.
Better to invest $10-20 into something that stays on after a heavy biting session. M.A.C., a makeup brand known for its rainbow palette, is the obvious first stop. I’m a fan of the dark purple Cyber ($14). Mana would go for Blast O’ Blue, which was part of the C-Shock collection. Just about the only place to find it is eBay.
For the lifestyle oriented, you can’t get more underground than Manic Panic. Sisters Tish and Snooky were NYC punk rockers who opened their East Village boutique in 1977. I’ve had great experiences with their lipsticks ($10); how can you go wrong with names like Raven, Vampire, and Kiss of Death? The metallic After Midnight Blue is your best bet for emulating Mana’s look. (If you want to replicate the look of this week’s featured Gothloli, try Manic Panic’s hair dyes. I’ve gone blue, red, purple…)
Whenever I visit the beauty store chain Sephora, I can’t stop myself from trying on a dozen Gothic colors. Tattoo artist and reality TV star Kat Von D recently designed four lipsticks for Sephora ($18 ). ‘Painted Love Lipstick takes Kat’s signature lip color, a sophisticated red, and expands it into a range of smoldering shades, from crimson to blood red. The cap is stenciled with silver roses on matte black—inspired by Kat’s favorite tattoo.’ One of the shades is named Lolita!
Urban Decay is another name you can find at Sephora or the beauty department of major department stores. The blackberry shade Apocalypse ($22) shoots out of a purple metal tube pierced with a mini gunmetal dagger. Make Up For Ever offers the three Gothic lipsticks ($18 ): black, pearly burgundy black, and pearly black blue. For a 2007 LA runway show, Imitation of Christ used Smashbox Cosmetic’s dark “Enchanting” lipstick ($22) for a “Goth princess ballerina look.”
I’ll be in NYC next week with Count D, and you’ll be sure to see at least one of us trying on makeup at Sephora. Might you have any beauty brand and product suggestions?
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LA CARMINA
53 Comments
hm….. my mum and I've been looking for some good quality green lipstick…..I just get stared at when I go into stores and I ask if they have any XD
Green's a hard one to find… I sometimes apply a neutral lipstick and then cover it with green or blue eye shadow powder.
hm….. my mum and I’ve been looking for some good quality green lipstick…..I just get stared at when I go into stores and I ask if they have any XD
Green’s a hard one to find… I sometimes apply a neutral lipstick and then cover it with green or blue eye shadow powder.
I just happened to think of Amphigory’s Venus lipstick… it is a sheer, but I bet it would look lovely layered over other dark lipcolors (or solid black). It’s definitely a true GREEN, though!
I haven’t personally used any of Amphigory’s lipsticks, but I’ve been very happy with the eyeshadow I’ve had.
I can think of some others with greenish tints in red/pink, which I adore in their own right, but that’s the only real green I can recall.
yayy! happiness.
I'm actually not a huge fan of black or blue lipsticks, even for gothic looks. I think a deep red looks more natural, more beautiful, and suggests the stains from a victim's blood a little better… >:3
Have a good time in NYC! ^o^/ Surely you'll be blogging extensively about the experience, yes? :3
Tee hee, get ready for some new outfits and full coverage of Fashion Week, including the opening of the Gothic fashion exhibit at FIT! I'll announce exactly what I'm up to once it's confirmed. :)
Hair dye wise, I prefer LaRiche Directions…. Manic Panic fades fast, which is a plus for those who only want to hold the look for two or three weeks but not for long term commitment; even the strongest formula pale in comparison with almost every other brand. Special Effects is extremely longlasting, but the enduring power can be a real problem when switching to an entirely different shade — it's often near impossible to get that remaining taint out of the hair regardless how many times I process the hair, and therefore the next dye job often comes out less than perfect. And both brands stain the hell out of anything in contact with in the hair; the number of ruined bed sets and towels is a painful memory — and those were 400-plus-thread-count sheets and pillow cases and freaking Ralph Lauren towels we are talking about. Though letting them touch my hair was sheer stupidity on my part, but still.
Anyway.
Directions is the happy compromise I've found between reasonable staying power and non-stainy-ness. http://haircrazy.info is a good place to check out the shades and get some inspiration, but I shop at http://www.x-ception.co.uk/ for better price. They also pack the things super carefully so they won't even spill in the international long haul. If you havne't tried brands other than Manic Panic, you really should. :-) Manic Panic was my first brand as well, largely because of the rich resources on the brand's website made it much easier for color selection, but for advanced dye job fun, experimenting with different brands is definitely worth the bother.
