Eye bags and muted tones—Lily-Rose Depp makes a case for "Victorian Gothic" beauty

Like any self-respecting horror lover, I hightailed it to the cinema upon the release of Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu — a remake of the 1922 classic, silent film, and a thinly-veiled Dracula story, for the uninitiated. There’s much to be said, but especially about Lily-Rose Depp’s breakout performance as Ellen, a troubled young bride, and the subject of the vampire’s twisted obsessions. But what piqued my interest amongst the jump scares was the actor’s make-up, on-screen—which perfectly embodied the modern-day conception of Victorian-era, gothic beauty—and off-screen, which updated and sexed up the look for 2024.

Female beauty in the 19th century, as depicted in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and more recently by Emma Stone’s Bella Baxter in Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, is completely at odds with what we’ve seen over the past few years. Far from the clean-girl aesthetic, this is an inversion of the fillers and botox look that has dominated our screens. It's largely barefaced and defined by a vision of deathly (pun-intended) tiredness: sunken eyes and eye-bags, pallid skin, muted brown colours on the socket and lips, and absolutely no blush.

While this may not be the prevailing beauty standard of today, Depp’s subsequent looks on the Nosferatu press tour have refreshed it for today's tastes—marrying TikTok’s “succubus chic” or “dead girl” aesthetic with her usual, sultry, 90s vibe.

The result is Victorian doll, but a super sexy version, thanks to her long-time collaboration with make-up artist Nina Park, who has delivered similar looks for Zoe Kravitz, Charli XCX and Mia Goth. The most acclaimed proponents of this aesthetic are, of course, Gabriette Bechtel and Amelia Gray.

And so, on Depp’s press tour, you rarely see her wear any colour, or much foundation and concealer. Instead, it’s all about very monotone, muted, cool-toned brown shades on the eyes, cheeks and lips. She’s also highly contoured, with carved out eyes, cheekbones and lips. But the whole thing just feels a bit more loose and messy than what we’ve seen amid “clean girl”. It’s a breath of fresh air and bound to gather more mainstream attention as we delve deeper into the winter months. With that in mind, I consulted an expert on the trend, make-up artist Aimee Twist, on how to achieve it at home.

A make-up artist’s tips and tricks

“We’ve definitely seen a resurgence of “Victorian Gothic”, especially on social media,” says Twist, who is known for creating the look on her high-profile clients. “The beauty-sphere has been looking for an ‘anti-glamour girl', and people like Amelia Gray and Gabriette, and even looking back to the likes of Angelina Jolie, are just that. They are against traditional ‘glamour’ and come across as really, really sexy.”

Twist explains that the key to achieving this look is a real lack of complexion products, which, she acknowledges, might feel unnatural. “The idea is to elevate things like a dark under eye, and really let your natural texture and skin come through,” she says.

“So, with Depp’s really hollowed-out eye, it’s basically a wash of colour on the lid, which goes really deep under the eye to give that ‘dead girl’ look. There’s a bit of liner on the lip, but not much. This is all about embracing the contours of your skin, instead of covering anything up, so I wouldn’t be focused on things like concealer. And with everything, it needs to be super blended, so no harsh lines, as you are mimicking natural tones and contours within the skin.”

The make-up artist recommends using a taupe-coloured brown eyeshadow all over the lid and under eye, before using a grey-ish tone cream contour product, which you really melt into the skin under the cheekbones. “Next, use a cool-toned lip-liner like MAC’s Lip Pencil in ‘Stone’ or Makeup Forever’s Artist Colour Pencil in ‘Endless Cacao’ for lighter skin tones. On darker skin, I’d recommend MAC’s ‘Coffee’ eye pencil as it has a cooler base. Finally, tap some concealer on the lips—that’s a really easy way of achieving the aesthetic."

How to get the look on darker skin tones

This aesthetic is also a hit on darker skin tones, Twist explains that, here, it’s largely about doing the things we’ve been told not to do. “That means using cooler toned colours, which you may not be used to. It doesn’t have to be a grey or dark black, but perhaps a cool toned brown. Don’t focus on covering the undereyes with brightening products — just lighten them instead. This doesn’t mean that you go super pale, instead, highlight your under eye in a way that’s not very warm, and don’t go all the way like you’d usually do.”

Aimee’s top products for achieving Lily Rose Depp’s “Victorian Gothic” aesthetic