Emo, Scene Queen and Gothcore are all TikTok driven micro-trends emerging from the indie-sleaze, “millenialcore” revival.
The emo trend started in the early aughts, kicked off by a millennial infatuation with 70s goth bands like Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Cure.
These groups were so popular during the naughties that their music peppered shows as diverse as The X-Files, Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and Gilmore Girls.
For better or worse, this millennial love affair resulted in the birth of “emo,” a genre making a Machine Gun Kelly-fuelled comeback in music and fashion — and beauty.
Most recently modelled by Willow Smith at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, 2022 emo or “gothcore” takes the best of the 70s glam-goth and its early aughts “emo” reinterpretation and leaves the rest.
The look popped up everywhere at the Grammys, so here are our favourite interpretations, along with the product and application tips to recreate them at home.
Billie Eilish: Gothcore Tween
Billie Eilish‘s spiky, Robert Smith inspired up-do and dramatic Rick Owen’s cape + sunnies (the latest red carpet trend posing a serious frustration to MUAs) stole the spotlight on the Grammys red carpet.
But, as this very sweet image of Eilish and her brother Finneas demonstrates, there’s a lot to love about her makeup.
While Eilish’s MUA Robert Rumsey did not disclose the products used, Eilish’s look is easy to dupe.
Start with full coverage, satin foundation like the Charlotte Tilbury, Beautiful Skin Foundation, ($65.00).
Set well with a light dusting of translucent powder. Givenchy, Prisme Libre Loose Powder, ($99.00) blurs, sets and colour corrects while leaving a luminous base, making it an excellent choice.
Next, apply a pink blush of your choosing across the apples of the cheeks and nose bridge, TikTok style. Nars, Powder Blush in “Bumpy Ride” ($45.00) is a perfect ballet-slipper pink, with a semi-translucent finish that will make this look a breeze (good luck blushing your nose bridge with a heavily pigmented rouge).
Then, select a warm-yellow eyeshadow like MAC Cosmetics Single Shadow in “Memories of Space” ($30.00). Take it all over the lid, and then slightly under the eye.
Finally, all you need is a good, old-fashioned kohl pencil like Kester Black’s “Blackout” Eye Pencil ($36.00). Add directly to the upper and lower waterlines, don’t smudge, don’t smoke.
Olivia Rodrigo: Emo-Princess
Olivia Rodrigo gave her custom Vivienne Westwood gown an emo injection with her beauty and bling.
Rodrigo kept the look playful and girlish with costume-jewellery inspired pink gems and a choker.
Makeup was simple — an exaggerated, sweeping black wing that extended parallel with the end of her brows.
Her look — which she described to Vogue as “Modern Punk Glam” was created using all US-exclusive Glossier products.
Fortunately, we have dupes plenty.
The key item is a super-sharp liquid liner, you’ll find no better than Stila, Stay All Day Dual-Ended Liquid Liner in “Intense Black” ($45.00).
The soft lilac eye was created with Glossier Monochromes eyeshadow trio palettes — the Natasha Denona “Retro” Eyeshadow Palette ($94.00) has everything you need for this lilac look, and more.
A rosy blush like Pat McGrath’s satin-finish Skin Fetish Divine Blush in “Divine Rose” ($64.00) will ramp up the glamour — but leave brows and lips barely there for this after-school baby-goth moment.
Use a clear brow gel like MCoBeauty’s Hair & Brow Wand,( $10.50) and finish with a a sheer pink balm, like Bobbi Brown, Extra Lip Tint in “Bare Pink”, ($56.00).
Cynthia Erivo: Grown-Up Gothcore
Cynthia Erivo‘s beauty team let her powerful black smokey eye do the talking – and so should you.
With a look this intense all you need is a satin finish complexion product, like Pat McGrath’s Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Foundation, ($111.00) a nude lip and barely-there brows to keep things sculpted and editorial (rather vampiric).
As suggested by professionals during our last black smokey eye investigation, the easiest way to achieve this look is with a cream eyeshadow as a base.
Use Nudestix, Magnetic Matte Eyeshadow in “Night” ($40.00) all over the lid, then smoke out and set with a black powder shadow.
Add some contour for structure and bronzer for warmth (try a two for one product like Patrick Ta’s Creme Contour and Powder Bronzer Duo, $58.00) and you’re ready to go.
Dua Lipa: The Scene Queen
Dua Lipa‘s look was all about the haaaaair.
Debuting a platinum hairstyle courtesy of Chris Appleton, Dua Lipa’s waist-grazing tresses were pure early aughts goth-grunge magic.
Appleton accentuated the jagged root stretch by parting Dua Lipa’s hair right down the middle, a trend recently established at the Oscars.
Use a smoothing spray like ghd’s Straight On Straight & Smooth Spray, ($35.00) then show no mercy as you go to town with your hair straightener.
We’re getting early 2000s girl’s bathroom in high school flashbacks already.
Halsey: Gothic-Burlesque
Halsey’s look was described as giving “Betty Boop” vibes, and we loved their cartoonish take on gothic beauty.
While their dip-dyed hair has been covered, her beauty look deserves a shoutout.
You can recreate her ombre lip look by selecting a liner 3-5 shades deeper than your lipstick.
Concentrate your liner on the outer portion of the mouth, and fill in the centre with your lighter shade.
This creates the optical illusion of a fuller lip. We suspect Halsey, who famously never uses a makeup artist, used her own beauty line “about-face” — the deep burgundy Matte Fix Lip Pencil in “Lost Time” ($17.00, USD) and the Cherry Red Paint-It Matte Lip Colour in “Fireside” ($22.00, USD) are an exact match.
If you want to create the look using products found closer to home, Huda Beauty’s Lip Contour 2.0 in “Very Berry” ($29.00) and LANCÔME L’absolu Lacquer Liquid Lipstick in “Be Brilliant, 134” ($55.00) will do the trick.
Halsey kept their structured beauty look soft with a smattering of faux-freckles and a soft burgundy shadow in lieu of liquid liner.