The list of long-lasting shades from different brands on HairCrazy.com is also a great reference:
http://haircrazy.com/index.php?main_page=page&i…
(HairCrazy.info is purely informational while HairCrazy.com is the commercial site behind HairCrazy.info.)
(Also: Crazy Color is also worth the try, though I feel that it's slightly less lasting and the color less saturated than Directions, but mixing them with or using them along with Directions can add more subtlety and visual depth to a look.)
yayy! happiness.
I’m actually not a huge fan of black or blue lipsticks, even for gothic looks. I think a deep red looks more natural, more beautiful, and suggests the stains from a victim’s blood a little better… >:3
Have a good time in NYC! ^o^/ Surely you’ll be blogging extensively about the experience, yes? :3
Tee hee, get ready for some new outfits and full coverage of Fashion Week, including the opening of the Gothic fashion exhibit at FIT! I’ll announce exactly what I’m up to once it’s confirmed. :)
wow! lets see…..my fave would definally have to be the blue and dusty rose lipstick!!! ^_^
even though im more of a lip gloss person, but this is definally ausome lipstick!!! Even though its really hard for em to find those colours were i live -_-
This is great information – I'll remember this for the future! I think I'm over my rainbow hair days for now… but you never know! ^__^
Ahh… no better way to remind me of my perpetual (and long outdated) juvenility than that comment. XD But I've made up my mind to follow the footsteps of the great Dame Westwood and keep my tresses colorful till the day I die. ;-)
Speaking of Goth-friendly brands, have you heard of Aromaleigh? It's an independent mineral makeup brand and has a Goth slant in its vast array of color selection. It even has a Gothic Lolita mini collection. The colors are really good, very saturated and beautiful; they rival and even beat major brand offerings. And it doesn't hurt that it's recommended by both my favorite aromatherapy store, Nature's Gift, and my favorite Goth artist, Emilie Autumn. (Aromaleigh sponsors EA, but only after they learned of EA's spontaneous recommendation of their products on her blog.)
In fact, I discovered your blog only because Miss K., the proprietor and creator of Aromaleigh, linked you on her blog http://aromaleigh.wordpress.com/ :)
Hair dye wise, I prefer LaRiche Directions…. Manic Panic fades fast, which is a plus for those who only want to hold the look for two or three weeks but not for long term commitment; even the strongest formula pale in comparison with almost every other brand. Special Effects is extremely longlasting, but the enduring power can be a real problem when switching to an entirely different shade — it’s often near impossible to get that remaining taint out of the hair regardless how many times I process the hair, and therefore the next dye job often comes out less than perfect. And both brands stain the hell out of anything in contact with in the hair; the number of ruined bed sets and towels is a painful memory — and those were 400-plus-thread-count sheets and pillow cases and freaking Ralph Lauren towels we are talking about. Though letting them touch my hair was sheer stupidity on my part, but still.
Anyway.
Directions is the happy compromise I’ve found between reasonable staying power and non-stainy-ness. http://haircrazy.info is a good place to check out the shades and get some inspiration, but I shop at http://www.x-ception.co.uk/ for better price. They also pack the things super carefully so they won’t even spill in the international long haul. If you havne’t tried brands other than Manic Panic, you really should. :-) Manic Panic was my first brand as well, largely because of the rich resources on the brand’s website made it much easier for color selection, but for advanced dye job fun, experimenting with different brands is definitely worth the bother.
The list of long-lasting shades from different brands on HairCrazy.com is also a great reference:
http://haircrazy.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=5&chapter=0
(HairCrazy.info is purely informational while HairCrazy.com is the commercial site behind HairCrazy.info.)
(Also: Crazy Color is also worth the try, though I feel that it’s slightly less lasting and the color less saturated than Directions, but mixing them with or using them along with Directions can add more subtlety and visual depth to a look.)
This is great information – I’ll remember this for the future! I think I’m over my rainbow hair days for now… but you never know! ^__^
Ahh… no better way to remind me of my perpetual (and long outdated) juvenility than that comment. XD But I’ve made up my mind to follow the footsteps of the great Dame Westwood and keep my tresses colorful till the day I die. ;-)
Speaking of Goth-friendly brands, have you heard of Aromaleigh? It’s an independent mineral makeup brand and has a Goth slant in its vast array of color selection. It even has a Gothic Lolita mini collection. The colors are really good, very saturated and beautiful; they rival and even beat major brand offerings. And it doesn’t hurt that it’s recommended by both my favorite aromatherapy store, Nature’s Gift, and my favorite Goth artist, Emilie Autumn. (Aromaleigh sponsors EA, but only after they learned of EA’s spontaneous recommendation of their products on her blog.)
