Obsessing over Wednesday Addams' gothic make-up? Us too—here's the exact products used on set

It's time to tune into your inner goth

Jenna Ortega at Wednesday premiere
(Image credit: Getty / Gilbert Flores)

Tim Burton’s  “Wednesday” on Netflix — a reimagination of the 1964 and 1991 Addams Family — has quickly become many people’s new favourite show, thanks to Jenna Ortega’s already iconic performance of Wednesday Addams. 

Since its release, beauty enthusiasts have been eager to tap into their inner goth to share their take on Wednesday’s macabre look on TikTok and Instagram, particularly taking interest in her perfectly stained lip colour. But now, we don’t have to guess what products were used to create that spooky and perfectly stained lip because executive director of trends at MAC Cat Quinn has shared the exact products “Wednesday’s” hair and make-up designer Tara McDonald used on set.  

And unsurprisingly (and luckily for all of us at home), it’s not complicated. Wednesday isn’t exactly the type of character to painstakingly apply a liquid lip. Nope, instead the look uses two products quickly blended together.

Firstly, McDonald takes MAC Lip Pencil in Nightmoth (£18) and puts a small amount in a pot (or as Quinn suggests, warms it up on the back of your hand at home) to create a smoother texture, followed by a clear balm (not gloss). These are then mixed together to create more of a tinted balm or stain and dabbed onto Ortega’s lips. The result is a blackened plum hue giving off the impression that Wednesday has this natural soft gothic look about her with minimal effort.  

As for her dead-behind-the-eyes eye look, Quinn explains in another video that McDonald first goes in with MAC Eyeshadow in Carbon (£17) underneath Ortega’s eyes to give that tired look a lot of us know all too well. Next, she takes MAC Brown Script (£17) on both her lid and underneath her eyes followed by MAC Eyeshadow in Carbon (£17) and MAC Eyeshadow in Glitch In The Matrix (£17) smudged on top lash line.

To complete her makeup, McDonald used an extremely sheer skin tint to let her natural freckles peek through her light skin tone, followed by MAC Sculpting Powder in Sculpt (£18.50) and MAC Sculpting Powder in Shadowy (£18.50) to sculpt her cheeks without looking overly bronzed.

True to her character’s nature, Ortega pairs the look with two braids (though this time with a modern fringe) and, of course, jet-black nails.

Shop all of the products Tara McDonald used on the set of Wednesday... 

Beauty Contributor

Tori is a freelance beauty journalist and contributor for Marie Claire. She has written for various titles, including Allure, Glamour, Elle, Refinery29, Brides, and more. Currently training to be a nail tech, Tori is a total nail enthusiast and always has time to talk all things nail art. When she’s not writing about beauty and testing products, Tori can be found walking her rescue dog Pip, drinking great coffee, and eating as many croissants as humanly possible.