From purplish-brown lips to smokey soft-goth eyes, the show’s hair and makeup designer Tara McDonald shares the exact products used on the Netflix show
The deadpan stare, the killer one-liners, that weirdly enthralling dance scene – ever since Jenna Ortega appeared on our screens as Wednesday Addams we’ve all been obsessed. Filling the sardonic shoes of the iconic Christina Ricci was never going to be easy, but in Netflix’s new Addams Family spin-off, Wednesday, Ortega perfectly captures the spirit of everyone’s favourite arsonist full of woe.
Wednesday Addams and her goth style have long been an inspiration in the worlds of fashion and beauty. Hair on the Prada AW19 runway paid tribute to her trademark long black braids, while black dresses with white collars featured heavily in Simone Rocha’s AW21 collection. But since Wednesday dropped last month, quickly breaking Stranger Things’ viewing record, the internet can’t get enough of her soft goth glam make-up looks.
On TikTok, videos recreating Wednesday’s make-up have over 70 million views combined. Since November 23, Google searches for ‘Wednesday Addams make-up’ have skyrocketed by 526 per cent while ‘Wednesday Addams lipstick’ are up 904 per cent, according to LookFantastic.
Fortunately for us, the show’s hair and makeup designer Tara McDonald shared with beauty expert Cat Quinn the exact products used on the show to achieve Wednesday’s brown-purplish lip colour and smokey eye look. Here’s everything you need to recreate Wednesday Addams’s soft goth glam look. Read ahead, if you dare.
EXACT: MAC Cosmetics Lip Pencil in the shade Nightmoth
To create Wednesday’s soft goth lip colour, make-up artist Tara McDonald mixed a lip pencil from MAC Cosmetics in the shade ‘Nightmoth’ with Dr. PAWPAW’s clear lip balm on the back of her hand and then dabbed in onto the Ortega’s lips. “The idea was for her to look like she had naturally dark lips,” McDonald told Cosmopolitan. “I didn’t want it to look like she was wearing lipstick.”
The pencil’s creamy, smooth formula along with the help of the balm means that the blackened plum colour wears comfortably on your lips and you can rock it from dawn to dusk.
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DUPE: 19/99 Tinted Matte Balm
If you’re not able to get your hands on the Mac Cosmetics Lip Pencil in Nightmoth, then this tinted matte balm is a great alternative. Coming in a universal shade of plum, this creamy balm delivers sheer, buildable colour to your lips and gives them a moisturising satin-matte finish. The no-fuss formula means that the balm can be applied without a mirror, which is a feature that Wednesday would certainly approve of.
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DUPE: Clinique Almost Lipstick in the shade Black Honey
Since launching in 1971, Clinique’s Black Honey lipstick has remained a best-seller and cult product thanks to its universally flattering hue. Even before it went viral on TikTok, one Black Honey lipstick sold every three minutes. While it looks like a dark goth shade in the tube, on the lips it transforms into a sheer berry, just-bitten look.
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DUPE: Glossier Ultralip in the shade Ember
If tinted lip balms are more your vibe, Glossier’s Ultralip in the shade Ember is the perfect product for you. Described by the brand as the “cashmere sweatpants” of lipstick, doesn’t feel drying at all and will give you the perfect Wednesday Addams colour.
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DUPE: WONDERSKIN Wonder Lip Stain Kit in the shade Charming
We’re sure you’ve all already seen the viral TikTok videos featuring this lip stain. How it works is, first you apply two to three layers of the bluish-purple masque to your lips for at least 15 seconds. Then you spray 1-3 mists of the activator to your lips until they are slightly damp. After a few seconds, starting at either corner of your mouth, grip the masque and peel it off to reveal the most gorgeous toffee rose colour underneath.
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DUPE: Suqqu The Cream Foundation
Wednesday has a refined glow and luminosity to her skin. A great way to achieve this radiance is with a luxurious cream foundation such as this one. The foundation features a ‘reflection oil’ that combines with a pearlescent pigment and ‘glow liquid’, which gives the skin the most translucent, dewy and moisture-rich finish. Ingredients such as camellia oil and hydrolysed silk help the foundation flawlessly blend onto the skin.
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DUPE: Lottie London Freckle Tint
The cute scattering of freckles across Ortega’s nose and cheeks are God-given but luckily there’s such a thing as faux freckles. This freckle tint features a precise applicator that allows you to dot many faux freckles onto your face. Dab the dots with your fingers or a blending sponge and set with translucent powder for a natural finish.
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EXACT: MAC Cosmetics Eyeshadow
When it came to Wednesday’s eye make-up, McDonald once again turned to MAC, this time combining three different eye shadow shades. First, the warm brown Brown Script was blended across the lids. Then Carbon, a classic black, was placed underneath her eyes before Glitch in the Matrix, a metallic grey, was smudged into the lash line to complete the look.
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DUPE: Jones Road The Best Eyeshadow in the shade Smokey Grey
Wednesday famously doesn’t blink but when she does you’re able to catch the soft, smokey colour on her eyes. To accentuate your eyes, use a densely packed brush to apply this eyeshadow to the centre of your lid for maximum colour payoff and then use a fluffy brush to blend the shadow into your crease. If you're looking to up the drama, then also bring the colour down to your lower lash line as well.
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EXACT: Ilia Limitless Lash Mascara
Wednesday’s many deadpan stares in the show really draw attention to her spidery eyelashes. To achieve the look, McDonald used Ilia’s Limitless Lash Mascara, which features a dual-sided brush to both curl and create volume, as well as build length and separate the lashes.
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DUPE: Nailberry Oxygenated Nail Lacquer in Noirberry
Wednesday nails are always painted in her favourite colour, which is black of course. However, we think she’d appreciate this rich, blackish-red hue that'll make your nails look glamorous, whatever the occasion. This vegan nail polish features a wide, tapered brush that flawlessly coats your nails from base to tip.
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BONUS: Tom Ford Lip Colour in the shade Impassioned
To give Morticia a more modern update, McDonald and director Tim Burton swapped her traditional crimson lips for a dark berry. For the look on Catherine Zeta-Jones, Tom Ford’s Bruised Plum lipstick was used. The shade has unfortunately since been discontinued but try the shade ‘Impassioned’ for a similar goth siren vibe.
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