In fact, I discovered your blog only because Miss K., the proprietor and creator of Aromaleigh, linked you on her blog http://aromaleigh.wordpress.com/ :)
I’ll second the Aromaleigh love! I’m a bit of a MAC whore (since I’m a clumsy oaf who spills mineral makeup) but Aromaleigh pigments are beautiful and long-lasting. The lipstick formula personally tastes weird to me, but all of her eyeproducts that I’ve tried are pro quality, and my husband swears by the concealer.
The “Gothic Lolita” collection completely live up to the name! Lovely neutrals and just the right bright colors. (Olive green, purple, aqua…) I have several of the shades, and they’re beautiful.
“My dancing days are done…”
I’m an avowed Special Effects girl for longlasting pink hair. (I’m never sure if I can recommend SFX en masse, though, since I’ve been so faithful to the pink. All their pinks are fabulous, though.)
For hair dye pics the hair gallery website is good too: http://www.hairdyegallery.co.uk (its an information and photo website thats owned by Beeunique (www.beeunique.co.uk). They have all kinds of hair styles and colours and have helped me many a time in choosing which brand to use.
wow! lets see…..my fave would definally have to be the blue and dusty rose lipstick!!! ^_^
even though im more of a lip gloss person, but this is definally ausome lipstick!!! Even though its really hard for em to find those colours were i live -_-
In Poland it's difficult to find blue lipstick. But one can use Black Onyx eye-and-lip pencil. Colours & Beauty also sells such pencils. And the brand Inglot has white lipstick.
Hi
Love your page & merchandise!
David
I've never heard of them – thanks for letting me know! I'll keep my eye out.
I wish Sephora could come to Sweden :(
In Poland it’s difficult to find blue lipstick. But one can use Black Onyx eye-and-lip pencil. Colours & Beauty also sells such pencils. And the brand Inglot has white lipstick.
I’ve never heard of them – thanks for letting me know! I’ll keep my eye out.
Hi
Love your page & merchandise!
David
I wish Sephora could come to Sweden :(
We share braincells, I swear! I just wrote something similar to this for my personal blog. (Although I think MAC's Cyber is about as dark as I can go right now, with my bright pink hair. I've been mulling it over. I love dark lips with dark hair, like yours.) Blast o' Blue layered with some of the other LE MAC blue lip product (such as Fafi's blue-purple High Top lipstick or the blue Dazzleglass) gives a very glam-Mana effect…
As much as I scorn the idea of limiting products, actually, if you do another update, there are LOTS of gothic choices in the current MAC fall lines. There's a pure black Lipmix (and brown gloss they're promoting with it), and Cult of Cherry is an entire line devoted to dark (albeit berry-toned) lipcolors.
And as an aside, they aren't lipsticks, but the recently re-released MAC Kohl Power eyeliners are an absolute MUST HAVE for gothic fashionistas! They're the sexiest liners I've ever tried, and believe me, I've worn a lot of eyeliner. (And the names are cute, too… Orpheus and Raven? Hee!)
“My dancing days are done…”
I'm an avowed Special Effects girl for longlasting pink hair. (I'm never sure if I can recommend SFX en masse, though, since I've been so faithful to the pink. All their pinks are fabulous, though.)
I'll second the Aromaleigh love! I'm a bit of a MAC whore (since I'm a clumsy oaf who spills mineral makeup) but Aromaleigh pigments are beautiful and long-lasting. The lipstick formula personally tastes weird to me, but all of her eyeproducts that I've tried are pro quality, and my husband swears by the concealer.
The “Gothic Lolita” collection completely live up to the name! Lovely neutrals and just the right bright colors. (Olive green, purple, aqua…) I have several of the shades, and they're beautiful.
We share braincells, I swear! I just wrote something similar to this for my personal blog. (Although I think MAC’s Cyber is about as dark as I can go right now, with my bright pink hair. I’ve been mulling it over. I love dark lips with dark hair, like yours.) Blast o’ Blue layered with some of the other LE MAC blue lip product (such as Fafi’s blue-purple High Top lipstick or the blue Dazzleglass) gives a very glam-Mana effect…
As much as I scorn the idea of limiting products, actually, if you do another update, there are LOTS of gothic choices in the current MAC fall lines. There’s a pure black Lipmix (and brown gloss they’re promoting with it), and Cult of Cherry is an entire line devoted to dark (albeit berry-toned) lipcolors.
And as an aside, they aren’t lipsticks, but the recently re-released MAC Kohl Power eyeliners are an absolute MUST HAVE for gothic fashionistas! They’re the sexiest liners I’ve ever tried, and believe me, I’ve worn a lot of eyeliner. (And the names are cute, too… Orpheus and Raven? Hee!)
Yes, in MAC’s “Cult of Cherry” fall line, they’ve released a lipstick (Bing) that is almost an exact duplicate of the long-discontinued *original* version of Revlon’s Blackberry. Every goth girl I know is contemplating hoarding tubes of it.
Including this one! I saw it the other day and it was love at first sight.
Is it? I haven’t had the fun of actually playing with the new stuff in-store yet, and their “swatches” are completely useless. Beauty blogs, ah, evil temptation…
I’m sure I’ll snag some of the Cult of Cherry stuff when I go in for more of the Kohl Powers — I’m luckily free from hoarding temptation, though, because I’m persnickety about “old” lipstick. I hate that distinctive flavour all lipstick gets when it ages… euck! Half the reason I like MAC lip product is the vanilla, I think. Particularly since I tend to use longwear lip products if I’m actually going to a club; my lips touch things far more than they ought. (Er, drink glasses! Drink glasses!)
Mmy, I laughed out loud!
I just need a product that performs… ;)
Thanks for the info! I tend to use black liquid eyeliner on my lips since it stays on very well, even after eating and drinking (atleast the waterproof Prestige brand does). But I am always looking for other shades. I haven't really gotten into lipsticks since I usually don't like glossy stuff (it's a little too girly for me..) but now I'm interested since there are good brands out there ;) Maybe I'll buy some for those nights that I dress up as a girl ^^
Black eyeliner on lips – that's genius! I'll have to try that.
:)
Thanks for the info! I tend to use black liquid eyeliner on my lips since it stays on very well, even after eating and drinking (atleast the waterproof Prestige brand does). But I am always looking for other shades. I haven’t really gotten into lipsticks since I usually don’t like glossy stuff (it’s a little too girly for me..) but now I’m interested since there are good brands out there ;) Maybe I’ll buy some for those nights that I dress up as a girl ^^
Black eyeliner on lips – that’s genius! I’ll have to try that.
:)
I'm addicted to Anna Sui make-up. How can I resist make-up that comes in black rose containers! Plus it works just as well as any other brand. and check out that website!
http://www.annasui.com/flash/index.html
Yes, in MAC's “Cult of Cherry” fall line, they've released a lipstick (Bing) that is almost an exact duplicate of the long-discontinued *original* version of Revlon's Blackberry. Every goth girl I know is contemplating hoarding tubes of it.
Including this one! I saw it the other day and it was love at first sight.
Is it? I haven't had the fun of actually playing with the new stuff in-store yet, and their “swatches” are completely useless. Beauty blogs, ah, evil temptation…
I'm sure I'll snag some of the Cult of Cherry stuff when I go in for more of the Kohl Powers — I'm luckily free from hoarding temptation, though, because I'm persnickety about “old” lipstick. I hate that distinctive flavour all lipstick gets when it ages… euck! Half the reason I like MAC lip product is the vanilla, I think. Particularly since I tend to use longwear lip products if I'm actually going to a club; my lips touch things far more than they ought. (Er, drink glasses! Drink glasses!)
Mmy, I laughed out loud!
I just happened to think of Amphigory's Venus lipstick… it is a sheer, but I bet it would look lovely layered over other dark lipcolors (or solid black). It's definitely a true GREEN, though!
I haven't personally used any of Amphigory's lipsticks, but I've been very happy with the eyeshadow I've had.
I can think of some others with greenish tints in red/pink, which I adore in their own right, but that's the only real green I can recall.
I just need a product that performs… ;)
http://chloevanparis.blogspot.com/2008/08/gothi…
That's a fab short survey of Goth-y lip colors. Did you know that both Lancome and YSL have black lip glosses out this season? Wow.
For hair dye pics the hair gallery website is good too: http://www.hairdyegallery.co.uk (its an information and photo website thats owned by Beeunique (http://www.beeunique.co.uk). They have all kinds of hair styles and colours and have helped me many a time in choosing which brand to use.
For hair dye pics the hair gallery website is good too: http://www.hairdyegallery.co.uk (its an information and photo website thats owned by Beeunique (http://www.beeunique.co.uk). They have all kinds of hair styles and colours and have helped me many a time in choosing which brand to use.